TY  - BOOK
AU  - Curry,Ramona
TI  - Too much of a good thing : Mae West as cultural icon 
SN  - 0816627908 (alk. paper)
AV  - PN2287.W4566 C87 1996
U1  - 070 
PY  - 1996///
CY  - Minneapolis
PB  - University of Minnesota Press
KW  - West, Mae
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-207) and index; Introduction: Posthumous Citings from Pistol to Puddle --; 1; The Sex "Queen" --; 2; The Prostitute, the Production Code, and the Depression --; 3; The Star Commodity from Asset to Liability --; 4; Comedic Performance from Social Satire to Self-Parody --; 5; The Female Impersonator in Gender Politics --; 6; Merging Interests
N2  - Before Madonna, before Marilyn, there was Mae. The impact of Mae West - through her films, attitude, and aphorisms ("Too much of a good thing can be wonderful"; "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?") - continues to reverberate through American popular culture more than fifteen years after her death. In Too Much of a Good Thing, Ramona Curry examines the interplay between West's bawdy, worldly persona and twentieth-century gender and media politics; Although West has remained an important figure, her image has fulfilled varied cultural functions. In the thirties, she was a lightning rod for debates over morality and censorship. In the seventies, the complexity of her portrayal of gender made her a controversial figure for both the gay rights and feminist movements; Curry not only analyzes the symbolic roles West has occupied, arguing that the entertainer represents a carefully orchestrated transgression of race, class, and gender expectations, she also illustrates how icons of pop culture often distill contested social issues, serving diverse and even contradictory political functions; A pithy and innovative look at what Mae West means, Too Much of a Good Thing is must reading for fans, film buffs, and anyone interested in how popular culture evolves and circulates in the United States
ER  -