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A review by readuwroteu
Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood by Karina Longworth
5.0
Tell anyone you can, any way that you can!
Stars, they're just like us, amirite? Who hasn't imprisoned a woman in a lavish hotel with guards outside so she can't leave? And who amongst us wouldn't buy the mansion across the street in order to surveil their wife? Go on, cast the first stone...
What I mean to say is, Howard Hughes was mad, and I am mad about Karina Longworth. If you close your eyes, "Seduction," is like a more formal version of her unparalleled podcast, "You Must Remember This." Exhaustively researched and well written, "Seduction," masterfully recounts the experiences of certain women in midcentury Hollywood, using Hughes as the connecting framework. Longworth finds a way to plant her subjects firmly in the past without relegating them to being products of their time. For example, Jayne Mansfield, in many circles considered a second rate Marilyn, gets a passing mention in the book, but in those few paragraphs, Longworth shows her to be a keen observer and a quick wit, ready to jump at the opportunity to shine. In the context of this book, where many young starlets are signed to studios only to be passed around by executives, or to solely garner walk on roles, Mansfield's position and actions are that much better understood.
I feel like "You Must Remember This," was my Hollywood: 101 class, and "Seduction," is the 201... I went into this all with zero knowledge on the subject, and having seen only a handful of movies made before 1960. Now I'm drawing parallels, formulating my own opinions, and have watched several of the films Longworth discusses. After finishing "Seduction," I am only left with one question: Karina, what are doing for the advanced class!?!?!
Stars, they're just like us, amirite? Who hasn't imprisoned a woman in a lavish hotel with guards outside so she can't leave? And who amongst us wouldn't buy the mansion across the street in order to surveil their wife? Go on, cast the first stone...
What I mean to say is, Howard Hughes was mad, and I am mad about Karina Longworth. If you close your eyes, "Seduction," is like a more formal version of her unparalleled podcast, "You Must Remember This." Exhaustively researched and well written, "Seduction," masterfully recounts the experiences of certain women in midcentury Hollywood, using Hughes as the connecting framework. Longworth finds a way to plant her subjects firmly in the past without relegating them to being products of their time. For example, Jayne Mansfield, in many circles considered a second rate Marilyn, gets a passing mention in the book, but in those few paragraphs, Longworth shows her to be a keen observer and a quick wit, ready to jump at the opportunity to shine. In the context of this book, where many young starlets are signed to studios only to be passed around by executives, or to solely garner walk on roles, Mansfield's position and actions are that much better understood.
I feel like "You Must Remember This," was my Hollywood: 101 class, and "Seduction," is the 201... I went into this all with zero knowledge on the subject, and having seen only a handful of movies made before 1960. Now I'm drawing parallels, formulating my own opinions, and have watched several of the films Longworth discusses. After finishing "Seduction," I am only left with one question: Karina, what are doing for the advanced class!?!?!