Nov 09 2001
Silver Screen
How did the great actresses of the silver screen learn how to cry so beautifully? Personally, I end up with a red face, stuffy nose, red eyes, and sans make-up — distinctly un-lovely, un-photogenic, un-Hollywood. But beauties of the past, such as Greta Garbo, Gloria Swanson, and Vivien Leigh, managed to cry beautifully, with jewel-like tears rolling dramatically down their lovely faces, which remained uncontorted, and without destroying their make-up, which remained flawless. They could do this, apparently effortlessly, both in ethereal black and white and in glorious Technicolor. I wonder if this is something they learned in acting school, or from Max Factor. Of course, it might be one of those girl lessons I missed, like how to keep your bra straps up.
Another girl lesson I seem to have missed is how to apply make-up in a moving vehicle. I am somewhat proud of the fact that I can do the whole thing, including contact lenses, in about 15 minutes, but if I tried to put on make-up in a bus or car, I’d end up with lipstick all over and/or minus an eye. This morning, Rufus and I took the bus in to work (the 41 Union, which is populated entirely by market people, wearing clacky shoes, blabbing loudly on cell phones to impress fellow riders with their importance, and reading either the sports section or the business section of the paper, both sections which get recycled instantly and unread chez nous), and there was a girl actuallly applying eyeliner and blush as the bus moved jerkily up the steep hill on its trolley cables. Far more impressive than blabbing on a cell phone, because not only was she undamaged, but her make-up came out pretty good. Now, there’s a girl who can probably cry like Garbo.
One Response to “Silver Screen”
Ahhhh, the 41 Union, definitely one of the better things about being single in San Francisco. If only there were a bus route in Atlanta like that one….