a late night post that seems interesting...

I watched The Blue Lagoon again a few days ago. This time I was completely sober and was not participating or facilitating the drinking game for it. Perhaps its this clarity that made me realize a book devoted to The Blue Lagoon and it's shite sequel (Return to the Blue Lagoon) would be absolutely amazing! Seriously, the film contains some of the most amazing moments of gender play. It's also "porn" for pre-teens (those who find it on late and night and think "ooo penis"), such as myself. I remember watching it on TNT or TBS late at night when my parents let me sleep in front of the TV.

Anyway, the first point I want to make is the gender play with in the film. Richard (Christopher Atkins) is consistently found wearing articles of female Victorian clothing. This is, of course, set up in the film as the children and the short lived adult find a chest filled with women's clothing as they float along in the rescue boat.

However, one of the points of this film is to show how "natural" love and sex is. That children don't need outside forces to develop sexual feelings, that (especially today) the media or friends do not pressure teenagers into sex. That it is the "natural" process of growing up and that a man will inherently know that his penis is supposed to go into her vagina.

Well, when looking at the film from this point, I can't help but think of Richard's cross dressing. Both the child and adult actors are scene in articles of woman's clothings and I think this is a (perhaps a more unconcious) comment on how society forces us into stereotypical gender roles. With out adults and society telling Richard how to behave as a man he is stuck in the genderless stage of a child.

Children are not born knowing that pink is a color for girls and blue for boys. Many young boys will try to emulate their mother in various ways and only through societal pressure will they learn dresses are for girls pants for men. Since he has been on the island since he was about 9 (though the kid acts like he is mentally handicapped or only 5 years old) he doesn't have rules from society to obey. He is able to play on both sides.

I will expand on this later...