Book Review - Bombshell - The life and death of jean harlow

I've already returned the that I'm reveiwing today to the library, so you're just going to have to pretend that I'm holding it...it'll be fine. Hello everyone, I'm Victoria from One Book To Another. I love history books and autobiographies; they make up the majority of what I read these days. One of my current topics of interest is Hollywood’s Golden Age. The timespan of this “Golden Age” was from the early talking movies of the 1920’s to the 1960’s. Roughly...ish. There’s no shortage of books that have been written on the subject, but I found this one – Bombshell: The Life and Death of Jean Harlow - in a slightly unusual way. A Facebook discussion group I was part of brought up this T-shirt, featuring a mutilated image of Jean Harlow, surrounded by drug paraphernalia. The commenters lamented the use of Harlow’s image in a design that was trying so hard to be edgy and shocking, and that it continued to perpetuate the drug-use myths that have surrounded her since her early death. A few people in the comments recommended this book as a way to gain a better understanding of her life and what she went through. It sounded interesting, so I checked it out. I will admit that I haven’t read many biographies, I prefer autobiographies or memoirs. I feel that biographies can often distance the reader from the subject, placing them on a pedestal far away. Or they can obscure the subject, often with sensationalism and leaps of logic regarding the person’s intimate thoughts and feelings. David Stenn’s recounting of Jean Harlow’s life tends towards the former, but I feel like that was inevitable. I find it interesting that I found this book through a discussion of images and reality, as it’s a major theme throughout. As a film star, Jean Harlow’s life and career was built on ‘false’ images. Stenn repeatedly stresses the differences between Harlow’s movie image, and her off-screen image. Jean Harlow’s real name was Harlean Harlow Carpenter. The name ‘Jean Harlow’ was actually her mother’s full name. Her mother was an ever present force in her life. She moulded her daughter into a miniature version of herself, pushing her into acting and living off of her daughter’s wealth and fame. From the very start, little Jean Harlow had no chance. Growing up under her mother’s controlling hand, Harlow had no idea who she was. Almost every event in her life was a result of other people’s actions – from her marriages to her acting career. Transcripts of Harlow’s letters near the end of the book show her signing them by simply writing ‘Me’, as if she was starting to accept or realise her lack of self. This book gave me no sense of who Jean Harlow is, but that’s ok, because she didn’t know who Jean Harlow was either. Harlow’s stage persona was so at odds with what we know of her real personality it’s almost laughable. A quiet, homely girl, she was branded The Platinum Blonde and aggressively marketed as the bad girl sex symbol. This contrast gives another layer to her mythos, and has no doubt contributed to the misinformation surrounding her. Although a sensation and cultural icon in her own time, Harlow passed away before the boom of celebrity image as commodity. Marilyn Monroe, immortalised by Andy Warhol and her own early death, has taken her place has the blonde bombshell of Old Hollywood. Harlow’s image as the sultry seductress is all that we have left to look back on, but even that has faded. You might recognise her name, but any real familiarity with her work or life is usually left to those who are deep into old movies or mid-century history. Many celebrities are intensely aware of their image, and carefully curate what they present to the world and how they are viewed. With Harlow, I got the sense that her image overwhelmed her, and that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t control it. She was often typecast as the *** or the fallen woman, against her wishes. She did tours around America that were wildly popular, but was terrified of appearing on stage and had no ‘act’ to show her audience. Images are incredibly powerful things. I feel that, in a way, they’re our currency in the world. This is something that Harlow’s mother certainly understood and exploited as much as possible. I can’t help but think that Harlow’s tragedy is not just that she died so young, but that anything else left of her is also forgotten. It’s as if she barely existed at all. Her overbearing mother may have lived out the rest of her days in obscurity, but she leaps off the page as a far stronger personality. Although this book didn’t give much of an insight into Harlow herself, it’s a fascinating and often grim look at a world famous star with no agency, individuality, life or even legacy. It’s not often we have stars totally eclipsed by their iconography and who remain so for the entirety of their lives. Thank you all for watching, if this video was interesting and it, maybe gave you some thoughts or ideas about biographies or images or celebrity or reality then leave a comment below. And I'll be sure to read it and maybe start a discussion! If you want more reveiws, discussions or essays on books, then be sure to click subscribe and give this video a thumbs up as well. It's the easiest and the quickest way to let me know that you're enjoying these videos. Happy reading!