Dare to imagine a faux-medieval fantasy with somewhat accurate hair

[cimorene]

Like, if the hair was even on the same level as the costume design, which is to say, recognizably alluding to multiple places and times in the general time period, or more accurately, body of cultural memes and ideas associated with it. And yet in spite of a wide variety of creative and fancy styles of braids and updos on show, mostly on the side characters but occasionally the main characters, like Egwene and Nynaeve... there's still a plurality - majority? - of female speaking characters wearing their hair unbound, or half unbound, in completely implausible situations.

I mean, it's possible that I'm too suspicious, but I think hair and makeup design are casualties of the need for women to look fuckable and pretty at all times, just like body hair. And dirt. And non-modern eyebrows. And, all too often although not in this show, practical shoes.

Comments

[hebethen]

I don't think you're being too suspicious. I don't know how actively aware they are that this is what they're doing, but I 100% believe people are motivated by those factors at some level.

[mecurtin]

I remember watching a documentary about the making of Doctor Zhivago, and Julie Christie saying you can always tell when a historical costume drama was made by looking at the leading lady's hairstyle.

For medievalesque shows, there's an additional confusion because so many surviving paintings depict the Virgin Mary. She's often shown with unbound, flowing hair to signify her virginity, to be different & remarkable--but since so many of the pictures are of her, we tend to read it as normal for the period.

[stranger]

I get irritated by the similar distortion of body types, mainly where women are all extremely slim in current-day depictions, regardless of original appearance or historical standards of beauty. Remakes especially highlight this -- compare Nichelle Nichols and Zoe Saldana. why are we constantly being shown a body type which is natural to maybe 1% of women?

And you are completely right about hair and cosmetics. Maybe in one sense it's analogous to the script being in modern English instead of (say) Tudor-accurate vocabulary and accents. Viewer understanding of the story, or what the lead character is supposed to be like, is a factor. Even so, a serious drama wouldn't use modern slang, and shouldn't have this year's make-up quirks on display.