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

[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.

[cimorene]

Ugh, yeah, that pisses me off too. I follow a couple of hanfu blogs as well, and almost all the modern photos and models are like this, even though modern hanfu mostly comes from artistic depictions from the past that clearly demonstrate the very different ideals of beauty in these periods.

Wax has been watching a show that's supposed to be prestige TV and there is all this stuff in the 1960s with these tiny little sad "80s teen at a 60s party" hairstyles.