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"The Hollywood Powder Puff War" : Technicolor cosmetics in the 1930s

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Dootson_2016_FH_PowderPuffWar_VoR.pdf (617.8Kb)
Date
2016
Author
Dootson, Kirsty Sinclair
Keywords
Max Factor
Technicolor
Makeup
Cosmetics
Hollywood
Labor history
Whiteness
Female spectatorship
PN1993 Motion Pictures
N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
BDC
R2C
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Abstract
This essay examines the rivalry between cosmetics firms Max Factor and Elizabeth Arden in 1930s Hollywood as they competed for dominance in the field of Technicolor cosmetics. This rivalry, dubbed “the Hollywood Powder Puff War” by the press, was far from a trivial skirmish but is discussed here as the site where labor practices, racial constructions, and female identity were contested. Against a backdrop of industrial action in studio makeup departments, I argue that Factor's Technicolor cosmetics line ultimately triumphed over Arden's by reinforcing whiteness as a beauty ideal during the transition from black-and-white to color film.
Citation
Dootson , K S 2016 , ' "The Hollywood Powder Puff War" : Technicolor cosmetics in the 1930s ' , Film History , vol. 28 , no. 1 , pp. 107-131 . https://doi.org/10.2979/filmhistory.28.1.04
Publication
Film History
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2979/filmhistory.28.1.04
ISSN
0892-2160
Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2016 The Trustees of Indiana University. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at https://doi.org/10.2979/filmhistory.28.1.04
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/17577

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