Funny Face Stereotypes

Funny Face (1957) is the story of a young bookseller, Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn), whose life is forever changed when the prominent fashion photographer, Dick Avery (Fred Avery) offers her a modeling contract in Paris. Funny Face was produced during the late fifties, when the mold for the Hollywood film included the proliferation dominant American ideologies, such as consumerism and a patriarchal control. This is exemplified by Jo’s transformation from an independent bookseller, obsessed with empathicalism, the philosophical study of empathy, and resistant to fashion, to the face of a new modeling campaign and the recipient of Dick’s love. As a result, the running theme throughout Funny Face can be that women can truly achieve happiness by entering into the idealized heterosexual romance and by finding success in a consumerist outlet. Therefore, Funny Face is a prime example of how dominant American ideologies of the fifties, such as consumerism and patriarchal norms, were encoded into the

Hollywood studio film.
In the 1950’s, American society was experiencing a boom in consumerism, which is defined as, “the belief that goods give meaning to the individual and their roles in society” (Cross 1). This increased ideological value placed upon material goods was due immensely to the increased accessibility of material and technological more advanced convenience items in a post-Depression American society. With the increased production of such items also came the increased popularity of the department store which allowed consumers to buy these new and improved, made in bulk items. The increased popularity in material goods, however, was not limited to convenience items, but stretched to include clothes and valuing keeping up with the latest fashion trends. Furthermore, this idea was strengthen by the close relationship between the fashion industry and women’s fashion magazines, like the fictional magazine Quality in Funny Face. Despite the rise of consumerism in American society, Hollywood was experiencing a decline of the studio system, and a need to develop and integrate new technologies into the cinema into order to compete with the rise of television. Consequently, in order to contend with Hollywood’s newest competitor at the time, television, filmmakers were pressured to revamp its typical film structure in order to offer what television lacked. (R. Barton 132)
One way in which Hollywood tried to differentiate itself was by working closely with the fashion industry. The Hollywood film proved to be an excellent outlet for displaying the latest fashions and having the potential to incorporate the value of adhering to these fashions within the narrative. In Funny Face, this was achieved by showing how even the most resistant individual to consumerism, like Jo, can be shown her place within the material world. This transformation occurred throughout the movie when Jo is shown to gradually genuinely enjoy her newly assigned role in high fashion as a model. Therefore, the increased visual presence of fashion within the frame of the classic Hollywood film work to proliferate the growing rapidly developing consumerist culture in America. (R. Barton 132)
In addition to the spread of a consumerist attitude in Hollywood films, patriarchal ideals were also prevalent within this medium. American author, James Harvey, who focuses on writing about American films, makes a clear distinction about the typical male protagonists of Hollywood films in the fifties: “Above everything else, they were dependable, these iconic patriarchal males-representing all that was strong and reliable and solid. They offered the kind of reassurance (it’s all in control, nothing we can’t handle, etc.) that was one of the feelings we went to the movies for in those days” (Harvey 122). It is clear from this definition that male characters had an assigned role within the movie as the one in control, which reflects the genders roles for many men off screen of the same time period.
While defining the proliferating male character, Harvey extended his view to include why more women of the fifties were not “the biggest stars”, stating the ideology that women “…inspired too much ambivalence…” (Harvey 122).

This is exemplified in the many cases that Jo runs away throughout the movie. Each of Jo’s flights were for a variety of reasons, including: trying to get away from the women from Quality trying to make her over, from her first photo shoot so she could go to a popular café in Paris, in hopes of seeing Flostre, and to get away from Dick during the photo shoot when she was wearing the wedding dress as a result of her growing feelings for Dick. After each flight, it was Dick who went to find her and reassure her to return to her responsibilities. What these scenes are showing is a common trend in Hollywood during the fifties that women are characteristically unpredictable, and it is the responsibility of men to be the rationalizing factor in the lives of

women.
The opening credits for Funny Face establish early on the consumerist agenda for the movie. The opening credits include various images which appear to be taken from a high fashion women’s fashion magazine. The images are constructed to display the latest women’s fashions and beauty norms in order to showcase the ideal women. By opening with what would have been typical spreads in high fashion magazines, such as the fictional women’s magazine Quality that was created for this movie, Funny Face is establishing an endorsement of the spread of consumerist ideas through other mediums.
Dick and Jo meet as a result of a failed photo shoot taken by Dick in the Greenwich Village bookshop, where Jo worked. Upon arrival the fashion team’s arrival, Jo is vocal in her displeasure in the photo shoot disrupting the quiet of her shop, especially when she expresses her disillusionment with the whole fashion industry. Jo’s distaste for the consumerist culture that the fashion industry represents is exemplified by appearance. For this scene, Jo is wearing an outfit consisting of an unfitted grey frock over a black turtle neck. When standing within the same frames as the fashion model, who is wearing a sleek black gown which is displaying one of the latest fashion trends, the contrast in the recognition of consumerism is evident. The fashion team entering into the shop embody the height of consumerist culture because their job is to sell the latest fashions. However, by the end of the film, the viewer see Jo not only don similar fashions, but discover a sense of achievement from doing so successfully. Therefore, by narratively constructing a contrast between Jo’s initial discontentment with the fashion team, and the end of the movie were she successfully becomes the face of a new fashion campaign, Funny Face is showing how even the most vocal dissenter can evolve into a consumerist benefactor.
The scene which exemplifies this evolution in Jo was Dick and Jo’s on location fashion shoot. For this sequence, Jo and Dick are traveling to various places throughout Paris in order to stage pictures which showcase the eight different outfit that Jo ends up wearing. For the first shot, we see Jo in a black dress and hat while holding on to a handful of colorful balloons. Jo is timid and unsure of how to model within this scene, and the final product is a serendipitous shot when Jo accidently releases the balloons. Throughout this approximately seven minute sequence, the viewer watches as Jo develops more confidence in her ability to create the ideal picture in accordance with each new outfit. The sequence is therefore driven by Jo discovering fashion conventions as she is able to construct pictures which showcases the value of each outfit. The height of her transformation is shown by her taking charge in her second to last shot where she is wearing a red evening gown. Unlike the previous shots, Jo does not seek the guidance of Dick in how she should approach the picture. Instead, she simply tells Dick to get ready to take the picture as she saunters a down a set of stairs, holding up her silk shawl above her head so that is trails behind her. When Dick asks Jo to slow down so that he may take her picture, Jo continues her walk, proclaiming she is enjoying herself too much to stop. This moment is a stark contrst between the Jo who accidently loses the balloons. Accordingly, this sequence shows Jo’s ability to develop confidence
One of the first examples of this is when Jo had been tricked to come to the fashion magazine Quality’s headquarters by the editor of Quality, Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) and Dick. Jo first enters into Maggie’s office in order to drop off the very large order of books Maggie ordered so that Jo had to come to drop them off. Upon arrival, however, Maggie’s assistance begin to surround Jo and discuss ways to makeover Jo to make her appear more like the model they want her to become. They go so far as to grab Jo and chase her when she tries to run away from their aggressive efforts to make Jo fit the model of high fashion beauty ideals. During Jo’s escape, she hides in a dark room, where she finds solace with Dick, who was developing her photographs. Jo takes on the role of the “damsel in distress” in this instance, and seeks Dick’s help in concealing her hiding place, even though the women she is hiding from are working for Dick. In the scene, Dick is painted as the hero, despite Jo’s predicament was fueled by his insistence in making Jo Quality’s new model.
The scene progressing to Jo proclaiming her disbelief in her ability to become a model because she says she has a “funny face”. “Funny Face” is Dick’s declaration that, although Jo may not be considered conventionally beautiful, possessing a “funny face”, she has other attributes which draw him to her. The song may revolve around him declaring his love of her “sunny, funny face”, her lack of conventional aesthetic features seem to need to be justified by her other positive characteristics in order to make her “worthy of his love”. By including other positive aspects of his assigned worth, such as her quality personality and her hypnotic appeal, Dick is crafting Jo into his idealized women. The song suggests that Jo is lovable in Dick’s eyes because of not only her unconventionally attractive “funny face”, but also her personal achievements. This may seem like a progressive move in early Hollywood because it allows for Jo’s character to seem more dynamic and a break from the traditional Hollywood mold of the idealized beauty. However, since it is Dick who is attributing this worth to Jo, rather than Jo herself, the viewer is still witnessing the worth of a women being assigned by the male gaze.
Furthermore, as the scene develops, Dick is working on developing a picture of Jo that highlights only her eyes, lips, and nose on a white sheet of paper. This is an example of powerful Hollywood convention of the time of a male protagonist “breaking up” bits of the female form in order to direct attention to what they find most pleasurable. In this case, Dick is captivated by these specific features of Jo, and wish to focus on them in his projection of her. This scene also results in Jo agreeing to travel to Paris for an upcoming fashion show which will feature Jo as presenting a new image for Quality. Although Jo was adamant about her disregard for the offer prior to finding being “saved” by Dick in the dark room, by the end of Dick’s song to her, Jo’s is convinced.
Finally, by narratively structuring a shift in Jo from a socially independent young women to thriving and finding love in a consumerist culture. Thus, Funny Face is showing that opposition to consumerist culture and a young women living without a male lover is limiting one’s opportunities to find happiness. Therefore, Funny Face is one example of Hollywood structured film which circulates the benefits of following the dominant consumerist and patriarchal structure of American society in the 1950’s.