How "Breakfast at Tiffany's" changed our world forever

Until very recently I had never seen the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's." And I certainly wasn't aware of the impact on our culture that this movie had. Then I heard about a new book called, "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman" by Sam Wasson. The book was reviewed on one of my favorite websites, Head Butler, which I will talk about at length in another post.

Head Butler's author, Jesse Kornbluth, was so enthusiastic about this book that I picked up a copy, and I was not disappointed. In short chapters that read like a thriller, Wasson lays out chronologically what went into the making of the movie, convincing Hepburn to star, bringing Blake Edwards on board to direct, and convincing the studios that the film was a good bet. The really juicy layers underneath this story is how groundbreaking the film was. Wasson explains that up until that point, 1960-61, there were only two types of women portrayed in the movies. Think Doris Day, and Marilyn Monroe. Women were either saints or sinners. There wasn't too much in between. This new movie would be portraying a young woman who was ambitious, a dreamer, a hard worker, and a very high-priced escort/call girl. No one, including the producers and directors, knew whether America would fall in love with this girl and this movie. The studios were afraid of losing their shirts and their reputations.

Well, America did fall in love with the girl and the movie, and a new image of a grown woman was born. One who lived alone in a big city and supported herself. One who had no particular interest in marriage and family. One who had grand dreams of travel and adventure. And that dress. This movie saw the birth of the Little Black Dress. Up until then women rarely wore black in the movies or in real life, unless they were in mourning. Audrey Hepburn playing Holly Golightly made wearing black the height of glamor and sophistication, and the fashion world has never looked back.

I really loved this book, and I admit you have to be a movie geek to love a book like this, but I could also see it as required reading in a Women's Studies or Sociology curriculum as a grand example of how a film can change our world view.

Once I had devoured the book, I wanted to see the movie, and through the magic of Netflix it was in my mailbox within a couple of days. Well, I was in book/movie geek heaven. Knowing that George Peppard was an egotistical ass (who didn't get along at all with Patricia O'Neal) while making the movie and then watching his performance was fascinating. Watching the opening scene (it was shot on Fifth Ave., at 5 a.m., when Holly gets out of the cab, dressed to the nines, and stands in front of the Tiffany window eating her danish and drinking her coffee) and knowing what went into getting that shot, and what Hepburn was worried about concerning that shot, was golden. I could go on and on, and I didn't even talk about what Truman Capote thought of the movie, or what they had to clean up from the short story he wrote in order to please the censors. But it's all in the book.

I highly recommend, for the ultimate movie geek experience, that you read the book and then watch the movie, even if you have already seen it. And then warn your friends. Because you'll be talking about it for days.

Author Jon Katz

Jon Katz has written an amazing series of books that chronicle his transformation from dog loving city dweller to dog loving farm owner living in the Vermont countryside. He talks about our amazing relationship with dogs, his own quirky, loyal, smart-as-a-whip dogs, and how the dogs and his move helped him deal with a lifelong battle with anxiety and depression, and eventually, a divorce. This man was suffering, and had health issues besides.

In order to find a link for you to Jon Katz in the last post I found myself on his beautiful website for the first time, where he journals (sometimes many times a day) about farm life and displays his stunning photographs. (You can also see more about his books and his dogs here.) I ended up spending most of the evening reading his posts and discovered that he has gone through an amazing transformation. And even found a new love. He writes:

"My own experience with fear began many years ago, but came to a head when I broke down a few years [ago], an experience I partially shared on the blog. Since then, I have gone many miles and to many people and to a lot of different places  in my search to understand fear and move beyond it – therapy, medical doctors,  analysts, pills, music, friends and family,  meditation, massage, Quaker Meeting, Presbyterian Church, Zen Centers, poetry, acupuncture, spiritual counseling. I am getting somewhere. I am going to see myself. It’s inexpensive and effective.

Through spiritual counseling, I have come to understand how my mind works. How it evolved into a fear-scanning and anxiety machine which sometimes served me well, sometimes not. I have lived in lament and drama. No more drama. No squawking about snow, whining about bills or the state of publishing, living out of fear and anger to the normal exigencies of life. When you stop telling that story out loud, the mind calms down. That is what is happening to me."

Jon Katz takes extreme delight in his dogs and the many walks they take each day in the Vermont countryside. I was especially taken with this sentiment about this magical and private time:

"As I work my way towards a spiritual life, the morning sky, my daily walks, are my Church, my mass, my call to awakening. Each day I say my prayers, when I look up at the sun soaring over the Vermont hills, and receive the call to life and my story. Love, not loneliness, empathy, not anger, calm, not fear, hope, not despair."

Beautiful words. Beautiful website. Check it out.

First things first

Here is a link to my current recommended reading list on shelfari. Many of the books I will be blogging about come from this list, which was started in 2003. To take a look, go to www.shelfari.com/betsyellis.

Why a blog?

I am passionate about many things. Books. Movies. Music. Art. Humor. This blog is called "betsy loves books" but I reserve the privilege to write, or rant about, anything that feels important. This is where I want to chronicle my thoughts. I hope you find it entertaining and informative. If not, you can always switch over to one of my favorite blogs, http://www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/. It's hysterical.