Exploring The Spotlight

Hi, my name is Angelina VanWetten and I started this blog to investigate a topic that interests, excites, scares, or amuses me.  I found the topic of actors and actresses "stuck in the spotlight" so to speak, do all those things for me.  I will be investigating the lives of actresses, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, as well as actor, Gene Kelly.  I chose these people because each one is different yet have similarities in their: careers, childhoods, and personal lives.  Each of these American icons have influenced society during their times and long after, people are still affected by who these people where and what they stood for.

When people think Marilyn Monroe they usually think: gorgeous, sexy, troubled, beautiful disaster. . .

Words, are they what define us?  To Marilyn it was all about what people thought of her, the words they used to describe her.  Although she was a very sad and troubled person, she had to appear perfect to others, for her own sake.  She was scared that if she showed even the smallest bit of hurt and pain that was caused be her childhood situations people would not like her.  She needed the approval from men so she allowed herself to be made into a sex symbol and get attention for her body and appeal.  She let the words be her definition instead of defining herself.  Marilyn became excellent at masking her sadness.  Despite all the sadness we see from how her life really was, we also see the greatness of this woman and how to chased her dreams and created dreams for many more to follow! “Marilyn played the best game with the worst hand of anybody I know.” ~Edward Wagenknecht, author

In this blog we will spend time on each of these three stars and see how they were defined by themselves and by society.

When looking at Judy Garland, we see a girl who was raised in show business.  She started her career at the age of two by signing in her father's movie house and theater.  She was cast in her first major role when playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  When looking at her life we see that the pressure created by not only her family, but also by the public driving her to become an alcoholic as well as a drug addict.  We will be looking more in-depth at how Garland came to this state as well as how she influenced the movie and music industry, she was described by Fred Astaire as "being the greatest entertainer that ever lived".



The last person we will be looking at in this blog is Gene Kelly.

Starting from nothing Gene Kelly, worked his way into the spotlight with hard work and determination.  He became one of the most well known choreographers, producers, actors, singers, and dancers.  He had it all.  Thanks to Gene Kelly, there was a revolution throughout Hollywood, the dancing style in musicals changed and because of him dancing became a very popular activity!  Gene Kelly not only was very educated in dance, voice, and acting, he also had a degree in economics.  While his mother supported his theatrical passion, she was determined for him to get an education as well and consistently encouraged him to continue throughout his schooling years.  


Each one of these great talents had so much to offer and with a little research we will see how the spotlight effected each of their lives.