Movie stars establish themselves as brands--and Taylor's brand , in its most memorable outings, has repeatedly introduced a broad audience to feminist ideas. In her breakout film, "National Velvet" (1944), Taylor's character challenges gender discrimination,: Forbidden as a girl to ride her beloved horse in an important race, she poses as a male jockey. Her next milestone, "A Place in the Sun" (1951), can be seen as an abortion rights movie--a cautionary tale from a time before women had ready access to birth control. In "Butterfield 8" (1960), for which she won an Oscar, Taylor isn't censured because she's a prostitute, but because she chooses the men: she controls her sexuality, a core tenet of the third-wave feminism that emerged in the 1990s. Even "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966) depicts the anguish that befalls a woman when the only way she can express herself is through her husband's stalled career and children. The legendary actress has lived her life defiantly in public--undermining post-war reactionary sex roles, helping directors thwart the Hollywood Production Code, which censored film content between 1934 and 1967. Defying death threats she spearheaded fundraising for AIDS research in the first years of the epidemic, and has championed the rights of people to love whom they love, regardless of gender. Yet her powerful feminist impact has been hidden in plain sight. Drawing on unpublished letters and scripts as well as interviews with Kate Burton, Gore Vidal, Austin Pendleton, Kevin McCarthy, Liz Smith, and others, The Accidental Feminist will surprise Taylor and film fans with its originality and will add a startling dimension to the star's enduring mystique.
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Astro Turf works well as a brief, clear history of a field and the lab that embodied it. It works even better as a piece of cultural criticism. It works best of all, though, as a moving memoir of the difficult love between a daughter and father. NYTBR on Astro Turf I was blown away by this book. Lord reminds us once again that good and evil really are inextricably combined. Carolyn See, Washington Post on Astro Turf Lord's descriptions of her father's career and her own experiences as a girl growing up in the young Space Age form a poignant backdrop to her account of America's space program. Los Angeles Times on Astro Turf Lord shrewdly uses the evolution of Barbie as a touchstone to chart the evolution of our modern culture. People on Forever Barbie Terrific...a book that was dying to be written...A crisp, often witty love story of American pop culture. Boston Globe on Forever Barbie
About the Author
M.G. Lord is a celebrated cultural critic and investigative journalist, and the author of Forever Barbie and Astro Turf. Since 1995 she has been a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review and the Times's Arts & Leisure section. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Vogue, the Wall Street Journal, and ArtForum. Before becoming a freelance writer, Lord was a syndicated political cartoonist and a columnist for Newsday. She teaches at the University of Southern California and lives in Los Angeles.
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3.6 out of 5 stars
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Depth beneath the dazzle
17 April 2012
By bearablylightbeing
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
M.G. Lord brings her wit and razor-sharp cultural eye to the life and work of Elizabeth Taylor, and shows the guts and warmth and brilliance of the woman beneath the Hollywood product. Lord takes us through Taylor's movies, tracing the development of an artist, a woman, and a compassionate, passionate human being--giving lessons in history, culture, and sexual politics, and entertaining us all along the way.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great writer takes on a great dame.
25 Mar 2012
By Cineman
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I have never appreciated Taylor sufficiently - until now. MG Lord, whose book ASTRO TURF is one of my favorites, has written a smart, brilliant analysis of one of our greatest screen beauties. Lord reveals Taylor's humanity and her artistry in ways previously unexamined with respect, great humor and a keen eye for the winks in Taylor's sometimes grotesque, but often brilliant work. This is a must-read for Taylor fans, obviously, but it transcends anything you might imagine in terms of biography. If you're interested in attempting to understand the complexities of the history of being a woman in the entertainment industry, consider giving this a read. Whether or not Taylor was conscious of her feminist choices remains a question mark. What is less murky is that she made choices from her heart, which might not have been smart in the area of romance, but was transformative in the area of service to humanity.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
DEFINITELY NOT A DOORMAT: AN EXPLORATION
14 Mar 2012
By Laurel-Rain Snow "Rain"
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
In M.G. Lord's new book, The Accidental Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Consciousness and We Were Too Distracted By Her Beauty to Notice, we explore, from a different perspective, the life of Elizabeth Taylor. Beneath the beauty and sexy sultriness is another kind of woman. A woman whose roles in her movies mirrored aspects seldom shown in beautiful women: independence, toughness, and the willingness to take on unpopular causes.
From her first big role in National Velvet to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and through all the roles in between, we can see the iconic Taylor inhabiting those parts that take on social injustice, as well as roles that showcase independence, rebellion, and, yes, feminism.
While Taylor would not have described herself as a feminist, according to those who knew her, she was definitely unafraid, independent, and a champion of unpopular social causes. All the qualities that could define a feminist.
From the first chapter to the very end, the author deconstructs the movies that made up Taylor's career, and illustrates for the reader how each role could be construed as a "feminist" one.
Probably the most "conscious" gift the actress left behind, as part of her legacy, was her fight to fund research and treatment for HIV/AIDS. Like no other role in her life or in her movies, this role in real life was one that showed her true spirit.
Four stars.
From her first big role in National Velvet to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and through all the roles in between, we can see the iconic Taylor inhabiting those parts that take on social injustice, as well as roles that showcase independence, rebellion, and, yes, feminism.
While Taylor would not have described herself as a feminist, according to those who knew her, she was definitely unafraid, independent, and a champion of unpopular social causes. All the qualities that could define a feminist.
From the first chapter to the very end, the author deconstructs the movies that made up Taylor's career, and illustrates for the reader how each role could be construed as a "feminist" one.
Probably the most "conscious" gift the actress left behind, as part of her legacy, was her fight to fund research and treatment for HIV/AIDS. Like no other role in her life or in her movies, this role in real life was one that showed her true spirit.
Four stars.
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3.6 out of 5 stars
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