betty boop Essay

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Nidia Nava
Dr. Murray
English 1301
September 11, 2014
The queen of “Boop-oop-a-doop” Betty Boop, many view her as simple cartoon character but there is much more that goes into her other than what she is known for. She was created by the Disney Animator, Grim Natwick, and during this time there were no female animated characters (Callan) so Betty Boop became the first one during the 1930’s. Natwick mentioned that the character he had created was modeled after the singer and Paramount Pictures actor, Helen Kane from the assertive attitude to the curvaceous body shape.
The Gradual Evolution This sassy outgoing cartoon started off as a dog like human with long ears and unappealing in the cartoon series of "Dizzy Dishes" but this was the opportunity to show off her personality as well as her characterization of her musical talents. As the time went on she slowly transformed into a more woman like figure by turning the dog ears into earrings and made her curves stand out more. In a few years she was known for being a “sexy, glamorous flapper who was far more adult oriented than the innocent cartoon” (Solomon). Her new phase was seen by many as a bit risqué it could even be said that she was Marilyn Monroe’s inspiration to raise her skirt because she had the technique mastered long before Monroe’s time . Despite the controversy about her sensuality she had a style of her own that captured her audience because she seemed to be able to do it all from drama to music to acting. What seemed like her biggest strength was that many saw her as a big symbolic character of the Jazz Age. Most of her shows included Jazz music as well as her doing the swing or where she is the lead jazz singer or sometimes she is considered one of the icons that influenced the flapper girls.
Impact on the women of the era
Before the eras of the 1920’s women were usually portrayed as a symbol of submission and obedience to the paternal figure of the family because he was seen as the head of the family. As America progressed into the 1930’s they began to fight for their rights such as voting and more outgoing promising jobs, but they were still to the point where they were not completely accepted in their entirety from many people but especially men. That is why, Dizzy Dishes, was such an outbreak, because also in many of her shows she demonstrated proto- feminist beliefs and qualities, because she tried to excel in an actual career, but at the same time fighting to evade negative male characters trying to bring her down. The women of the time took this as an inspiration almost to stand up for what they deserve. When Betty Boop appeared on television she was beyond assertive and many described her as a liberal example to the women and the show would compel them to act and defy others because of what she believes in, exactly like Betty did in her shows.
Factors that led to the end of Betty’s career
In 1934, Betty Boop became quite the controversy due to her blunt sensuality that was portrayed in the show. He was very criticized for Betty becoming this type of cartoon character, most even saw it as immoral, because in that time period it was unusual for women to dress provocatively much less bluntly show their assets. Through all the criticism, during this period of time it was when the shows she starred in had the most ratings. But there were those who were concerned with the effect the show would have had on middle aged women as well as teenage girls that came across the show, which were the Hollywood censors. The National Legion of Decency code was imposed to limit the sexuality
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