CMU School of Drama


Monday, March 06, 2023

Netflix, BBC Deny That They're Banning Corsets, But They Could at Least Use Ones That Fit

jezebel.com: There is a trope in a lot of period dramas wherein an aristocratic woman turns her back to her maid or someone who otherwise hates her, who then bends her over a chaise lounge or powder table to aggressively tighten her corset—clearly taking out some frustrations with each lace up. In Titanic, Rose’s breath hastens as her mother laces her up and forbids her from seeing Jack ever again.

3 comments:

Jasper said...

The debate surrounding corsets has grown significantly recently. Many people claim that corsets themselves are the problem. People say that corsets cause health problems, cause pain, and can even cause permanent damage to actors and therefore, they should be banned entirely. However, many people who are in the theater industry, and especially those who work specifically in costuming, very much disagree. I have heard from many people through articles, blogs and social media posts, and many of my own friends ab0ut how many costumers feel about corsets. Many people say that it’s not corsets that are the problem, it’s how they're being built and how they’re being worn. A lot of people in the industry are angry because they feel their expertise is not being considered in this debate. People who may not know what they are talking about as much are simply going after corsets without stopping to ask the people whose job it is to know what’s going on, what’s going on.

Kendall Swartz said...

I personally have been wearing corsets since a young age. If they are made right, they won’t hurt you. I feel like people don’t understand that when corsets were first made, they might’ve not been the most comfortable thing. But now there’s so much technology and so many people who are studying just on how to make period wear. That a costume designer is not going to put you in something that is going to harm you. Especially something like a corset that might’ve had history of doing that. They talked about in this article about how it’s like a piercing and it might hurt at first. I really don’t think that’s true again I think if it’s made right, it will not hurt you. I think the reason that these shows they talked about it in the articles of why they are hurting is because they’re acting like they were in the time period of when the course it’s for made.

Sydney de Haan said...

This conversation surrounding course tree in film is one that it’s brought up a lot especially I am somebody who specializes in my course of building and has an extensive knowledge of the history of coarse tree and the trends on different decades. I am also somebody whom has worn course it’s often enough to understand how to function in one. I was recently interviewed by a high school student who was working on a project in their film class where they had to debunk a trope. She ended up choosing the course it taste, tight, lacing, trope that we all know, and I sat down and was able to give her a full explanation of why this trope has occurred. In the late 1800s, when men finally started looking at women’s bodies, many doctors and scientists became fascinated with women who wore corsets, which was most common at the time they would look at what the woman’s body looks like before the corset, and then, after the corset was on And decided that organs must be shifted around in order for a woman to achieve that shape. Now this isn’t entirely false, but it’s nowhere near true. Any time you’re wearing a tight fitted garment your body will be restricted to some extent, but when it comes to coarse tree, the body was restricted for the specific Design of bust support.