No Film School: Some of my favorite kinds of movies to watch are ones that clue me in on some lost historical stories, and one of them that I watched recently and loved was the new filmSix Triple Eight.
Written and directed by Tyler Perry, it's the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-black and all-female battalion, in World War II.
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I've always found the design process of period pieces very elaborate, detailed, layered, and most of all crucial. Designers need to go deep in depth about every single context revolving the story. I feel like this level of research can also be especially difficult if it is for a story that has been looked over or forgotten about. In designing six triple eight, it must have been particularly difficult for priya maharaj to design makeup looks for characters that were forgotten from history. At the time there was not much makeup or coverage of makeup that was made particularly for darker skin tones. There was probably even less coverage of makeup worn in the military for that matter as well. I think it's really cool and clever how priya maharaj decided to look into the character’s occupations and hometowns. This not only says alot about character’s personality but also the surrounding forces and given circumstances. Its also really clever to look into trends and identify which characters would be more fashion forward and which ones wouldn't.
Reading this article, I am amazed with how much research goes into productions. And this is true of every department. Even with makeup. Instead of just slathering some modern products on the faces of the actors, creating these modern, gorgeous, glammed-up looks that are completely unrealistic for the time period, I am very appreciative of the fact that Priya Maharaj did all of this intense research to inform her techniques. She kept the makeup looking natural to the time period, even down to what shades would be available abroad during wartime, and the regulations that certain armies had in place for looks. She even went down to what products the women would tend to use based on where in the US the character was from and her social and economic standing. Additionally, I love little fun facts, my mind was very enlightened by the fact that Revlon actually had a “patriotic red” lipstick during the time of the war as a show of solitary and patriotism.
I’ve never thought about the research a makeup designer would have to do for a period piece! It makes sense that Priya Maharaj, the designer of The Six Triple Eight, would have such a length process for such a unique piece. The movie, which premiered on Netflix last December, is about World War II's only Women's Army Corps unit of color. Not only did Maharaj do extensive research into 1940s makeup trends, but also how those trends would change around the country. The character of Bernice Baker, who worked as a switchboard operator in New York, had a completely different aesthetic than Johnnie Mae, who came from a farm in the country. Although the differences are never explicitly addressed, makeup is a powerful medium to show how the women of the 6888th Battalion came from a wide range of backgrounds. Maharaj was especially excited about referencing “Patriotic Red”, a shade of lipstick developed by Revlon during the war to show solidarity with the war efforts. Small nods and hat-tips like these are some of the coolest aspects of production design, even if they go unnoticed by most.
I never really thought about how in depth makeup changed over time. I think more obvious design areas that will have to change with the time period are costumes and scenery but I didn’t realize just how much research would have to go into designing time period makeup as well. The nails of a person even too, I don’t know if I ever would’ve thought of that as what the nails of a character look like as a responsibility of the makeup or costume designer. It's such an interesting way of being able to subtly tell what the financial status of a person could be, or what age and stage a character is in life. I always really enjoy learning about the design process of other designers just to get a better understanding of the logic they made with their choices and how much thought was put into the designs such as for this movie.
I learned about the six triple eight in one of my high school history classes, so I was very excited to hear about this show coming out! Stories that highlight how minorities were involved in WWII both on and off the battlefield are so important, because they often get overlooked when it comes to constructing our general perceptions of the war. It is so cool getting to hear from the makeup designer just how thoroughly she researched wartime conditions in order to make character makeup choices informed by their environment. I can imagine the scarcity of eyeliner and mascara due to the wartime rationing of petroleum would have forced her to break out of the standard makeup routine mold in interesting ways. She mentions having to do makeup for historical figures like the Roosevelts, which I think is super cool, but it also sounds really stressful. I’m sure the casting was done intentionally to help out in terms of emulating their looks, but trying to do makeup on someone to look like someone else can be SO tricky to get right. Seeing her briefly talk about exaggerating their features with makeup, or in the case of Eleanor Roosevelt- acquiring dentures for her to mimic the real Eleanor’s teeth- really puts into perspective just how much attention to detail hair and makeup design requires.
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