so i was procrastinating studying for my torts final the other day and was reading some back issue sg interviews. i came across tura satana.. who i had never heard of before. for those of you who are out of touch with american pop culture like me.... tura is an actress from back in the day, especially known for her rebel ass-kicker role in faster, pussycat! kill! kill! she was also a model and burlesque dancer (said to be one of the top 10 of the 20th cent!). her former loves are said to include elvis and frank sinatra.
anyways... the point is, it was really refreshing to find out about tura, a classic american pin-up girl and cult legend, because she is an asian-caucasion mix like me! don't get me wrong, i love marilyn monroe and the vargas girls... but there is something wonderful about actually seeing someone who has been kicking ass with no apologies since before technicolor.
a little about tura: she spent part of her early childhood in a u.s. internment camp during wwII because her family was part japanese. she was raped at 9. she decided not to be a victim and learned martial arts and got revenge on all those fucks. she lived in a bad part of town and had to fight gangs just to go to school because she was a "slant eye." finally one day she beat the whole gang up single handed. her career was short lived, however, because a former lover shot her in the stomach and later on she got into a major car accident. yet her work is still celebrated by many fans, and tura is very active in the comic convention scene for meet and greets, as well as keeping in touch via her website and myspace. apparently a movie about her life is in the works.
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speaking of legendary babes that broke the mold, i was so sad to hear about bettie page's passing earlier last thursday. nothing i can write here will ever be able to come close to fully paying tribute to this amazing woman. still, i want to say, bettie,i, and all of your fans across the world, love and respect you, and are heartbroken to know that you aren't with us anymore. i hope that i can be half as courageous and confident as you were one day. in an era more conservative than anything ive ever had to know, you unapologetically embrased the mystical duality of femininity and challenged mainstream conceptions of beauty and womanhood. you said fuck you to being cast as either the madonna or the whore, and you did it all with the warm, carefree smile of a girl, and the sensuality of a true woman. more so, its so bitter sweet that you've hid from the limelight all this time because you wanted us to remember you as you were. you gave us the gift of your fantasy, and that will live on forever. rest in peace, to the original suicidegirl, bettie page.
anyways... the point is, it was really refreshing to find out about tura, a classic american pin-up girl and cult legend, because she is an asian-caucasion mix like me! don't get me wrong, i love marilyn monroe and the vargas girls... but there is something wonderful about actually seeing someone who has been kicking ass with no apologies since before technicolor.
a little about tura: she spent part of her early childhood in a u.s. internment camp during wwII because her family was part japanese. she was raped at 9. she decided not to be a victim and learned martial arts and got revenge on all those fucks. she lived in a bad part of town and had to fight gangs just to go to school because she was a "slant eye." finally one day she beat the whole gang up single handed. her career was short lived, however, because a former lover shot her in the stomach and later on she got into a major car accident. yet her work is still celebrated by many fans, and tura is very active in the comic convention scene for meet and greets, as well as keeping in touch via her website and myspace. apparently a movie about her life is in the works.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
speaking of legendary babes that broke the mold, i was so sad to hear about bettie page's passing earlier last thursday. nothing i can write here will ever be able to come close to fully paying tribute to this amazing woman. still, i want to say, bettie,i, and all of your fans across the world, love and respect you, and are heartbroken to know that you aren't with us anymore. i hope that i can be half as courageous and confident as you were one day. in an era more conservative than anything ive ever had to know, you unapologetically embrased the mystical duality of femininity and challenged mainstream conceptions of beauty and womanhood. you said fuck you to being cast as either the madonna or the whore, and you did it all with the warm, carefree smile of a girl, and the sensuality of a true woman. more so, its so bitter sweet that you've hid from the limelight all this time because you wanted us to remember you as you were. you gave us the gift of your fantasy, and that will live on forever. rest in peace, to the original suicidegirl, bettie page.
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
theinsomniac:
I might just take you up on that offer! How are finals going?
heart_less:
Things will get better; in many ways the hardest part is when you come to realize this, but know that it will still take a very long time. It is like finally finding the correct direction in which to travel: you now know where you need to go, but becomes quite apparent just how far it is from where you in fact are. Just don't give up. 