Whoah ... that's like ... I mean ... actual nipples in the line up offering their wares? ... not totally sure I'm feeling comfortable reading this to a three-year old...
Previous on LoS: http://lawsofsilence.blogspot.com/2013/08/childrens-shows-are-exploding-with.html
That is a spectacular rack.
ReplyDeleteStrawberry Shortcake in France is Charlotte au Fraises. "Fraise" being strawberry. So I thought, weird, why'd they call her Charlotte and not Lucille or Jeanne or any number of names? I later learned that a charlotte au fraise is a strawberry shortcake. Go figure. It could be a charlotte au pommes, or poires, etc.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_%28cake%29
Actually, I'm wrong, a charlotte is not a shortcake. They just used the logical next best thing because Shortcake au Fraises would've been meaningless to most French. So they used the next best thing and very logically, at that. Bravo, les traducteurs!
ReplyDeleteOranges are also used as symbols of prostitution. Seen the movie "Milk"? It shows Anita Bryant, former Florida Citrus spokesperson giving a basket of oranges to then Guv Reagan. Don't know if the director was making a point there, but it seemed apropos given Bryant's story
ReplyDeleteAhh, I Googled Bryant and see she was the spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission....her anti-gay activism led to a boycott of Florida orange juice., It was quite the hubbub. I gotta imagine that's the extent of the reference. I think its prostitution symbolism is a bit too obscure, no? I could be wrong though!
DeleteQuite possibly. "Milk" uses the actual footage of this transaction, and I remember Reagan looking a little embarrassed or sheepish when accepting. Just seemed really bizarre and I figured something else was probably going on with that situation. Could have been completely innocent, but I never assume that when neo fascists are involved.
DeleteCould very well be a veiled dig, like bryant was prostituting herself to the citrus industry? I'd like to see that scene again, now. BTW, can you point me in the direction of an article discussing the orange/prostitution link. Gid found something, but my Googglings have so far been....fruitless. Wa-wa-wa-waaah. Just curious, Burger Boy, how did you come across the blog....are you a regular follower?
DeleteYeah man, I'm a periodic lurker. I found the blog through one of the owners' posts a while back on another blog somewhere.
DeleteFruitless...lol. Don't have a source ready for the orange/prostitution symbolism. It's one of those things I've picked up and stored in the noggin somehow. I read various blogs and books that discuss these things and eventually they all bleed together. If I remember it somehow I'll post it.
Cool, thanks BB. We haven't been very active lately, but I just did a post and another is in the works. Glad to know it's being read and that you've taken the time to comment. We appreciate it.
DeleteI saw that movies, but it was long ago and I don't recall that scene. Sounds like a funny image: FL give the CA guv ... oranges? How about giving the fellow something that doesn't grow in his backyard next time!
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of the connection between oranges and prostitution; red/scarlet come more readily to my mind, but a quick googling shows that in London, prostitutes often set themselves under cover of selling oranges on the street.
Thanks for the comment!
Some of our Red Riding Hood posts mention that red cloaks were often worn by prostitutes, in France I believe.
ReplyDeleteOranges, or more specifically the peels, are used by prostitutes as a skin-rub to protect against bacteria, parasites and other unseemlies. It also makes them smell like poison.
ReplyDeleteAbout them oranges and the prostitute connection that Burger Boy brought up:
ReplyDelete* Check out the Wikipedia article about Manet's painting, "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère", which states: "By including a dish of oranges in the foreground, Manet identifies the barmaid as a prostitute, according to art historian Larry L. Ligo, who says that Manet habitually associated oranges with prostitution in his paintings." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bar_at_the_Folies-Berg%C3%A8re)
* And also check out this statement from, er, answers.com: "Many women's occupations—linen mender, washerwoman, and street vendor—served as a "cover" for prostitution, and some occupations, like orange sellers in London theaters or bouquet vendors in Paris, were practically synonymous with prostitution." (http://www.answers.com/topic/prostitution)
That must have made life difficult for non-prostitute street vendors! Manet's use must conform to widespread practice of the day....a Parisian artist would be in the position to know. My next question would be: When did this start? Also, is there a specific reason why it was the orange?
DeleteBack in the mid-90's there were these little stores in Alphabet City (NYC) where you would walk to the back and grab an OJ, which was an indication to the storekeeper that you wanted to score. So if one said he was going down to get some OJ, it was like going to buy coke or heroin or whatever. I doubt this still exists.
Not the same thing, but one the idea of a cover business for illicit activity must be as old as illicit activity itself....