9. The American Venus
The American Venus was a silent film about The Miss America Pageant. In the movie, they talk about how the contest is basically looking for ladies who are perfect specimens that look like the statue of Venus, with her hourglass curves. The movie was meant to be a comedy, but it was also a lot of social commentary.
Many of the actresses in the movie were totally naked, as well. On the Miss American website, they state this movie as being controversial, and they saw it as a sort of hit-piece on the contest. The movie claims that Paramount Pictures fixed the competition, and it mocked the contest for defining beauty in such a shallow way, saying, “The modern Venus wears the latest fashions from Paris…” The movie was very self-aware, though- both mocking the fact that women were exploited for their sex appeal, and yet doing it themselves by using 75 different models in the film.
