Camille Paglia: White middle-class women identify with Jennifer Aniston's humiliation

[moomies]

More from Camille Paglia: White Middle-Class Women Identify with Aniston's Humiliation

A year and a half after Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie, Brangelina is finally opening up about their relationship.

Pitt, 43, and Jolie, 31, hit the red carpet together for the first time on December 11 at The Good Shepherd premiere, Jolie gives an in-depth interview in the new Vogue about how she and Pitt fell in love. And at a press event on Friday, she gushed to reporters, “I love working abroad, and I love being with my kids and I love being with Brad.”

Why are we still so fascinated by what happened between Jolie, Pitt and Aniston? In part II of Us Weekly's interview with noted academic Camille Paglia, the feminist author analyzes the love triangle and explains to Us why everyone is still interested.

On history repeating itself:
"I think the whole thing between Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie is a replay of the iconomical face-off of my adolescence between Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor. You have the good girl who wants to stand by her man and then loses her man (in that case Eddie Fisher) to the brunette vixen, the peripatetic world traveler with her sorceress allure and her borderline molten sexuality."

On playing the good girl:
"Jennifer Aniston has been reticent through it all. She hasn't had a fit or said anything rude in public to demean her rival. She is basically playing the good girl. She has kind of a quirky, neurotic urban humor about her -- a kind of whimsy."

On how it’s affecting Jen:
"You always feel like she is telegraphing deep inner pain that she's not always able to express -- or doesn't want to express -- because she is a prisoner of her decorous persona. There is the pressure and she is almost emotionally constipated in a way, and that has affected her performances on film."

On why we care:
"I think a lot of white, middle-class American young women identify with Jennifer Aniston's public humiliation, her romantic martyrdom. She has been abandoned by the highly attractive, boyish young man (who now is not so young) who is checkless, looks angelic but is in fact a traitor."

source:
http://www.usmagazine.com/angelina_j...ogue_interview

[olivia720]

I agree with her take on Jen. "Emotionally constipated". Good call.

[ediebrooks]

Good analysis. Brad Pitt is a bland, boring, traitor. Why do I have the feeling that behind that pretty face...not much is going on?

[aabbcc]

Why do I have the feeling that behind that pretty face...not much is going on?

Because there isn't?

[Cate]

I like Camille Paglia.
Emotionally constipated.

[pacific breeze]

I like Paglia but she's wrong about this. I don't know anybody white, middle-class, or otherwise who identifies with Jennifer Aniston. Most people have more important things to do with their time.

[Biatch]

^^^ Me, too, PacificBreeze....I'm too busy with my own stuff to hyper-bore into others' lives.
It's fun to talk about celebs but JEEZ!Those 2 have split 2 years and a half ago and people still talk like it happened yesterday.
What about Jen and Vince split?
Anyway, constipated or not, Camille is putting her 2 cents so she can milk this more...Throw her a bone, someone

[NickiRocks]

Team Aniston right here!!!

I can't wait for the day for her to just go off on that homewrecker.

[Lobelia]

I'm white & middle-class, and while I wouldn't say that I identify with Jennifer's situation, I do feel sorry for her. I feel badly for almost any woman whose husband leaves her & goes directly to another woman, but in this case, it's as if Jennifer got kicked in the face (chin?) repeatedly because the other woman was prettier, more interesting and arguably more successful in their shared field. The cherry on top is that it was done in full view of the world. I just can't help but wince for her.

I don't know if Camille would call that 'identifying' or not. I guess I don't really care. Camille certainly has had some interesting and provocative things to say, but I wouldn't peg her as an icon of accuracy.

[MrsDark]

Originally Posted by pacific breeze

I like Paglia but she's wrong about this. I don't know anybody white, middle-class, or otherwise who identifies with Jennier Aniston. Most people have more important things to do with their time.

I guess I live where folks have a lot of time to kill then. Because every white middle class chick I know....and several who fall on the outskirts of this category thought Friends was the end-all be-all. I tried, but for the life of me can't see how anyone could have considered this "must see TV". I could totally take it or leave it....blander than tapioca.

[SuperHeroTights]

I do feel bad about what happened to Jen but for some reason I just can't stand her and find her rather cold...

[PrettyGirl]

What does being 'white' have to do with this? So now they're making this into a race issue? This article is ridiculous. Marriages fail every day and when two people so clearly no longer want the same things (like children or career plans) then it's time to leave. I can't believe that there are some women who feel that when a man marries them, that that's it, he's a prisoner, all his options are closed and that he is now their slave NO MATTER WHAT. Marriage shouldn't be a ball and chain around your husband's neck. Whenever I marry, I want that man to be with me not because a contract binds us, but because the passion is still there and he adores me. If he can no longer look at me that way or he can't keep his vows any longer, then do me a favor and let me go. Don't stay with me out of pity or obligation.

[MrsDark]

Okay, so not PC. But...Do you know any black, etc. chicks who were glued to Friends every week? I didn't and don't.

[PrettyGirl]

^hahaha!! You may have a point there! And maybe that's why there are some die-hard Maniston fans...because of her 'Rachel' character. I saw that 'Friends' sitcom maybe 3 times at the most and I thought it was really stupid. I was never a fan and never understood the appeal.

[moomies]

well, marriage is about compromise as I've already said elsewhere, it's give and take. Neither partner can be selfish to only want one thing for him/herself.