Courtesan Glamour: Watching Moulin Rouge! in 7th grade

Nicole Kidman, as Satine, a light-skinned woman with loose ginger hair, is gazing at the camera with a look of dangerous seduction on her face.

|Olga Tchepikova-Treon| I saw the “Lady Marmalade” music video before I saw Moulin Rouge!. Performed by a hot quintet of pop-singing ladies (Missy Elliot, who I admired for smooth dance moves; Christina Aguilera, entering her exciting dirty grrrl phase; P!nk, a tomboy role model;… Continue reading

A Subtle Kind of Jackhammer: Moulin Rouge!, Pop Art, and the Cinema of Baz Luhrmann

A man and woman smile at each other under a red umbrella in a rainstorm.

| Dan McCabe | Baz Luhrmann isn’t your typical “great” filmmaker. His style hits audiences like a jackhammer. Moulin Rouge! (2001) is technically a period drama, but you could be forgiven for thinking the period was the 1990s and not the 1890s… Continue reading