Saturday, January 19, 2019

Pretty Dostoevsky

The other day in class we talked about the similarities between Pretty Woman and Notes from the Underground. The main similarity we discussed was the scene from the movie where after she is basically shunned from the high end boutique and later comes in with her new look to show off and be noticed and when the underground man tried to use a better and larger appearance to kind of validate his self worth to his peers. There in general are many similarities as well as differences between the movie and the book, the main one being the use and meanings of prostitutes. One difference between the two is the way prostitutes are portrayed in each. In Pretty woman, the movies main goal is to essentially humanize prostitues whereas in Notes from the Underground prostitutes are de-humanized. The underground man analyzes Liza and all she and her work stand for.  Tells her how she should be living will instead, and the ways she still has time to fix her mistakes. I personally don’t agree with the concept of prostitution, however it’s her body and her life and she should do as she pleases with it. What do you guys think of what UM says about her and her lifestyle?

2 comments:

Farah Wells said...

Although I haven’t seen Pretty Woman (I know: what a disgrace!) I know enough to understand the prostitution aspect of the storyline and how it relates to Underground Man. I watch Law and Order SVU all the time, a show revolving around sex crimes, so this confrontation between the Underground Man and Liza could very well be apart of an episode. I think if anything this conversation brings out the morals of the reader and I don’t believe you can be “against prostitution” rather just an opinion out of concern for a woman’s safety. I do agree Underground man definetely de-humanizes her though.

Unknown said...

I haven’t seen pretty woman either, but from your description I can see the connection. I don’t agree with the idea of prostitution, but I don’t think someone should shame another person to the point of a breakdown. If she chooses to live that way, that’s her choice. In fact, she might have been forced in to prostitution which would only make her feel worse.