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20 June 2012

Pin(terest)heads

How many times must one repeat a fallacy for it to become reality? I ask myself this question whenever I browse the supposed "Marlene Dietrich" photos on Flickr, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Then, I remember a tune from Sesame Street: 
One of these things is not like the others.
One of these things doesn't belong.
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
Before I finish my song?
Even if we put that song on a loop, I bet some folks on Pinterest would still be stumped. How about you? Are you as sharp as a tack or a Pinterest user? Tell me which of the below photos tagged "Marlene Dietrich" just don't belong!



















Source: tumblr.com via Taylor on Pinterest


Source: google.com via Rex on Pinterest




Source: via Alphatrial on Pinterest






Source: art.com via Tanisha on Pinterest


Source: myspace.com via Vaast on Pinterest




6 comments:

  1. Thats Garbo
    Thats a Clark Handford doll
    Thats Carole Lombard
    no idea on the last one

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    1. I don't know who that is either. Anyone blowing smoke thinks they're Marlene Dietrich! Even Marlene Dietrich isn't always entirely Marlene Dietrich, like in that mercilessly retouched Destry Rides Again photo.

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  2. I believe the last smoking lady is Marie Laforêt "la Fille aux yeux d'or", a French actress and singer (1939).
    She gave her own version of "Lily Marlene" (1973). Maybe it's the explanation of the confusion.

    If you want to hear the song :

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=54kb0YL50kI
    In the last picture, Marlene is reading "L'âme enchantée" written by the French Romain Rolland.

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    Replies
    1. I looked up the watermarked name "Andrei Osman," confirming my guess that the photographed person is very famous and important, more so than Dietrich or Laforêt. In Eastern Europe, it's so rare to see girls who dye their hair black and smoke cigarettes.

      Anyway, I've never before heard Laforêt's rendition of "Lily Marlene." What a charming musical arrangement!

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  3. Carole apologizes to Marlene; this was one time where she certainly wasn't trying to pattern herself after Dietrich.

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    Replies
    1. In this Cecil Beaton photo, Marlene could have benefited from Carole's lighting. She looks embalmed.

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