Actor and model Brooke Shields is often regarded as one of the earliest child models to make it huge in the industry due to her attractive appearance that fit America's problematic view on standards amongst women. In the Hulu original two parter documentary known as Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, the project looks over Shields' early career from childhood in modeling and acting all the way up to the present day where she has long since moved on to better things. When looking at the documentary from the perspective of Shields and many others, it's clear just how traumatic her life was beyond what little the public knew.
As the documentary respectfully points out, there was sadly a time when sexualizing underrage women was permitted in the fields of modeling and film. Many examples include Shields' performances in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, Randal Kleiser's Blue Lagoon and Franco Zaffirelli's Endless Love, an infamous series of Calvin Klein commercials and an endless amount of borderline predatory covers displayed in magazines. Although there are many other interviewees in the documentary with as much insight on these outdated views of women, let alone teenagers, it's clear the series is shown through Brooke' life of being forced into an industry by bigwigs and her own mother, Teri Shields. On top of using her daughter as a means of being a breadwinner through fame and fortune, Teri was a chronic alcoholic whose emotional disconnect and personal problems would end up being her own downfall. In many ways, Pretty Baby is a critique on how society views women through the male gaze and how certain women function as a result of misogynistic expectations.
That's not to say Brooke's entire life was one big heartbreak after another, as certain significant events such as her attending college and going through marriage and the troubles of pregnancy proved how strong and smart she really was. Considering that the general public might not have considered who Shields wanted to be behind her facade of a career, accomplishments like getting away from abusive executives and going in depth on her postpartum depression showed how influential she really was to people who knew nothing about the horrors of the industry in the first place. One must be reminded that this is the same woman who called out Tom Cruise on his willful lack of knowledge towards what women might go through during pregnancy. In a day and age where people are speaking out a lot more about times they've dealt with identity crises, psychological breakdowns and severe depression, this documentary speaks volumes on how whether you're a famous celebrity or the average Joe, human beings can be relatable in similar ways as far as what we all go through.
So whether or not you are familiar with Brooke Shields as both an entertainer and in real life, Pretty Baby is a heavily insightful look into her scary career and what many women go through in the type of field she was forced into. Unless the subject matter is too much for you to handle, the series is absolutely worth the watch to gain a whole new outlook on the life of a starlet who was thrusted into a life she might not have wanted from the start and the aftermath she faced. In more ways than one, you might not be able to look at any other model / actor's life the same way ever again.
As the documentary respectfully points out, there was sadly a time when sexualizing underrage women was permitted in the fields of modeling and film. Many examples include Shields' performances in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, Randal Kleiser's Blue Lagoon and Franco Zaffirelli's Endless Love, an infamous series of Calvin Klein commercials and an endless amount of borderline predatory covers displayed in magazines. Although there are many other interviewees in the documentary with as much insight on these outdated views of women, let alone teenagers, it's clear the series is shown through Brooke' life of being forced into an industry by bigwigs and her own mother, Teri Shields. On top of using her daughter as a means of being a breadwinner through fame and fortune, Teri was a chronic alcoholic whose emotional disconnect and personal problems would end up being her own downfall. In many ways, Pretty Baby is a critique on how society views women through the male gaze and how certain women function as a result of misogynistic expectations.
That's not to say Brooke's entire life was one big heartbreak after another, as certain significant events such as her attending college and going through marriage and the troubles of pregnancy proved how strong and smart she really was. Considering that the general public might not have considered who Shields wanted to be behind her facade of a career, accomplishments like getting away from abusive executives and going in depth on her postpartum depression showed how influential she really was to people who knew nothing about the horrors of the industry in the first place. One must be reminded that this is the same woman who called out Tom Cruise on his willful lack of knowledge towards what women might go through during pregnancy. In a day and age where people are speaking out a lot more about times they've dealt with identity crises, psychological breakdowns and severe depression, this documentary speaks volumes on how whether you're a famous celebrity or the average Joe, human beings can be relatable in similar ways as far as what we all go through.
So whether or not you are familiar with Brooke Shields as both an entertainer and in real life, Pretty Baby is a heavily insightful look into her scary career and what many women go through in the type of field she was forced into. Unless the subject matter is too much for you to handle, the series is absolutely worth the watch to gain a whole new outlook on the life of a starlet who was thrusted into a life she might not have wanted from the start and the aftermath she faced. In more ways than one, you might not be able to look at any other model / actor's life the same way ever again.