Director:
Sally Aitken
Hosts:
Aubrey Arnason
Karen Holness
Angela Case
The Blonde Mystique examines the way our post-modern society is affected by this phenomenon—that blonde is much more than a hair color. Using a variety of sources from historical figures, to modern day professors and modern women, The Blonde Mystique begins to demystify the perks and plight of the fair-haired.
We are presented with three hosts, who are all actors in Vancouver, British Columbia. Two are natural brunettes, and one is a natural blonde (who, of course, highlights her hair). As they begin to unearth the history of blonde hair they become increasingly aware of the social dynamics in their lives, and discover how great an effect hair color has on how they are perceived as human beings. Some of the results and statistics uncovered are quite shocking. We are aware of the inequalities between men and women in the workplace, but the subject of blonde versus brunettes is generally untapped, until now.
The film is documentary meets reality TV when the women set out on a mission to put blonde stereotypes to the test. They perform various social experiments to see whether or not people respond differently to the blonde or the brunettes. The results (watch on Sunday night to find out) are surprising. While this experiment is quite revealing, they don’t stop there. The women then change hair colors to experience the same events from the opposite perspective.
When asked about the experience of going from being a natural blonde to a brunette, Aubrey Arnason, one of the film’s stars replied: “I had not given it much thought because it is my natural hair color but I do value having blonde hair more now that I went without, I guess you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. This sounds silly for a hair color, but it is kind of true for me. I didn’t realize how much it affects the people around me, and their behavior.”
The Blonde Mystique puts age-old stereotypes to the test: Do blondes get more attention? Are they less intelligent than brunettes? Do they really have more fun? The most interesting opinions provided in the film are those of the contributing professors, who have studied and written about the topic in great depth. While they are simply filmed as talking heads, what they have to say is poignant enough to have carried the entire piece on it’s own. The actors are very personable and relatable, but they ultimately make this piece fairly pedestrian, compared to the depth the topic offers. The film aims to be quite visually interesting, but ends up spending more time than it needs to on novelty that doesn’t add very much. The experts, the history and the statistics speak volumes on their own. The topic is fascinating from an anthropologic standpoint. As we inhabit a society where over 50% of women color their hair, The Blonde Mystique is definitely socially relevant.
The Blonde Mystique airs tonight at 7:00 pm ET/PT on W Network.
