Another dazzling suburban phantasm
from writer-director Todd Haynes, Dottie Gets Spanked (made post-Poison and
pre-Safe) is a stylized, bittersweet nod to his childhood fascination with I
Love Lucy. Deep in the heart of pre-hippie 1960s America, young
artistically-inclined Steven Gale is obsessed with Dottie Frank, wacky star of
the eponymous hit sitcom The Dottie Show. While his mother gently encourages
the boy's fixation, his father grows increasingly frustrated by his son's
apparently "sissified" interests.
In the very first scene in “Dottie Gets Spanked” Stevie (Evan
Bonifant) is sitting watching Dottie on TV while also drawing her picture.
The neighbour (Harriet Sansom Harris) come into the room. She says,
"Who's that, Stevie?" referring to Dottie. She then contrasts
quiet, introvert Stevie with her own noisy, hyperactive daughter, Sharon.
She then says, "I've never known a child get so many
spankings," and indicates that Sharon was spanked by her father the
previous evening. This sparks Stevie's interest in the subject.
In the following scene, Sharon (Ashley Chapman and
Stevie are waiting for the school bus. As Sharon climbs aboard Stevie's
gaze focuses on her bottom demonstrating his new obsession.
These early spanking reference scenes are also
significant in the later famous dream sequence. During it we again see
Sharon at the bus stop with a voice over reiteration of "I've never seen a
child get so many spankings, and "Who's that, Stevie?" this time
referring to Sharon who is bent over. This clearly indicates that it is
Sharon (Ashley Chapman) who is on the receiving end of the bare bottom
spanking. (referring to http://villafiorita.blogspot.com/2010/07/dottie-gets-spanked-1993-mf-otk-s-p-and.html)
Thus describes Semma4 the threat, that I formerly
overlooked, and stresses its significance.
All credit goes to him.
Talker: Harriet
Sansom-Harris
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