xtremecatlady asked you: Who do you think are our Fred and Ginger of today? Or who do you think will grow into such a role?
To be quite honest with you, my dear love, I don't think anyone like Fred and Ginger exist anymore because the nature of performance, acting, and what the audiences like to watch are entirely different now.
What makes Fred and Ginger great for me is the constant and visible affection and attraction, the tremendous sexual and creative energy. They're obviously having tons of fun when they dance and it's a moment out of time for both them and the audience. I could see myself getting addicted to something like that if I had it in my life. For a pair of perfectionists that's pretty much a guarantee.
Our world, and our perception of it, is much more real now. We're less inclined to want to see musical extravaganzas or light fairy tales or fantasies. Audiences have a much less refined palate these days, and really movies of that lighter nature are regarded as specialty pieces rather than something that most people would want to see. Movies are much less about escapism these days and much more documentary of our lives. Think about what the average Westerner knows about Bollywood movies; aside from folks who like foreign films, most people think Indian films are huge colorful musicals with lots of crazy tunes and dancing. And while there are movies like that, there are also much more mainstream films, too. The point is that Indian films are still about escapism. They still want you to get swept away by the romance and the expression of joy and love between a boy and a girl. They still abide by censorship codes and kissing is rare (and awkward, oh man). They talk about love and less about sex.
The idea of entertainment has changed.
We watch ourselves, we want to relate to the people on screen nowdays. We are much vainer, as a whole species, than we've ever been before. Now anyone can be a celebrity.
It takes really hard work and very clear heart and head to accomplish what Fred and Ginger did. There is no way that they could have worked together so effectively or efficiently without there having been a seriously solid relationship underneath the glamor. You are in constant contact, in all ways, and it takes a real adult to deal with that situation healthily. I feel like people are much less concerned these days with synchronicity, and that's why we're so fascinated when we find it.
So I've yet to see any sort of real partnership in terms of dancing or acting that rivals them in the present day. Perhaps Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay have something of that affection and utter familiarity with each other that comes with such constant contact (translation: I think Benson and Stabler should have been fucking because they were OBVIOUSLY IN LOVE), and maybe I see a little of it with Craig Ferguson and Kristen Bell (I am SO SAD that they will never have sex even though I love her with Dax Shepard, they're PERFECTION).
I think I'm just a fangirl, though.
