THE ALLURE OF LARGER THAN LIFE WOMEN

By OMOSEYE BOLAJI

I marvelled at the young lady’s prowess as she unpacked, unfurled the paraphernalia of her filming equipment with punctilious dexterity. And she was strong to boot! I wondered whether I myself could carry all the equipment she easily handled? Probably not. Yet although I teased her about being a “tomboy” et al, she was – is – an attractive young lady.

This was Winnie, the producer of a film documentary being made about me. I had flinched at what seemed to be an interminable list of questions I was supposed to answer. This was enough to drive anybody crazy! But as time unraveled, her utter professionalism made a great impression on me; even though I did refuse to answer a few of her questions.

Relaxed temporarily, the cameras away, whilst having lunch, she smiled and asked again: “Oh those women! Those interesting women who dot your books! (my fiction) She shook her head. “Oh my – just tell me – in real life, you don’t strike me as someone who likes women, but in your books! Oh! – “ she laughed again. “Don’t you want to say something about this; off the record perhaps?”

I grinned. There was a lot to say; but it was something of a pity that I thought she was too young to appreciate what would have been my real answer. I had old international movies in particular in mind – which was supposed to be her specialty, but actually was not. She was just too young to fully understand or have gone through what I had in mind; though she was brilliant in her field.

I was thinking of how women, interesting, intriguing captivating women have made the world sparkle with their larger than life essence in world history, books and movies. Just think of Cleopatra and Helen of Troy. They remain legends till date. Imagine a woman launching countless ships just because of her persona?

In the world of books, women add so much allure to works, whether classical or “popular” (including thrillers. Even Shakespeare knew this hence the gallery of intriguing women in his works, including the tragic heroines like Desdemona (Othello) or Ophelia (Hamlet). There are so many other classical works, like Madam Bovary, Batsheba Everdene (Thomas Hardy), Lolita (Naborov)

Even in African books, certain works became famous or notorious – probably both – because of the haunting nature of the female protagonists there. Like the Concubine (by Elechi Amadi) which featured a charming woman – Ihuoma - who seemed to destroy all her male suitors; like Ekwensi’s Jagua Nana which focuses on a ruthless yet irresistible “woman of easy virtue”

But these effects have been encapsulated in diverse movies over the decades. In the “good old days” when the big screen was god all over the world certain ladies (female actresses) found themselves being worshipped by millions as sex symbols and even in their old age now (or deceased) they are still highly venerated.

Just imagine names like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, and Raquel Welch. They have gone down in history. They transcended the image itself and became household names during their eras in virtually every country in the world. They were more than iconic, to coin a cliché. Millions descended on cinemas, the big screen just to watch them.

Many pundits have pointed out that the “James Bond girls” over the decades have often been cinematographic triumphs. From the very first Bond, Doctor No, where Ursula Andress made a spectacular entry onto the screen! Remarkably, the producers of the movies have kept up the tradition, knowing how captivating special women can be so enchanting to countless millions watching the movies.

Hence Andress was followed Daniella Bianchi who starred brilliantly in From Russia with Love; we have had other stunning beauties like Barbara Bach (The spy who loved me) Jane Seymour (Live and let Die), Tanya Boyd (A View to a kill), Halle Berry (Die another Day) to mention just a few. Without these ladies, the films could not have been so extraordinarily successful.

Admittedly, nowadays the big screen is not as magical as it was decades ago, especially in Africa, but the sex symbols still abound in our modern times. Julia Roberts, Aishwarya Rai, Angelina Jolie, etc still have countless millions drooling over them and their characters on the screen. To undermine the impact or effect of intriguing women whether in history, books or movies would be incredibly fatuous.

But of course I did not go into such details with Winnie the film producer. I just said simply: “You know, women add a lot of spice and allure to books, etc. Without them so many books – just like movies -will be boring. My readers love enchanting women and I try to deliver the goods for them…one way or the other!”

PHOTOS: Ursula Andress (Top), Brigitte Bardot (Middle) and Aishwarya Rai (Below)