The 1920’s were not the time to piss off a beautiful, wealthy, white female in Chicago (unless you had a death wish). As seen in The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry, the press encouraged women to murder by glorifying crimes to fabricate sales. Perry’s book focuses on the achievements of an inexperienced news reporter, who faces sexism in her field of work. What seems like an enticing story about murder turns into a monotonous history textbook.
During Maurine Watkins’ fight to reveal the truth of heinous crimes in Murder City, the stories of Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan get served up on a silver platter for the reader to digest. The story takes off following the life of Belva, a modern double divorcee, and Beulah, the prettiest woman in Chicago, both affiliated with …show more content…
“They say she’s the prettiest woman ever accused of murder in Chicago--young, slender, with bobbed auburn hair; wide set, appealing blue eyes; tip-tilted nose;translucent skin, faintly, very faintly rouged; an igneous smile; refined features, intelligent expression--an ‘awfully nice girl’ and more than usually pretty (101).” The Netflix Original Series, Orange is the New Black presents women’s wealth and alluring features alongside their crimes as well. In the show, inmate Judy King, a tax-evading T.V. famous cook, is given special treatment and a shortened sentence due to her well-known name. Including specialized food orders, and sleeping arrangements which are all provided by the prison warden himself. Fixed accommodations only come to the pretty white women with money in both cases (in text or on screen). Perry’s descriptions are so well-written it feels almost as if he himself is painting portraits of each murderess in the reader’s head with his
During Maurine Watkins’ fight to reveal the truth of heinous crimes in Murder City, the stories of Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan get served up on a silver platter for the reader to digest. The story takes off following the life of Belva, a modern double divorcee, and Beulah, the prettiest woman in Chicago, both affiliated with …show more content…
“They say she’s the prettiest woman ever accused of murder in Chicago--young, slender, with bobbed auburn hair; wide set, appealing blue eyes; tip-tilted nose;translucent skin, faintly, very faintly rouged; an igneous smile; refined features, intelligent expression--an ‘awfully nice girl’ and more than usually pretty (101).” The Netflix Original Series, Orange is the New Black presents women’s wealth and alluring features alongside their crimes as well. In the show, inmate Judy King, a tax-evading T.V. famous cook, is given special treatment and a shortened sentence due to her well-known name. Including specialized food orders, and sleeping arrangements which are all provided by the prison warden himself. Fixed accommodations only come to the pretty white women with money in both cases (in text or on screen). Perry’s descriptions are so well-written it feels almost as if he himself is painting portraits of each murderess in the reader’s head with his