Baby Doll by Tennessee Williams

"We got nothing to do but wait for tomorrow. And see if… we're remembered or forgotten". 
                     --Baby Doll (Carroll Baker), in the film, Baby Doll

Tennessee Williams' movie, "Baby Doll" first portrays the main character Baby Doll, as a child-like bimbo who is using her husband Archie Lee by not letting him have sex with her, even though they are married. Archie Lee made a promise to Baby Doll's father before the marriage that he would wait until she was 'ready'. Now deceased, Baby Doll's father can no longer protect her from her own promise that she wait until she's twenty-years-old before consummating her marriage, as her twentieth birthday draws near in a matter of days. 

It turns out, Baby Doll's husband is a lot older than she is, a much older man who 'wooed' her and promised her father to take care of her, by putting her in a famous mansion. The story takes place in the south, so the question of a much older man marrying a young girl is never questioned, just taken for granted. Famous mansion turns out to be a run-down barely-standing mess, next to a bankrupt cotton gin that's in danger of closing. 

The story is immediately rife with tension. A husband who lusts after his young wife yet never consummates the marriage. A young bride who obviously has no attraction to the old husband and constantly berates him, makes fun of him and complains all the time. Tennessee Williams sets up a good trap. Yet there's more as a stranger enters the plot, to seduce Baby Doll, and is in turn seduced by her. The foreign stranger, Silva, is a rival, not just in love but in business, as his cotton gin rivals that of Archie Lee--thus setting up more tension.

Baby Doll, the movie, is surprisingly funny and makes fun of all the character's foibles, which there are quite a few. Baby Doll (Carroll Baker) is seen as a spoiled brat with no education whose only asset in life is her good looks and girl-like charm with a voice that is oddly womanlike. Archie Lee (Karl Malden) is an old pro-white southern fool, like a cuckold, that the whole town makes fun of. Silva (Eli Wallach), is a Sicilian foreigner who has made a lot of money taking the cotton gin business away from other people yet suffers constant derision due to the fact that he's a 'stranger' (Italians were looked down upon and called a wop, a derisive term). The time takes place in the south when Franklin Delano Roosevelt is President and there is still segregation. (Baby Doll was filmed in 1956, not long after a fourteen-year-old black boy was lynched for whistling at a white woman). 

It's hard to describe who is in the wrong in this story, when all of them can be seen in a negative light. What is surprising is that in the end, there's no real conclusion yet the audience can tell that these characters have been changed--given a whole new outlook that may change their formerly selfish personalities.

Baby Doll is left at the end, to fend for herself, as the two men who were seen fighting for her are gone. She is left alone with her Aunt, who is in a way already gone, due to her deteriorating mind. It is at the end of this story that Baby Doll finally grows into womanhood and says something absolutely opposite of her former character, something very profound and surprisingly deep--one of those insightful views on life that Tennessee Williams manages to sneak into his character's speech. 

"We got nothing to do but wait for tomorrow. And see if… we're remembered or forgotten". --Baby Doll

Although I don't think Tennessee Williams was ever a feminist, those words echo the life of women in any age. It may be that in this story, Baby Doll is only desired because she is a child-like creature with no education but full of girlish seduction. The character, Baby Doll, says to Silva of all the times she's been with boys--that she finds them childish, as an excuse as to why she married a much older man. Would Baby Doll be desired as much if she had been an older woman? A woman with children, and possibly educated? The answer is most likely not. There would be no titillation, no forbidden desire, no trespass. Silva runs his risk of taking Baby Doll away from Archie Lee, something that was never his to begin with, his child-like bride. But perhaps for Silva, the game would be over once he has had his prize, Baby Doll. 

It was thought in 1956, that the character Silva actually slept with Baby Doll. However, due to the obvious storyline, it would seem he did not. Since Baby Doll has been denied reaching womanhood, the only question is, will she try to be a real wife to her husband Archie Lee, or leave him? The story never answers this. Baby Doll is left alone, no longer an object of attraction, but left alone with her Aunt, a person who may resemble her future self--an old, childless, crone who has gone out of her mind and is in danger of being thrown out of the house.

There's no question that Baby Doll starts off as a spoiled brat, someone uneducated, who can't fend for herself. She talks of her Daddy a lot, in a sense using him as a shield and one who protected her and fawned over her until he died. Now with Archie Lee, she senses she has lost her former protector and uses the only weapon she has left, her body and wit, to keep Archie Lee at bay. Baby Doll is as helpless as her given name and seems to be trapped indefinitely in the role of a Baby Doll. 

Then along comes a stranger, someone who may offer her a way out, and someone definitely more attractive. He seduces her, something she has never experienced and she tries to play hard-to-get but fails miserably. Alas, Silva's goal is not to get her to bed, but to get her to sign as a witness that Archie burned down his cotton gin. Silva is not there to rescue her, he is only using her and she has no clue. Archie is later taken to jail at midnight, after trying to shoot Silva, thus unable to consummate their marriage. In the end Silva is gone. 

It's a mistake to think this film is similar to Lolita, when it can't compare to the complexity of the characters or honesty of the time. Baby Doll makes no apologies for its story, no main character dies or is really punished for what they have done. Even though the film was nearly pushed into obscurity due to the censorship of that era and by the Catholic church, four Academy Awards were nominated--1956 Nominations: Best Actress (Baker), Director (Kazan), Screenplay/Adapted (Williams), and B&W Cinematography (Boris Kaufman). Both Carroll Baker (Baby Doll) and Kazan (Elia Kazan, Director) earned Golden Globes, and Eli Wallach (Silva) received a British Academy Award. 

The only bad part of this film is that it's in black and white and that it sounds a bit silly when Silva is talking to Baby Doll about her blue clothes--when the audience clearly can't see any color. There is bad dubbing in some of the speech and you can tell the sound has been added afterward. 

Also, the scenes of sexuality were a bit harsh, not because of their blatant show of passion but because of Silva's rough handling of Baby Doll, as he 'caresses' her neck with his fingers wrapped around her and flicking at her with his riding crop as she goes into the house. There's also a scene where they play hide-and-go-seek, where he catches her and pins her with his foot on her stomach. It's nothing too violent but it does seem there's something dark hiding underneath. 

Canadian Home Video rates the movie as PG while the American version seems to retain its original 1956 rating of R. Distributed by Warner Home Video Inc., a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Castle Hill Productions is also mentioned. www.warnervideo.com 

Shalom Free Clinic Review

This was my first time at the clinic, since I had heard from my friends that it was a good place to go to for check-ups and referrals. 

I don't have a regular doctor, even though I have insurance, not every doctor accepts it and some can't take any more patients. It's really frustrating to get healthcare in Chico, and sometimes Enloe and its Prompt Care center isn't that great. I've never been to the Immediate Care center downtown (I've heard it's bad!), or the former Del Norte clinics which have changed their name to Ampla Health. 

So I biked on over to the church on East First Ave, and looked for the entrance to the clinic. At first I couldn't see where to go, there was a sign but I almost went into the church office before I went around back to the children's preschool area where they had the clinic. I would suggest maybe more signs or at least a chalk arrow for people arriving at the other end. 

You sign up at the front entrance, where you can also give a donation and take a number. It's all anonymous, so you don't have to worry about putting your name down or anything like that. Then you go to the waiting room, where there is some food and drinks and wait. I would suggest bringing something to read, because it's a long wait, especially if they are busy. 

There was a pharmacist guy to answer any medication questions and a table where you could learn about how to eat right. It's OPT for Healthy Living program, and I talked to the volunteers who are health and nutrition majors. 

Since it was my first time, I had to wait for them to make me a folder, discuss my privacy rights and set up my first visit with a doctor or nurse. Another person took my vital signs (blood pressure, heart beat rate, etc.), so nothing too scary.

Then I waited in line for my number to be called.

I was just there for a referral (Gynecology), so I didn't need to see a doctor or nurse for anything important. But I had to wait about two-and-a-half hours before I finally asked to speak to someone and they wrote down where I could go.

Shalom Free Clinic is a non-emergency clinic and you are advised that if you have an emergency, seek immediate medical help somewhere else. For a list of what the Shalom Free Clinic provides, go to their website:
www.shalomfreeclinic.org 

The types of services they provide include basic medical and mental/behavior health services. The Shalom Free Clinic is open every Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. with no appointment needed. There is no charge for services they provide. 

The Clinic is entirely staffed by both medical and non-medical volunteers. You can also volunteer (http://www.shalomfreeclinic.org/Volunteer.htm) to provide medical or non-medical help such as Waiting Room Attendant, Food and Drink Server, Receptionist, and more. 

The only types of medical services they don't provide include: emergency care, Lab or X-rays, Worker's Compensation Injuries, Insurance physicals, Vision problems, Court ordered tests, etc., Dental problems, etc. 

Other links available:

Shalom Free Clinic
www.shalomfreeclinic.org 

Free Cooking classes for adults (English/Spanish/Hmong), OPT for Healthy Living. Visit: www.cachampionsforchange.net for healthy tips. 

Sierra Cascade Region for Champions for Change:
http://www.scnutrition.org/

Get Cookin’ is a 6 week hands-on cooking class using the nationally renowned curriculum, Cooking Matters. These are free cooking and nutrition classes offered to low-income families in Chico, Oroville, and Thermalito in English, Spanish, and Hmong. During the once a week, 2 hour class, families improve their cooking skills and engage in nutrition education activities. Experience in the kitchen leads to learning how to incorporate healthy eating into their daily lives. A bag of groceries with the ingredients of the day’s recipe is given to each participating family. Families will learn how to eat healthy on a budget.

To sign up for a Get Cookin’ class series, call OPT for Healthy Living (see flyer). 

Anybody Here?

I can't seem to reach anybody...

I call them on their phones and they don't answer. I leave a message on a Facebook page and they don't answer or I forget to check because I have no internet access. I also don't own a Smartphone. Maybe that's the problem, I'm not connected.

When I used to have the internet, I was on Facebook and YouTube all the time. I even updated my MySpace page (a lot of good that does me now). Funny thing was, I never was in touch with people then. I had over eighty friends on my Facebook page and only two of them would actually talk to me. Others would just invite me to play Farmville or some such nonsense.

Now with no internet service, I email my friends once in a while. Most reply within a few days and I try to check my email at least a couple of times a week. But even email has lost its immediate connectivity, since everyone else is on instant messaging with their texting and apps. 

I never could keep up with technology. The first time I got the internet I was fifteen-years-old, in 1998, and I was still using dial-up while people in the city had cable speed. In 2012, I finally bought my own laptop, something that wasn't handed down to me but something I actually chose for myself. An Apple MacBook Pro, which I got for the GarageBand software and the iMovie, where I am constantly making up songs and movies to put on YouTube.

But back to the subject matter... Keeping in touch.
I just can't do it. I still don't know what kind of phone to buy, what service to get with what company, how many data packages I should look over, etc. There are too many choices with too little information and freedom. I've heard of companies double charging customers, limiting their data plans and over-charging when customers go over their data. I can't even keep track of the minutes I use on my old phone (350 I use out of my 4,000 allotted minutes). 

It seems easy for everybody else. All they do is get their phone, log-in to the millions of apps and pages they have and connect. I can't seem to do that. It's hard enough trying to keep a blog going and reading my personal emails, of which I have several accounts. I still have to visit the cafes for Wi-Fi since I still have no internet and can't sign up for a contract, etc. 

I just never thought it would be this hard to connect with people. I've missed so many parties, invites, etc. because I can't check my Facebook at the right time. I can't remember the last time I actually wrote a letter to someone...do people still do that? I don't even know what people do anymore. 

I seem to be out of touch with the whole world. I'm sorry to say I didn't even know about that bombing incident in Boston because I don't have a TV and I don't watch the news. I happened to take a break from the radio news and all I noticed were the American flags at half-mast. My Grandmother called to tell me about it before I left for Hawaii, because she was scared. I didn't even know what had happened...

Living alone, shut off from the world, makes you pretty ignorant. When you don't get out much and your friends are busy working and hanging out on their Smartphones, it's easy to be left out. You don't feel like joining anything 'cause most of the time you need the internet just to get invited. You can't keep up with the private messages 'cause you don't have a Smartphone, so you don't find out that your event has been canceled until you show up and nobody else is there. It puts a real damper on your social life. 

If I were an alcoholic, I could just go to the bars, find out what everybody is talking about there. But that is pretty limiting to me also, since there's only so much you can talk about in a bar. The cafes aren't much better, since everyone goes there to be alone or they are with their own friends. 

I guess I'm just not cut out to be sociable since I've been alone for most of my life. I'm always on the fringe of things and can never keep up with the rest of society. Sometimes I don't even bother... I just write stories, read books, listen to music and rent a few DVD's. Like I said, not very sociable. 

So if you see me on the street with a lost look on my face, don't be surprised. I just haven't figured out what's going on but that's nothing new to me. I'm more likely to make contact with aliens than I am with the rest of the human world. 

Anybody out there?