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Overalls and the Cinema

Have we seen films of all genres, all eras and all styles? Yes, of course. We were taken by the story, the characters, the style too!

But have you looked carefully who finally wins the leading role , carried by the main actor or by the plot? La Salopette! Do you doubt it? I therefore offer you a little tour among the most famous films and/or the most illustrious characters on the big or small screen, you will be surprised and delighted by this evidence: overalls accompany us in our daily lives and in our imagination through the Web ! So here is a little tour in the film library of our collective spirit, which highlights this essential garment , without which the character would not be so striking to soak up his story so well...

Without sticking too much to the chronology, let's see if my assumption turns out to be correct and if La Salopette would not be the identifying star of the Hollywood films that moved us, made us laugh or cry, that finally touched us enough for the we still remember it for a long time.

1 - La Salopette, First Role in the Cinema

So, let's start with a bit of seriousness, and dig into the archives! Let's tackle a realistic, dramatic film too. I let you remember Charlie Chaplin, in "Modern times" . Remember, he's wearing dirty, baggy, striped overalls, typical of the most practical, shapeless, multi-pocket workwear . And for as much, it could not have carried anything else so true, on the wear and the arduousness of the workers workers of modern times… It was almost 100 years ago! She was already there, our little rising star of silent cinema, but how telling. Efficient, this garment that we assimilate to hardship, assembly line work, profitability and repetitive gestures. Look what it has become in our shop , these striped overalls, which are no longer there to make us cry, but sorry Charlie, to dress us trendy and leisure, spring and walks!

So let's smile today and remember another cinematographic register , another star, but the same overalls:

Thus, it is striped, it is blue and white , it is carried on stage by a man of the people, who made us laugh on stage and cry in "Tchao Pantin". It's Coluche's overalls , the one that washes whiter than white in the knots of laundry... These overalls transported us to the emotion of laughter, derision, unfiltered humor, politics and serious issues that affect everyone. It moved us, made us aware of all the miseries of our time, that of people who are hungry, and who regain hope with the generosity of the Restos du Cœur. Overalls are the clothes of the heart , of sensitivity, of generosity.

Denim Blue Raincoat Overalls

We see it, two comedians, from different eras but identical social subjects, the same overalls, flag bearer of noble emotions , of the sensitivity and greatness of the feelings of the human being, a beautiful soul, enveloped in a protective and universal overalls.

Let's go back to our Hollywood cinema, while keeping the expression of beautiful feelings and the power to do good, the film was released in 1999, taken from Stephen King's book, "The Green Line" , a film in which Mickael Duncan plays a sentenced to death who will prove innocent of the crimes he is accused of...He's a giant with a pure heart, and in this fantasy drama, we remember what he's wearing, don't we? Overalls, too… In this timeless blue , she dresses a good, generous man, who will forget himself doing good and relieving his torturers. Is he endowed with a divine mission, with a heart so pure that La Salopette, in this example, are those of the worker who works to make people better and to sublimate the wisdom and feelings of the common man? What a beautiful intention and what a beautiful dress for a beautiful story... It's La Salopette of positive thoughts , of love for one's neighbour, of self-sacrifice. If the color is neutral, it undoubtedly diffuses the whole rainbow of pure actions that beautify life!

And to stay in the most beautiful feelings of human nature but in a happier mode, let's see together what new masterpiece can illustrate such beautiful thoughts by leaning towards films from the 2000s until today.

La Salopette in the Cinema

2 - La Salopette of the 2000s in the 7th Art

It's a 2008 musical, world famous, carried by the songs of the group ABBA , starring Meryl Streep in "Mamma Mia!" , who is in overalls !!!!! And yes, essential star of the happy moments of the existence, the dungarees dress our American star in this comedy, and give him airs of bohemian and eternal youth!!! On lively rhythms, she sings and dances and takes us into a whirlwind of optimism and freshness ... It's a funny and moving film, and the amplitude of Mrs. Streep's acting is greatly facilitated by what she wears ! Active, sensitive, beautiful, we no longer know if we are talking about the actress or the dungarees, unless the dungarees are an integral part of the acting of the actress, and that two, they become one !

La Salopette are indeed the essential of our emotions represented in the cult films of our time, and if they touch our adult hearts, they also know how to approach and become the essential of the child who has remained a little in each of our We. This is why a universal character is also adorned with overalls and it is obvious to recognize and approach each role that affects us, as long as we recognize ourselves, if only through the habit, which for once suits the monk!

So here is, for the little ones,… and the older ones too, an essential reference: they are small, they are yellow and blue, they are friendly, mischievous, players, workers and adventurers what are they? The MINIONS , so many, so different and so well dressed, all the same, with a yellow top and… Blue overalls ! The famous, the only, the unique, the one that everyone knows and recognizes! They have their own, unique language and are uniformly dressed in these fabulous overalls . How can we imagine them differently today? It's impossible ! And without these overalls that go to each of the minions, whatever their improbable physique, would we have retained them as a character that is now an integral part of our tenderness and fun capital ? Not sure… The minions come totally from the imagination on a background of reality, these little overalls do exist and make them so believable to us, all of them as much as they are.

Minion overalls

To what Coluche says, where to the emotions conveyed by Meryl Streep, Mickael Duncan, or Charlie Chaplin?

Indeed, the common accessory to the situations illustrated in these examples is obviously overalls! And yet, the scenarios are different, the roles, the times, the audiences... So what do we notice? There is another common point in all these films and these animations, which accompany La Salopette. Let's not be afraid of shortcuts, these are the human values , such as righteousness, honesty, generosity, honor sewn on La Salopette that stick to the skin of each actor! Humanized with the dungarees, this second skin, which identifies us with all the roles of life, it is only a step to say that the dungarees, just like our emotions, pass the ages and eras, and convey this that there is best in each of us.

Thus, we can say that the cinema is indeed the 7th art, but overalls are the 8th , that of life and happiness for all!!!

Overalls and the 7th Art

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