A beautiful, very moving documentary about Bette, made by Larry Harnisch. Be warned: It is a long video. About 21 minutes long, so watch it with you have plenty of time.
 

Similarities

I should be working on my article right now, but my mind is blank for the moment. 

I came up with this list a couple of days ago. It compares certain aspects of Elizabeth’s life with mine:

-Both abandoned by fathers. Her father faked his own suicide, but latter sent a letter to the family apologizing and asking to come back. Her mother refused, just as mine did when my father begged her to marry him again.

 -We both have only sisters. She has 4, I have 3. I am the youngest, but I’m not sure where she fits into her line of sisters. I do have a brother but I hardly speak to or see him, so he might as well not even exist. o_O

-Both of us are secretive. If you met me face to face, I would not babble on the way I do in my blog. According to sources, Elizabeth was secretive. Very few people knew much, if anything, about her.

-Both of us have female issues. Apparently, something was wrong with a gland in her vaginal canal. This blocked entry into her vagina, debunking the rumor that she was a prostitute or even “easy”. I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).

-We were born almost exactly 40 years apart. Ok, not exactly 40 years but close enough. She was born July 29, 1924 and I was born February 27, 1985.

-She dropped out of high school at 16 years old; I “dropped out” at 15. While I went on to earn my GED, I’m not sure if the option was available back then and if it was, I don’t know if Elizabeth pursued that route.

-Both of us would develop relationships with our fathers years after they deserted us and both relationships would ultimately fail.

-We both adore films. Elizabeth wanted to be an actress more than anything. When I was younger, I also wanted to be an actress, but quickly realized that showbiz is brutal and I knew I wouldn’t make it.

-She seemed lost…as I seem lost. I am never certain of anything and I believe she was the same way. Though, I don’t believe I am really lost. I think I just appear to be because I change my mind often. That doesn’t particularly mean that I am “lost”. As a matter of fact, I believe that poor Elizabeth was more lost than I could ever be. It’s tragic.

I’ve done a little research into Elizabeth Short. First of all, everyone calls her “The Black Dahlia” and that isn’t kosher with me. I’m not particularly fond of that nickname. There is something dark and ominous about it and I just feel gross using it in reference to Elizabeth. So, from now on, she will be referred to as just Elizabeth in this blog. Secondly, she seems to be remembered only as a murdered actress wannabe.  I choose not to remember her as a murder victim, but as a beautiful young lady that I would love to have known.

I’ve done a lot of reading about her life in past couple of days and I’m starting to feel like I knew her. She was beautiful, sweet, and like everyone else, she made mistakes. But she wasn’t a whore, as many sources claim she was. As a matter of fact, she was a virgin until she was murdered. She wasn’t unlike many other 22-year-old’s. She had big hopes and dreams. She wanted to make it big. She wanted to be loved and remembered. She is remembered but certainly not for the right reasons.

I hate the fact that people have capitalized on her murder. Numerous books have been written on her murder and a stupid film has been made about the horrible events that unfolded. This bugs me. They have turned her murder into a peep show of sorts for people’s entertainment. Her death has been put on display. How much is her death worth? $8, the price of a movie ticket. Perhaps I’m too emotional but that really pisses me off.