In this post: Although masks have become embedded in our new way of life, this apocalyptic story's interesting commentary on gender norms became the focus of my modern-day parallels analysis.
Category: Short Story Collections
Ramiah Recommended?
No.
First, it's important to disclose that this piece was part of a story collection shown above and published in November 1950. Inherently, it would seem to be outdated in topics and commentary; however, as we know from my review of The Spook Who Sat by the Door, this is not always the case.
It turns out the inherent assumption is true in this case.
"Coming Attraction" takes place in an alternative English society where women are masked and men are barefaced in public. The story infers that women retain their value or merits when they are concealed in public, but it is regarded disparagingly as a way to ignore or forget women. The protagonist overhears a conversation between two police officers, in which one remarks: "You know, masks are a pretty good thing, brother. Couple of years more and I'm going to make my wife wear hers around the house." As the story continues, masking is communicated as a method to preserve womens' chastity.
This story brings up many topics - nuclear war, poverty, sexual expression, socialization and social order, gender norms - in the short span of a few pages and does not tackle any of them particularly well. Something that the story threads as a theme, and ends on, is gender norms.
The protagonist meets a sex worker he is romantically attracted to. Once he learns that her life is threatened, he tried to rescue the damsel in distress. It all comes to a head when the sex worker's boss - for a lack of a better word - fights the protagonist and the sex worker strikes the protagonist in an attempt to defend her boss.
This story provides a portrayal of women having three purposes: users of men, objects for men to either fawn after or ignore, and defenders of men. In the case of the sex worker, she was all three, even simultaneously.
I read this story because I thought it could be a cheeky lens through which to look at our modern world: a dystopian society of sorts where we are not living as we otherwise envisioned (i.e. going to enjoy activities or experiences that we could before the pandemic) and wearing masks. The commentary I was left with was a disturbing take on the value of women that, though clearly feels is set in a fictional story in an imaginary society, does contain parallels to today. In a time where women still organize around body positivity, and huge public figures (most recently, R Kelly) are being brought to light for heinous crimes they have committed against women, the world of "Coming Attraction" doesn't feel so far-fetched after all.
You can read this short story yourself here.
Ramiah Reflects
(No additional reflections this time, folks!)
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want to read about the presence of masks in a fictional setting
You wish to lightly explore fictional approaches to nuclear war, poverty, sexual expression, socialization and social order, etc.
You want to become frustrated or inspired (or otherwise react to) gender norm structures
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
