Bless Your Beautiful Hide: Morality, Ethics and Musicals
(Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
I heard a guy tell me once that this was the only musical that they could tolerate watching. This definitely leans toward the masculine side of musicals (at least in my opinion). Chopping wood, cabins, hunting, shooting, fighting, singing, dancing, and men taking the initiative to get a wife.
If you've not seen this one before then here's a quick overview. There are seven brothers named by the first seven letters of the alphabet (in birth order): Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Dan, Ephraim, Frank and Gideon. Anyway the oldest brother Adam goes to town and finds a wife (Millie) who apparently falls for him at first sight. He says she's the one: attractive, works hard, and she can cook.
He brings her home and she must "clean up" the other six brothers. This includes good manners, clean clothes, and of course how to find a girl (which, includes learning to dance). AND NO FIGHTING!!! Which doesn't last very long, but they tried.
Anyway, the six brothers meet six girls, raise a barn, fight all the guys in town, win and go home empty-handed. They sit around and think about the girls which spawns Adam's idea to go and kidnap the girls they had fallen for back in town. So goes plot. They go and take the girls. It turns out really bad since the girls didn't like that idea. But after months of isolation and winter the girls turn their gaze toward the guys. Spring happens and Millie has a child. Meanwhile, Adam has run off and is having a pity-party in the hunting cabin alone. He comes back as well as the men from town to get back their daughters. Musical ends with the six girls marrying the six brothers (at gun point).
Well, let's dive into some of the weeds related to morality and ethics. The opening song sets the pace for eldest brother Adam. He wants the perfect bride: works hard, physically attractive, and interestingly enough "sassy, as can be." Interesting combination. He wins his wife (Millie) with deception. She thinks she is marrying a man who lives alone on a farm (he seems to skip the part of also having six brothers in the same house). She even sings about it but he seems to skip this fact again when she talks of cooking for only one man.
So let's pick on some of the issues. These are a few of the moral and ethical issues that came to mind.
Constant fighting. Throughout the movie this must be a right of passage for this family. They fight with each other (in and outside of the kitchen), with the town folk, and with everyone at the barn raising scene. I'm all for self-defense and of course as a field grade Army officer, an appropriate application of just war theory to include but not limited to defensive war and preemptive strikes. Millie does here best to reform them with some manners and common courtesies.
Adam's little pity party and running away. Adam runs away and stays by himself at a far off hunting cabin. Basically, a little pity party of his own. This departure relates to the next scene. He unfortunately is the catalyst for that problem too. But I guess someone might blame the books they read. Some even might want to ban horse and buggies for being an accomplice. Hmm. This sounds familiar. Ban the books and make it illegal to own books. It's the books fault.
Sobbin women scene--stealing brides. The six remaining brothers go to town and kidnap the six girls they previously met at a barn raising scene. Of course, they got in a fight, danced, and went home. Anyway they kidnapped the girls and took them back home. This is the catalyst that guides the remainder of the film. Guys and girls stuck on the same homestead all winter long (at least till spring) when Millie has her baby. During this time the guys and girls really do fall for each other.
Deceit of girls at end with marriage resulting. After winter passes the dads and town folk come to the homestead to take the girls back home. One problem--the girls don't want to leave. When cornered the group hears a baby crying, but don't know who the mom and dad are. So all the girls claim the baby is their own. Result--the dad's force all the brothers to marry their daughters at gun point.
There are other tid bits here and there but these are just some thoughts to chew on for a while. I enjoyed the singing as always. I especially enjoy Adam's opening solo which is the title of this article, "Bless your Beautiful Hide."
Enjoy!!
Thoughts and comments as always encouraged.
