Thanks to Instagram’s explore page, users are able to view content that they would not normally come across on their own feed. This content may spark emotions that range from happy and uplifting to weird and controversial. So when I came across a photo of a person getting a tattoo of the iconic image of Lolita sucking on a lollipop, I was confused to say the least. Was this an act of praise towards Nabokov’s novel? Or, were they on the romanticized bandwagon of the age-gap relationship that this book has infamously portrayed?
Since Lolita’s U.S. release in 1958, Vladimir Nobokov’s novel has created a blatant erotic fascination for young girls which can be found in movies, music, and books today. If you haven’t already guessed, Lolita is basically about paedophilia. The story is centered around Humbert Humbert, a man in his late thirties who spirals into a heated obsession for Dolores Haze, his 12 year old step-daughter.
Since the book’s publication, two films (one by legendary director Stanley Kubrick), musical adaptations, ballets, and stage productions have been released to pay tribute to the novel. But Lolita has also had its influence elsewhere. One example being Luc Besson’s film, “Leon: The Professional.” It more or less follows the same premise in which 12 year old Mathilda joins forces with hitman Leon after her family is murdered. Again, the young girl is made to be more precious than what is typically observed among children in society. Why does any of this matter, you may ask? Well, because movies and other forms of entertainment have a great deal of influence over society. This Lolita-esque iconography is even more prevalent in mainstream music. In an article for The New Republic, Ira Wells stated that “today, popular culture rewards adult women who act like children for the collective erotic enjoyment.” A few of the recognizable artists include: Melanie Martinez, Lana del Rey, Britney Spears (from the early 2000s), and Katy Perry.
In regards to the novel, John Updike, the late novelist and literary critic, stated “Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically.” And I have to say that I agree. The novel is beautifully written. It has a way of provoking feelings of shock, anger, and sadness all within a few sentences. Even though it feels kind of gross reading a book about something so terrible, Nobokov has a way of reeling the reader in with his use of “punning comedy” and “dark poetics.” Another review by Vanity Fair stated that Lolita is “the only convincing love story of our century.” That is my issue with the book. It isn’t so much the novel itself as it is the admiration that has surrounded the main characters’ relationship. Humbert feeds off of Dolores’ innocence during her early teenage years and then victimizes her to the point of complete mental disillusionment by the time she is barely becoming a woman. Maybe it’s just me, but I do not find anything romantic about that, Vanity Fair.
So even though the book was written 63 years ago, I feel like there isn’t enough conversation about its influence on American culture and how it may affect the young girls of today’s generation whose innocence is used as a ploy to mask people’s darkest desires.
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