Tired Film Tropes: The Pygmalion

Ah the pygmalion... There are plenty of films involving a lower-class person being transformed by someone of a better social level. But where did this tired film trope come from? In Greek mythology Pygmalion is most familiar from Ovid's narrative poem Metamorphoses in which Pygmalion, a king and a sculptor, fell in love with a statue he had carved. The trope of a sculpture so life-like that it seemed about to move was common with writers in antiquity and the basic story has been widely transmitted and re-presented thru the centuries. In GB Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion a modern variant of the myth w/a hint of feminism, the underclass flower girl is metaphorically brought to life by a professor who teaches her to refine her speech and manners. This play inspired a 1938 film adaptation as well as the 1956 musical My Fair Lady and its 1964 film adaptation. How many of these films that employ the Pygmalion trope have you seen???

142 users · 570 views

made by Kiki Diarmit

avg. score: 7 of 20 (34%)

required scores: 1, 4, 5, 8, 10

list stats leaders voteVote print comments

type to search

How many have you seen???

Page 1 of 1

Never on Sunday (1960)