Abstract This article examines the language of clothes in Elia Kazan’s 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire, focusing on the outfits of the main character, Blanche DuBois, portrayed by Vivien Leigh. Represented in contrast to the garments worn by other characters and especially her nemesis, Stanley Kowalski, Blanche’s clothes express complex messages with regard to social class and cultural identity, which feed into broader mid-century controversies around fashion in America, the performativity of clothing and its potential uses as a passing device. Another line of enquiry concerns the differences between Tennessee Williams’ descriptions of Blanche’s appearance in the play and their realization on screen, the “translation” of the playwright’s remarks into cinematic images, and the resulting visual narratives, which give weight to specific readings of the plot. Finally, the article approaches the image of Blanche as a reflexive commentary on the nature of film and a critique of Hollywood glamor. By emphasizing the constructedness of Blanche’s appearance: her “dressing for the part,” the use of setting, lighting and even music to enhance her social performance, the film questions its own artifice, while Vivien Leigh simultaneously embodies and deconstructs the image of blonde femininity, which dominated the cinema of the era.

中文翻译：

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埃利亚·卡赞的《欲望号街车》中布兰奇的衣服：从社会伪装到对电影媒介的批判

摘要 本文考察了埃利亚·卡赞 1951 年的电影《欲望号街车》中的服装语言，重点介绍了费雯丽饰演的主角布兰奇·杜波依斯的服装。与其他角色，尤其是她的死敌斯坦利·科瓦尔斯基 (Stanley Kowalski) 所穿的服装相比，布兰奇的服装表达了关于社会阶层和文化身份的复杂信息，这些信息引发了本世纪中叶关于美国时尚、服装的表现性和它作为传球设备的潜在用途。另一条探究线涉及田纳西·威廉姆斯对布兰奇在剧中出现的描述与其在银幕上的实现之间的差异，剧作家的评论“翻译”成电影图像，以及由此产生的视觉叙事，赋予情节的特定读数权重。最后，文章将布兰奇的形象视为对电影本质的反思性评论和对好莱坞魅力的批判。通过强调布兰奇外表的结构性：她的“穿着打扮”，使用场景、灯光甚至音乐来增强她的社交表现，这部电影质疑自己的技巧，而费雯·丽同时体现和解构了金发碧眼的女性形象，主导了那个时代的电影。