October 02, 2006

"That's Hollywood"

Last night Husband and I watched The Undefeated, and about five minutes into it, I started griping.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the movie, per se. I LOVE John Wayne, and Rock Hudson is pretty good. No, it wasn't that; I was irritated because this is supposed to be a post-Civil War theme and everything was FARB.

The hair was wrong. The dresses! Eeeesh! And the Confederate uniforms! Not only were they perfectly intact, but they looked about two sizes too small. Merlin Oleson looked like he was in pain!

I remarked to Husband: "Look at that. Farb! Everywhere! FARB!"

"That's Hollywood," he replied.

What? What does "farb" mean. Well, I found a definition here, if you're inclined to find out.

It's a word I learned when I was reenacting and it has stuck with me ever since. I'm no expert when it comes to authentic clothing and such, but I'm no idiot either. (Hello? Bullet bra boobies in the 1860's? Not so much.)

Usually it was a term we ladies used when we saw another lady dressed like Scarlett O'Hara, or as we called them "wedding cakes." Or if we had to "de-farb" our tent, meaning hide all the modern stuff like, um...sleeping bags, contact lens solution, stuff like that.

Farb! Wrong! Like Gone with the Wind! North and South! FARB!!!

And I just re-read this book, which brought all the farb back into focus.