Breakfast at Tiffany's: An American Classic 💍💄☕️

The American classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of my favorite movies since I was young. I stumbled upon it during a time of teenage angst, a time in which I longed for romance. After watching it for the first time, I didn't quite understand its significance, as I was only about 12-13 years old. Now, as a 20 year old college student who has watched this film countless times, I think I have a better grasp of its layers. Despite loving the movie, I have come to find that it has many flaws, some of which can be attributed to the time in which it was produced. The story includes a feminist protagonist, a somewhat controlling love interest, and racist stereotypes. These all come together to make a timeless story, which still remains to be one of the most iconic romantic comedies of all time. 

The Story

Breakfast at Tiffany’s was originally written as a novel by the famous author, Truman Capote. The novel focused more on the intricacies of its characters, Holly Golightly, and an unnamed male narrator. Because the novel’s author was queer, there has been some speculation

as to whether or not the narrator was queer himself. For the movie, the lack of romance in the novel was replaced by making the film a love story between Holly and the now named male character, Paul Varjak. 

Paul moves into his new apartment, which is largely paid for by a sugar mama of sorts named Emily Eustance, where he meets Holly Golightly. Holly is a peculiar character, as she doesn’t care how people view her. According to Truman Capote, she was an American Geisha, and made her living by talking to wealthy men who paid her for her company. This is not, however, to be confused with a prostitute, as she did not sell herself for sex, but rather her acquaintance out for the night. In the movie, Holly meets Paul for the first time after one of her employers tries to come into her apartment after their night out. She climbs up the fire escape, and enters Paul’s room for safety, and from that point on they become friends, and soon enough more. 

Paul eventually learns that Holly is not who she says she is, and is actually named Lula Mae. She, and her brother Fred were orphans who were taken in by a man named Doc, who was a widower.  Holly got married to Doc for stability, though she was only 14 years old, and he was much older with children around her age. The marriage quickly gets annulled, and Holly runs away, while Fred joins the army. Because of her unstable upbringing, which is essentially taken advantage of when she is a teenager by Doc, Holly has an aversion to being controlled, as her life has been successful to an extent based on her taking matters into her own hands and being independent. This leads to a clear conflict, as this is a romance story where the prospect of being involved with someone appears to be imminent. 

The Issues

The number one issue that I find with Breakfast at Tiffany’s is its racial stereotypes which are doubled down with whitewashing. This is done through the character of Mr. Yunioshi, who is played by the famous Caucasian actor, Mickey Rooney. Mr. Yunioshi is portrayed as an annoying, strict, and loud character. He is shown yelling at Holly Golightly and her friends when she throws parties, which makes him an antagonist in the film. He also calls the police on Holly multiple times, ultimately getting her arrested for being employed by a mob boss named Sally Tomato, who uses Holly to share messages in codewords to his mob family on the outside. In addition to his negative character, which perpetuates stigmas as he is one of the only characters of color in the film, Mr. Yunioshi also serves to corroborate generalized stereotypes regarding Asian Americans. For example, Mickey Rooney uses an exaggerated accent, and is dressed in robes for most of the film. Mr. Yunioshi’s room is also filled with things that can be viewed as stereotypically Asian, like lanterns, plants, and colored headbands. This is something that I hope will never again be viewed in a film again. 

The impact on the Asian community was profound. First off, the fact that Mickey Rooney was chose to play an Asian character over an actual Asian actor is disrespectful. This in itself makes it clear that Mr. Yunioshi was a character created to poke fun at the Asian community. However, the stereotypes that this movie promotes have lasted far longer, and this movie is still a source of outrage for communities now. This character adds nothing to the story except for a negative view on Asian Americans, making them appear rude, unkind, and unintelligent which is completely unacceptable.

The Feminist Character of Holly Golightly 

Despite, its unacceptable character of Mr. Yunioshi, Holly Golightly is likely why this movie reamains an American classic. Holly Golightly, in both Truman Capote’s novel and the film, is undeniably a feminist character. Before I go into her character, I must include how iconic her style was. Many who have not even seen the movie may be able to recognize her iconic black dress, tiara, and pearl necklace.

The novel itself was written to describe the story about a character who is running away from her childhood trauma, and trying to be as independent as possible. Even though the movie forces this character into a romance, she still exerts her independence through her actions and words against her love interest, Paul Varjak. In the end of the film, Paul confesses his love to Holly while she is trying to leave New York to avoid having to get involved with him. He tells her “I love you, you belong to me,” and she replies “No. People don’t belong to people. I am not going to let anyone put me in a cage”. This powerful moment explains her fear. As a woman during this time, it was difficult to be independent on any level. Holly had proven to herself, and to the audience that she could make it on her own, and the idea of throwing that away quickly scared her. This truly shows the impact that a patriarchal society can have on a woman. Making all of the choices for oneself at just the age of 19, shows strength, and as a woman especially, this shows resilience. 

Emily Eustance

When I first watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s I did not understand the importance of Emily Eustance’s character, nor did I understand how out of the norm it was for a woman of the sixties to be a sugar mama. Emily Eustance was a married woman with whom Paul Varjak was having an affair with in the first half of the movie. She was created for the movie, perhaps to affirm that Paul’s character, though it is not mentioned in the novel, is not gay. He refers to her as his decorator, and every time she visits, she pays him money. After watching the film multiple times, I came to understand how a woman acting as a sugar mama was not a popular thing of the sixties, and that her character spoke volumes as the film appeared somewhat ahead of its time.

The Romance  

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, is a romantic comedy film, unlike its novel. The romance is set between the struggling writer, Paul Varjak, and Holly Golightly, a perfect enigma. They meet as “two drifters,” him lost in his writing, and her running away from her past life. Their love story is almost taboo, as he has the majority of his income supplied by another romantic interest, and she is not interested in being held back in a relationship. 

Holly’s aversion to Paul’s love is furthered due to Paul’s controlling nature. Despite having a romantic relationship with Emily Eustance, Paul continues to pursue Holly. Right before expressing his love for Holly, he tells Emily that their relationship is over. Prior to this revelation, he and Holly spend all of their time together, and even kiss, meaning that he was being unfaithful and dishonest to both women. He then has the audacity to claim that he basically owns Holly, just because he is in love with her. 

There relationship likely works for two reasons: 

The sixties demanded a romance with a happy ending, and Paul calls Holly out on her insecurities. He understands why she is afraid to get into a relationship with him, and he says that she is putting herself in a cage by denying herself love. In the end, I do not think that Holly would ever let Paul control her, which makes them a good match. 

Impact

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a time machine to the 1960s. It displays the thoughts and ideals during this time: new feminist ideals, romance, racist stereotypes, and bustling city life. Because of its prominence, this movie had numerous impacts regarding style and social notions. It is crucial to note the film's flaws so that we can learn to never make those same mistakes again, especially apropos to characters like Mr. Yunioshi who perpetuate racist ideas. It is also interesting to acknowledge the changes that the film made to the novel, as this shows what was not considered socially acceptable/taboo at the time. Holly Golightly however, despite the film’s flaws will always remain an iconic character, as she shows us resilience when the time is against you💎