Beauty Rest story
Helen, an aging model, ends up losing a commercial deal to her younger roommate, Joyce. When she learns that Joyce is also participating in a rigged beauty pageant, Helen attempts to knock her unconscious with sleeping pills to take her place and revive her own career, but accidentally causes her to overdose. At the pageant, Helen eventually murders her rival Druscilla. She is soon named the winner and gets her big break, only to learn that the pageant, including the grand prize, has a rather macabre "autopsy" theme. Directed by: Stephen Hopkins. Story by: Donald Longtooth.
19 total · 1 choice · 9 major · 9 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| the desire for professional success | choice | The story follows the aging model Helen as she resorts to murder in a last ditched effort to jump start her career. |
| coping with aging | major | The story follows the aging model Helen as she resorts to murder in a last ditched effort to jump start her faltering career. |
| female-female rivalry | major | Helen was resentful towards Joyce for getting all the breaks that Helen didn't get. Helen thought Joyce did it by sleeping around. Druscilla thought presciently the same about Helen. |
| jealousy | major | The aging model Helen was envious of her younger roommate Joyce's growing success in the entertainment business. |
| lookism in society | major | A theme of the story is spelled out in the beginning when Helen asks the viewer what part of a woman they like best, ending with the suggestively incredulous option that it could be the brain. The story concluded with Helen's innards being put on public display with some message related to it's what's on the inside that counts. |
| murder | major | Helen overdosed her roommate, Joyce, on sleeping pills and made it look like a suicide. Helen fatally strangled her beauty contest rival, Drucilla. |
| poetic justice | major | Helen murdered both Joyce and Drusilla in order to become the winner of a beauty pageant instead of either of them. By an ironic twist of fate, the winner of the contest was, unbeknownst to Helen, designated to be killed and have their innards pulled out for public display in the most gruesome fashion. So ironically, Joyce had arguably (albeit without intending to) saved her two competitors from a fate worse than death and ended up dead for it herself. |
| position in exchange for sexual favors | major | The viewer is made to ponder about people in the entertainment industry getting selected for jobs because they had sex with someone. |
| the entertainment industry | major | The story revolved around Helen, an aging model who's ethical scruples lead her to murder her way to being crowned winner of a macabre beauty pageant, instead of sleeping her way there in the traditional fashion. |
| trading sex to get ahead in the world | major | The story revolved around Helen, an aging model who's ethical scruples lead her to murder her way to being crowned winner of a macabre beauty pageant, instead of sleeping her way there in the traditional fashion. |