Sexuality and power are synonymous with each other. This was demonstrated in Howard Hawks' Gentle Prefer Blondes, in which Lorelei Lee, played by Marilyn Monroe, uses her sexuality as power over her boyfriend. Another example where sexuality is seen as power is presented in Sam Mendes' American Beauty, where Angela Hayes, played by Mena Suvari, unknowingly uses her sexuality to alter the depressing life of her friend's father in midlife crisis. The downside of power is that its extreme use constitutes oppression. Consequently, in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and American Beauty it is clear that Lorelei Lee and Angela Hayes' sexuality limits or oppresses not the people around them, but oppresses themselves. The purpose of this essay is to establish how sexuality and its oppression are viewed through the use of costume and cinematography. Possession of sexuality is the ability to arouse sexual feelings in another person. In both films, this happens through costumes. In the opening act of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, where Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw perform I'm Just a Little Girl from Little Rock, both Lorelei and Dorothy are both shown wearing tight, low-cut dresses that draw attention with a slit on the thigh. to expose their legs and also show off every little curve of their bodies. The few or lack of costumes undoubtedly serve to demonstrate sexuality. This can be examined on the cruise ship when Dorothy sings "no one knows the birds and the bees", the Olympic team dancing around her are adorned in nude colored dresses that make them appear naked. In American Beauty, the lack of costumes is also used to reveal sexuality. Similar to the opening of Gentlemen Prefers Blondes where the two......center of the card......mple when his hands move from his chest and lower the camera zooms in and follows.The oppression through the cinematography in Gentlemen Prefers Blondes is in the same number where Dorothy is not only surrounded by diamonds but constantly chased and surrounded by the men on stage with no room to breathe, just like in the scene where she boards the cruise ship and they are all gathered around to her. It is clear to Angela that her outspoken sexuality has dissuaded her from gaining any favorable interest from others. This is evident in the scene where she sways her hips in front of Jane's window but the camera zooms from her to Jane. Ultimately, in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and American Beauty, the costumes reveal Lorelei and Angela's bodies while the cinematography enhances their sexuality. These cinematic elements also act as oppression as they hold both characters back.