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'It's almost like a weapon': How the blonde bombshell has symbolised desire and danger Western culture, she says, has built a whole mythology around female blondeness − from religious iconography and fairy tales, to art and advertising − that has told specific stories about what it means to be blonde. In cinema's early years, comedies such as Platinum Blonde (1931) and Bombshell (1933), starring Jean Harlow, embedded concepts of the dazzling, devastatingly beautiful blonde into the cultural vernacular. "The idea that you're a bombshell, it's almost like a weapon," says Nead. "On the one hand, it is this kind of ideal, but at the same time, it's also threatening."   Before Harlow, there was another − more natural-looking − blonde on the scene: Mary Pickford, whose amber curls helped earn her the moniker of "America's Sweetheart". But while Pickford played the guileless girl waiting to be rescued, Harlow's peroxide blonde ...
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 Pop princesses and Succession stars: The actors tipped for an Oscar nomination later

The Oscar nominations will be announced later, in an exciting year for the film awards race where there is no consensus frontrunner for best picture.

Blockbusters such as Wicked and Dune: Part Two will compete with Emilia Pérez, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, The Brutalist and Anora when the shortlists are released at 13:30 GMT.

The nominations were due to be announced last week, but were postponed after the voting period was extended due to the Los Angeles wildfires.

The Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by US comic Conan O'Brien, will take place on 2 March.

There are two musicals, two massive pop stars, two Sebastian Stan films, two actors from Succession and several comeback queens in the race this year.

Here are a few things to look out for when the Academy announces its nominations.

Two of the biggest pop stars of the last 15 years could be recognised in the best supporting actress category. Ariana Grande is a dead-cert for her performance in Wicked as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

Another possible (but less certain) nominee is Selena Gomez for her role in Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez as the wife of a Mexican drug lord who changes gender.

Her co-star Zoe Saldaña is the current frontrunner to win the category. She took home the Golden Globe earlier this month and has a lot of goodwill from voters because of her roles in box office smashes such as the Avatar and Marvel films.

But it's a crowded category, with Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave), Monica Barbaro (A Complete Unknown) and Jamie Lee Curtis (The Last Showgirl) also in the running.

Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson), Margaret Qualley (The Substance) and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Nickel Boys) could also show up. This category is particularly hard to predict due to different actresses being nominated at different precursor events.

Established directors such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson often tend to populate this category, understandably cropping up at the Oscars again and again.

This year, however, all of the major contenders for best director would be first-time Oscar nominees.

Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), Edward Berger (Conclave), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez) and Sean Baker (Anora) are all likely to be recognised.

They could be joined by Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys) and James Mangold (A Complete Unknown).

Even the less likely contenders, such as Jon M Chu (Wicked), Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two), Mohammad Rasoulof (The Seed of the Sacred Fig) and Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light), would be first-time nominees in the category.

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