What did the woman attending one of the parties mean when she exclaimed: “Sharks in my hair. I have sharks in my hair!” Was that about accouterments of her hairdo? The remark seemed to elicit an amused grin from Bruce Dern, but I didn’t get it. Meant to reference wealth or tony exclusivity?
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Drug use hadn't occurred to me. I don't really connect that with 1920s flappers and wealthy high society. Then again, maybe so. It did seem like she was on something. Narcissism, if nothing else?
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>>Heroin, Cocaine, etc was legal back then, and even used in 'remedies' <<
Cocaine use was banned in the U.S. in 1914. Heroin regulation began in the U.S. in 1914, when a prescription was required. In 1924, it was banned altogether.
It is not clear when "Gatsby" takes place (I have read that it is 1922, but I don't think this is ever spelled out in the book). It is sometime from about 1919 to about 1925, when the book was published.
Cocaine was certainly illegal when the story takes place. Heroin was possibly already illegal, but definitely regulated.
Of course, alcohol was illegal, too...
Considering half the people at the party were fall-down drunk, I always assumed that she was, too, and didn't know what she was saying.
Though drugs couldn't really be ruled out, either. It just seemed that alcohol was more likely.
Isn't it the same woman who falls over a man in another scene, clearly extremely intoxicated?
I'll have to watch it again, but you're probably right. Alcohol must have had something to do with the "shark" business. It still doesn't make sense, even if she was fall-down drunk. Maybe "shark" was slang for a hair decoration women used during the early 1920s.