History Film / PrettyBaby

* PrettyInMink: [[spoiler:Hattie reappears with her new husband and respectable lifestyle]] wearing a fancy fur scarf.

* ChildrenOfWhores: Violet, as well as her playmates in the brothel. She also has a baby brother, who is [[NoNameGiven so important that his name is never mentioned]]. Hattie mentions that she started off as this trope:
-->'''Hattie''': My mama was a whore. She had me in a house just like this. Now I'm a whore.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pretty_baby_movie_poster_1978_1020192357.jpg]]

''Pretty Baby'' is a 1978 drama film. It was the American debut of French director Creator/LouisMalle and it was also the StarMakingRole for a child actress named Creator/BrookeShields. The movie is best known for its controversial content and subject matter.

''Pretty Baby'' is a 1978 drama film. It was the American debut of French director Louis Malle and it was also the StarMakingRole of a child actress named Creator/BrookeShields. The movie is best known for its controversial content and subject matter.

* [[SonOfAWhore Children Of Whores]]: Violet, as well as her playmates in the brothel. She also has a baby brother, who is [[NoNameGiven so important that his name is never mentioned]]. Hattie mentions that she started off as this trope:

* RealityEnsues: The melding of Violet's [[FilleFatale precocious aptitude for sexual behaviour]] and her childish immaturity frustrates Bellocq, who wants his twelve-year-old lover to act classier than a whore (which she was raised to be) and more mature than a child (which she ''is'').

* FilleFatale: Violet has grown up in the brothel and around the whores, so she acts like this. After she experiences sex, she becomes a lot more flitatious.

** Despite being presented as a sympathetic character, Bellocq still slaps Violet for misbehaving, which would be seen as appropriate discipline of the era.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:Bellocq eventually lets Violet return to Hattie, realising that it's better for her to have a more normal upbringing.]]

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Bellocq doesn't partake in any of the whores while he's there. While he has Hattie semi-naked he only cares about the lighting for the photo.
* OldManMarryingAChild: Downplayed, in that [[spoiler:Bellocq is in his twenties, but he marries Violet]]. It's also a rare heartwarming example.

* PrecociousCrush: Violet is a young girl experiencing her sexual awakening, and crushes on Bellocq. Uniquely for this trope, they ''marry'' for a time.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Subverted regarding statutory rape. Violet is seen by some as too young to be a whore even at the time (and would undoubtedly inspire a PaedoHunt in the modern day), though she herself sees nothing wrong with it, and thus experiences no negative consequences from having sex with much older men as a child.

* RuleOfSymbolism: The end of legal prostitution in Storyville coincides with the end of Violet's unnatural childhood. [[spoiler:She ends the film ironically with the chance to be a normal girl]].

* WouldHurtAChild: Bellocq slaps Violet when she messes with his camera.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: Zig-zagged with Violet. She's WiseBeyondHerYears when it comes to sex - as she's been raised around it - but this frequently clashes with her childlike idealism and innocence.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Hattie is a more complicated example of this trope. She is portrayed sympathetically, and wants out of her life as a prostitute. Although she abandons her children to do so [[spoiler: she comes back to reclaim Violet and take her away to a better life]].

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Hattie wants to be respectable and runs away to get married. [[spoiler: She appears to have succeeded by the end]].
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: Bellocq eventually lets Violet return to Hattie, realising that it's better for her to have a more normal upbringing]].

* LastGuyWins: Hattie has a client she's somewhat romantic with, some flirting with Bellocq and another customer [[spoiler: who she eventually marries]].

* OldManMarryingAChild: Downplayed, in that [[spoiler: Bellocq is in his twenties, but he marries Violet]]. It's also a rare heartwarming example.
* ParentalAbandonment: Hattie abandons Violet to get married, though Violet is the one who tells her to do so - as she doesn't want to leave the brothel.

* PrettyInMink: [[spoiler: Hattie reappears with her new husband and respectable lifestyle]] wearing a fancy fur scarf.

* RuleOfSymbolism: The end of legal prostitution in Storyville coincides with the end of Violet's unnatural childhood. [[spoiler: She ends the film ironically with the chance to be a normal girl]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Hattie wants to leave the brothel after the whores kill one of her customers for his drunkenness. But when Violet refuses to go, she has to stay. [[spoiler: She later marries so she can escape for real]].