Men have always been able to poke fun at themselves in comedy, and now it's women's turn. Photograph by Kevin Winter/Getty Images The recent explosion of prominent women in comedy has brought with it an unfortunate but predictable debate about whether or not the characters that have resulted from all these women scribbling and acting are Good For Women.
Of course, the underlying assumption of the question is that women have a bad reputation in the general public and media should therefore portray us in uplifting ways to counter negative stereotypes, which in turn means that the question answers itself: If a female character has flaws, then that is Bad For Women. Indeed, that's been the general consensus of all hand-wringing over this question. Silpa Kovvali, writing at Feministing, denounces Bridesmaids because some of the characters are insecure, some are unhappy, and some indulge at times in petty, vindicative behavior. Because that's boring is why. Because from the beginning Liz Lemon was pathetic. It's the same story with Bridesmaids. Culture Desk: In Defense of Liz Lemon. Judging from my Twitter feed, there’s been a backlash to “30 Rock” this season, particularly the character of Liz Lemon, played by Tina Fey.
Here’s one example of these anti-Lemon blog posts. Here’s another. Here’s another. The argument in all these pieces (many by writers I respect) is pretty much the same: “30 Rock” used to be funny, but now it’s sour and negative. Liz Lemon was once our heroine—a sassy, confident, if somewhat neurotic single career lady. Well, I can’t get on board the hate train, especially after last week’s tour-de-force episode, in which Liz morphed from a crazy old subway lady (every New Yorker’s dream: she gets her way at every turn) into Heath Ledger’s Joker.
That was why the show worked: it rarely made Liz an empowering role model, although many women certainly identified with her. That has always been one of the most radical things about “30 Rock,” the way it has continually punctured Liz’s image of herself as a spunky brunette underdog. Alex Leo: Jack Donaghy's Life Lessons: 16 Pearls Of Wisdom You Can't Live Without. Liz lemon shoots down girls names. 30 Rock's Jack Donaghy's Guide to Manipulation. Tina Fey Reveals All (And Then Some) In 'Bossypants' Hide caption"I was worried about being the mouthpiece for anyone and being politicized personally," Tina Fey says about playing Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.
"It ended up being a lot of fun, but it did permanently politicize me in a way. " Platon/HGB USA "I was worried about being the mouthpiece for anyone and being politicized personally," Tina Fey says about playing Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. "It ended up being a lot of fun, but it did permanently politicize me in a way. " Tina Fey grew up in a household with parents she has described as "Goldwater Republicans with pre-Norman Lear racial attitudes. " But, she says, her parents were always supportive of her career, even when she told them she was moving to Chicago to start a career in improv.
"To their credit, they never said, 'You like entertainment. Fey grew up to become Saturday Night Live's first female head writer as well as the star and executive producer of NBC's sitcom 30 Rock. Writing Sketches Working With Sen. A Mother’s Prayer for Her Child By Tina Fey. “First, Lord: No tattoos.
May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches. May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty. When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer. Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.
Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance.