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| Empowering quote on women in comedy |
The
first person that popped into my mind for this assignment was Tina Fey. I think comedy is a great (and probably the
best) way to promote any sort of forward thinking. Her work portrays feminism in an approachable
way, with women being able to relate to it, and men still being able to find it
funny. As the comedic world is mainly
run by men, Fey has overcome many obstacles to become one of its leading
figures. She started out doing improv in
Chicago for the Second City touring company “Blue Co,” where originally the
cast set-up was four men and two women.
In her Inside the Actors Studio interview
she said, “They had this very old-fashioned-y, show biz kind of attitude
‘Because there won’t be enough parts for the girls!’ It was like… we’re
improvising. What are you talking about?” Once she broke this mold, she eventually went
on to become the first female lead writer for SNL. While Mean
Girls has always been one of my favorites, and her SNL performances have me
in stiches, her work that has stuck out to me most for feminism has been Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
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| Even when she's soaked in the pouring rain Kimmy never breaks from having a smile on her face. |
The show centers around Kimmy Schmidt, who was
abducted and forced to live underground for 15 years by a crazy reverend who
told her the world had ended. Despite
this traumatic experience, Kimmy never fails to stay positive. She uses tricks she learned in the bunker to
get through whatever dilemmas she has to deal with. She has a motto “you can get through anything
for 10 seconds.” Fey uses the plot and
jokes to make statements not only about feminism, but about other social issues
as well. Kimmy’s gay, black roommate
Titus plays a werewolf in a play and discovers he is treated much nicer as a
werewolf than a black man. While Kimmy
does have a few love interests, it’s never the bulk of the plot. Her main goal isn’t to find a man, but to
adjust to finally living a life of her own in a world she thought had ended. By creating Kimmy Schmidt, Fey brings a
strong female character whose feminism is all about being positive and resilient
through everything. Kimmy has gone through one of the most traumatizing experiences but she doesn't let it stop her, just as we shouldn't let things in our own lives hold us back. This is so important
for women because feminists are often portrayed by the media as angry
man-haters. Fey is switching the script
in an approachable way; two of my guy friends love the show. It’s so refreshing to see a positive portrayal
of women that’s still able to cater to a universal audience. Here’s the trailer.
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