Girls and the Industry
My first blog post was about Sex and the City character Samantha Jones. I was inspired by Kim Cattrall and her iconic character, but more importantly I was inspired by what Samantha Jones represented to me in my life at this transitional period. Well, now that things have calmed down a bit and I have settled into my life in Chicago a little more comfortably, I've been thinking about things a little less close to home and at a more global level. As odd as it may sound, because things are going so well in my life, it has been difficult for me to find something to write about. I have started several blogs about things that make me smile and other more trivial aspects of my life, maybe accompanied by gifs, and some of them may surface sooner or later. However, today I want to talk about something a less self centered.
Which brings me back to Sex and the City. I came across this article from the New York Times: Sex? Yes. The City? Yes. But Things Have Changed. It is an interview with Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbs) and Girls' Allison Williams (Marnie Michaels). Now, I am a fan of both of these shows, and I have made the comparison between the two as has probably every person who has heard even the premise of these television series. I have my own opinions on which I like better and my opinions on all of the actresses involved, but they are irrelevant to this fact: I am able to have an opinion on multiple actresses in one television series. In the interview, the topic of how Cynthia or Allison identify with their characters and furthermore, would they be able to play one of the other roles in their show (which I have to say is a fun game to play) as well as the godesses that each SATC lead represented (seriously, Cynthia Nixon, you are so eloquent and clever). This portion of the conversation culminated in Cynthia's astute observation that: "when you were a girl, you were forced to identify with the one girl on the show. But now it’s like, which one of those girls am I? You’re not usually given a sampler plate."
But how long has it taken for us to have this second coming of a popular, critically acclaimed, female relationship centered, television series? 10 years! Of course there have been other shows that contain strong female characters, even at the forefront. But none so relateable, real and, let's face it, popular. So, the real question is, why does it take our society, and specifically our media culture, so long to have a show created by women, about women, for women? Of course, I also hate the idea of saying "there should be a show completely sans men" because that is just sexism in the less common direction. Sex and the City itself was created by Darren Star and Girls has Judd Apatow's name behind it. But I still think it is important to point out that television has really been a man's game. To give you an idea of how few television series that are pretty much female across the board, here is a list from the top of my head and little imbd searching:
Gilmore Girls - Created by Amy Sherman Palladino, starring Lauren Graham (who when Palladino left production in the 7th season took over as an executive producer) and Alexis Bledel. Although this is a story more about a family, Lorelai is a great example of a strong independent female. There is also one great episode in season 1 ("That Damn Donna Reed") that addresses this very issue of women in television (how meta). While it is one of my favorite shows (understatement of the year), it does have a sort of fairy tale quality to it, and therefore I think falls short of that "real life" aspect that both Girls and SATC have achieved. And while successful, never as critically and widely accepted as either of the more popular series. But, it is almost totally female driven. Also, the demographic is much younger than most of the other shows I'll talk about and therefore has somewhat of an "after school special" air about it. Which is, honestly, part of its charm; not to mention the mile a minute, reference dropping, signature dialogue.
Orange is the New Black - Created by Jenji Kohan. Based on the book by Piper Kerman. Starring... well a lot of women. Ok. So, I understand that this takes place in a prison and there's a lot of less than savory stuff going on and while still totally relateable in its own way, it isn't exactly true to (the average viewer's) life. These reasons are of course why we all love it so much. Because this completely foreign setting to most of us is totally understandable with great writing and acting. While we may have never stabbed someone with a kitchen knife and done hard time for it, we all understand the feeling of wanting to protect someone innocent that you care about. Also, you can't deny how many women are in this show. The simple fact alone of the number of women production has to hire in order to make it probably knocks every other show's gender statistics out of the water.
The Mindy Project - Created by Mindy Kaling. Starring Mindy Kaling. This is flawed though. While she is a successful doctor in New York City, Mindy is really the only female of note in the series. There are other actresses, but they are one liners at best. I love Mindy Kaling. Seriously, I want to be her best friend. And I think she is a great role model for young women, particularly those looking to get into the entertainment industry and she has some women working behind the scenes. But, I wish she would bring back Anna Camp as her best friend, because Mindy is drowning in a sea of (incredibly attractive, hilarious and intelligent) men.
The Carrie Diaries (yes I went there) - Created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz (which should remove it from my list but...). Adapted from Candace Bushnell's book by former SATC writer Amy B. Harris. I should take it off my list because my goal was to only have shows created solely by women in order to see the length of that list. But, Josh Schwartz is in some pretty great female company, so I don't think its fair to remove his shows from the list just because of his reproductive parts. He can't help it. This, like Gilmore Girls, has a much younger demographic than any of the other TV shows discussed. Also like Gilmore Girls, it airs on the CW (formerly the WB). It is the prequel to Carrie Bradshaw's days we are all so familiar with thanks to HBO. Because of its younger demographic, I find it to have a bit of that fairy tale-ish quality similar to Gilmore. I think it is the CWs answer to a lack of Gossip Girl. For example, the completely ridiculous situations that would have been prevented by parents in real life; the references to films, music, art, and literature that seem eerily like the writers knew what they were talking about when they wrote it down, but the actors (many not all) have not taken the time to research in order to know what the heck they are saying; the underage drinking; and general underage-ness of all of it. Maybe I was a goody goody in high school or maybe I have really good parents (both actually), but I certainly wouldn't have gotten away with 90% of the stuff that these teens do in either of these shows. Which brings me to...
Gossip Girl - Also created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz. Adapted from Cecily von Ziegesar's novel series of the same name. It's the same team as The Carrie Diaries and like Orange is the New Black it is lacking in morality and ethics and yet we still can't help but love the characters. It also is completely unrealistic and the lifestyle that these characters lead is completely unrelateable to the average viewer. However, it was incredibly popular. I love this show. It was so successful for the same reason people watch soap operas or The Hangover. It's ridiculous escapism. Nonetheless, it has a heavy female influence, even if all of those women are trying to con each other out of their jobs, boyfriends, homes, and are generally just completely evil to one another.
30 Rock - I'm adding this here because of course it was created by Tina Fey. As critics and fans alike have categorically agreed, this show is brilliant. And while not about women in the way SATC or Girls is, it does show strong and powerful women of all different nationalities and backgrounds. It is definitely not real life in the way that say a show like Parenthood has been acclaimed, but the characters are still somehow totally relateable and lovable. Especially the female ones (come on, Jane Krakowski can do no wrong).
These are really the ones I can think of at the top of my head right now. I'm sure I'm missing some, but regardless. It's a short list. Of course there have been shows before SATC created by women with great female characters about feminine issues (I Love Lucy, The Carol Burnett Show, Absolutely Fabulous). Shows that were created by women but are male driven (The Daily Show with John Stewart was created by two women for heaven's sake). And shows created by men about women, SATC being one of them. I'm also not saying that women should take over the industry. All I am saying is while we have made strides on the gender equality front, we have such a long way to go. Last June, the Writer's Guild of America compiled a list of the greatest written TV shows of all time. Indiewire then went through and counted how many women were involved with those productions: 23 out of 101. That number is too low. I know I'm not the first to write about this, nor I hope will I be the last. And the entertainment industry is far from the only place where this is relevant.
Which brings me back to Sex and the City. I came across this article from the New York Times: Sex? Yes. The City? Yes. But Things Have Changed. It is an interview with Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbs) and Girls' Allison Williams (Marnie Michaels). Now, I am a fan of both of these shows, and I have made the comparison between the two as has probably every person who has heard even the premise of these television series. I have my own opinions on which I like better and my opinions on all of the actresses involved, but they are irrelevant to this fact: I am able to have an opinion on multiple actresses in one television series. In the interview, the topic of how Cynthia or Allison identify with their characters and furthermore, would they be able to play one of the other roles in their show (which I have to say is a fun game to play) as well as the godesses that each SATC lead represented (seriously, Cynthia Nixon, you are so eloquent and clever). This portion of the conversation culminated in Cynthia's astute observation that: "when you were a girl, you were forced to identify with the one girl on the show. But now it’s like, which one of those girls am I? You’re not usually given a sampler plate."
But how long has it taken for us to have this second coming of a popular, critically acclaimed, female relationship centered, television series? 10 years! Of course there have been other shows that contain strong female characters, even at the forefront. But none so relateable, real and, let's face it, popular. So, the real question is, why does it take our society, and specifically our media culture, so long to have a show created by women, about women, for women? Of course, I also hate the idea of saying "there should be a show completely sans men" because that is just sexism in the less common direction. Sex and the City itself was created by Darren Star and Girls has Judd Apatow's name behind it. But I still think it is important to point out that television has really been a man's game. To give you an idea of how few television series that are pretty much female across the board, here is a list from the top of my head and little imbd searching:
Gilmore Girls - Created by Amy Sherman Palladino, starring Lauren Graham (who when Palladino left production in the 7th season took over as an executive producer) and Alexis Bledel. Although this is a story more about a family, Lorelai is a great example of a strong independent female. There is also one great episode in season 1 ("That Damn Donna Reed") that addresses this very issue of women in television (how meta). While it is one of my favorite shows (understatement of the year), it does have a sort of fairy tale quality to it, and therefore I think falls short of that "real life" aspect that both Girls and SATC have achieved. And while successful, never as critically and widely accepted as either of the more popular series. But, it is almost totally female driven. Also, the demographic is much younger than most of the other shows I'll talk about and therefore has somewhat of an "after school special" air about it. Which is, honestly, part of its charm; not to mention the mile a minute, reference dropping, signature dialogue.
Orange is the New Black - Created by Jenji Kohan. Based on the book by Piper Kerman. Starring... well a lot of women. Ok. So, I understand that this takes place in a prison and there's a lot of less than savory stuff going on and while still totally relateable in its own way, it isn't exactly true to (the average viewer's) life. These reasons are of course why we all love it so much. Because this completely foreign setting to most of us is totally understandable with great writing and acting. While we may have never stabbed someone with a kitchen knife and done hard time for it, we all understand the feeling of wanting to protect someone innocent that you care about. Also, you can't deny how many women are in this show. The simple fact alone of the number of women production has to hire in order to make it probably knocks every other show's gender statistics out of the water.
The Mindy Project - Created by Mindy Kaling. Starring Mindy Kaling. This is flawed though. While she is a successful doctor in New York City, Mindy is really the only female of note in the series. There are other actresses, but they are one liners at best. I love Mindy Kaling. Seriously, I want to be her best friend. And I think she is a great role model for young women, particularly those looking to get into the entertainment industry and she has some women working behind the scenes. But, I wish she would bring back Anna Camp as her best friend, because Mindy is drowning in a sea of (incredibly attractive, hilarious and intelligent) men.
The Carrie Diaries (yes I went there) - Created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz (which should remove it from my list but...). Adapted from Candace Bushnell's book by former SATC writer Amy B. Harris. I should take it off my list because my goal was to only have shows created solely by women in order to see the length of that list. But, Josh Schwartz is in some pretty great female company, so I don't think its fair to remove his shows from the list just because of his reproductive parts. He can't help it. This, like Gilmore Girls, has a much younger demographic than any of the other TV shows discussed. Also like Gilmore Girls, it airs on the CW (formerly the WB). It is the prequel to Carrie Bradshaw's days we are all so familiar with thanks to HBO. Because of its younger demographic, I find it to have a bit of that fairy tale-ish quality similar to Gilmore. I think it is the CWs answer to a lack of Gossip Girl. For example, the completely ridiculous situations that would have been prevented by parents in real life; the references to films, music, art, and literature that seem eerily like the writers knew what they were talking about when they wrote it down, but the actors (many not all) have not taken the time to research in order to know what the heck they are saying; the underage drinking; and general underage-ness of all of it. Maybe I was a goody goody in high school or maybe I have really good parents (both actually), but I certainly wouldn't have gotten away with 90% of the stuff that these teens do in either of these shows. Which brings me to...
Gossip Girl - Also created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz. Adapted from Cecily von Ziegesar's novel series of the same name. It's the same team as The Carrie Diaries and like Orange is the New Black it is lacking in morality and ethics and yet we still can't help but love the characters. It also is completely unrealistic and the lifestyle that these characters lead is completely unrelateable to the average viewer. However, it was incredibly popular. I love this show. It was so successful for the same reason people watch soap operas or The Hangover. It's ridiculous escapism. Nonetheless, it has a heavy female influence, even if all of those women are trying to con each other out of their jobs, boyfriends, homes, and are generally just completely evil to one another.
30 Rock - I'm adding this here because of course it was created by Tina Fey. As critics and fans alike have categorically agreed, this show is brilliant. And while not about women in the way SATC or Girls is, it does show strong and powerful women of all different nationalities and backgrounds. It is definitely not real life in the way that say a show like Parenthood has been acclaimed, but the characters are still somehow totally relateable and lovable. Especially the female ones (come on, Jane Krakowski can do no wrong).
These are really the ones I can think of at the top of my head right now. I'm sure I'm missing some, but regardless. It's a short list. Of course there have been shows before SATC created by women with great female characters about feminine issues (I Love Lucy, The Carol Burnett Show, Absolutely Fabulous). Shows that were created by women but are male driven (The Daily Show with John Stewart was created by two women for heaven's sake). And shows created by men about women, SATC being one of them. I'm also not saying that women should take over the industry. All I am saying is while we have made strides on the gender equality front, we have such a long way to go. Last June, the Writer's Guild of America compiled a list of the greatest written TV shows of all time. Indiewire then went through and counted how many women were involved with those productions: 23 out of 101. That number is too low. I know I'm not the first to write about this, nor I hope will I be the last. And the entertainment industry is far from the only place where this is relevant.
I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a woman trying to make it in the the entertainment industry. A woman who does not fit societal ideals of beauty and body image. I also pride myself in making my own way and being independent in my career choices (which I admit can also be a fault). The successful women in the entertainment industry that I really admire, however, (Tina Fey, Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Jennifer Saunders, Jane Lynch, Meryl Streep, to name a few) are just that: different and independent. They don't conform to what Hollywood has told us is "female" and they haven't waited for success to come to them. That's just a general good life rule, but particularly for women. Make your own rules and don't wait for someone else to tell you what to do. In the words of the Avett Brothers: "Decide what to be and go be it". While I may never achieve the commercial success of these women, I hope that in the end I can say that I never compromised on those values because I like to think that it is for these very differences that they are successful. Maybe society is ready to reject the illusion of perfection and embrace the beauty of reality.
I'll leave you with one image (literally). I, like most of the world, am obsessed with Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire right now and of course George R.R. Martin has been praised for his use of female characters in his novels and their translation to the small screen. This image has been going around for a while, but I always come back to it because I find it so uplifting. Here's to everyone soon sharing this view of the world.
I'll leave you with one image (literally). I, like most of the world, am obsessed with Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire right now and of course George R.R. Martin has been praised for his use of female characters in his novels and their translation to the small screen. This image has been going around for a while, but I always come back to it because I find it so uplifting. Here's to everyone soon sharing this view of the world.
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