Liz Meriwether is a hilarious and brilliant writer (I taught her when she was an undergrad, and she was really the best and dreamiest student ever). And in fact, for what it's worth, she is adorable in person. And Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was delightful. So was The Squid and the Whale. I'm not sure where the "vapid" and "mediocre" are coming from. Perhaps y'all are used to higher fare at the CIneplex?
@VedetteHope: The Squid and the Whale was written by a man: Noah Baumbach. One of these 'writers' appeared in it as: Grad Student.
And for the love of God, please do not compare twee hipster shit like Nick and Norah to something sad, deep and actually intelligent like The Squid and the Whale, no matter how "dreamy" and "adorable" your former student is (and btw, yuck).
pressure to look photogenic in a way that is not demanded of male screenwriters
I'm no expert on screenwriters, but the few I've known (male or female) would welcome any "pressure" on anything from anyone, since their whole gig is getting people's attention and, given the nature of the market, that task is a constant uphill struggle for them.
"Pressure" means that at least someone is paying attention and maybe even cares, which I imagine beats ignorance or apathy by a factor of, oh, fifty zillion or so.
Sometimes it seems as though complaining about the attention one gets is just a way of emphasizing that one gets a lot of attention (and nevertheless wants more).
@MrRewrite: You sound like some kid's bitter divorced dad in a bad fauxindie redemption movie. Which means any minute now you'll meet a cute waitress and you guys will write the great American screenplay together as you regain your faith in love - and yourself.
@metoometoo: What about paranoically interpreting absolutely every little thing as sexist or an attack on/hatred directed towards women like you do? How utterly tiresome it must be to be you.
@Arceus: Reducing the careers of four successful women writers to: "no talent; it's who you know and who you blow. the end" is sexist and an attack on/hatred directed towards women. That is not my paranoia, that is an easy, obvious interpretation of a straightforwardly offensive and insulting statement.
jrhys responded to that statement with a rather lighthearted retort, and you called her a feminazi, and thus, painted yourself as probably at least somewhat sexist.
Not every little thing is sexist or an attack on women, but some things are. Pointing that out doesn't make someone a feminazi, nor does it make one paranoid or tiresome.
The tone of the article is annoying, but I didn't find the subjects annoying at all. When you are an even moderately attractive girl or young women, you will inevitably be praised and rewarded for your looks. When you lose weight, or get a more flattering hairstyle, or wear sexier, more revealing clothes, you get positive attention. People are nicer to you, and they pay more attention to you. When you are a young women in a male-dominated field, this phenomenon becomes even more pronounced. When you are constantly rewarded for playing up your sexuality and disparaged when you fail to meet the stringent demands that society places on a young woman's appearance, it is inevitably going to shape your behavior, to an extent. It's completely unreasonable to hold that against women who are legitimately smart and funny and hardworking.
@Weegee's bored: Oh, well, duh... They are held by the standard held against every woman: supermodel/playboy sex goddess. OBVIOUSLY. Was there another standard? I mean, not to be picky or unkind, but come on, there's only supermodel hot or completely ugly troll, right? So, then, no one should consider these women attractive... since they're not supermodels. I'm not being picky! Promise! No argument here!!
@hesperid: Right . . . So, anyone who isn't a troll is automatically gorgeous? Is saying they're not gorgeous really maligning them?
I think it's very important that we take all statements about their absolute unequivocal gorgeousness very personally. How they look is the most important thing in the world to all of us. Best to be extremely precise.
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And for the love of God, please do not compare twee hipster shit like Nick and Norah to something sad, deep and actually intelligent like The Squid and the Whale, no matter how "dreamy" and "adorable" your former student is (and btw, yuck).
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03/23/09
I'm no expert on screenwriters, but the few I've known (male or female) would welcome any "pressure" on anything from anyone, since their whole gig is getting people's attention and, given the nature of the market, that task is a constant uphill struggle for them.
"Pressure" means that at least someone is paying attention and maybe even cares, which I imagine beats ignorance or apathy by a factor of, oh, fifty zillion or so.
Sometimes it seems as though complaining about the attention one gets is just a way of emphasizing that one gets a lot of attention (and nevertheless wants more).
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If we all sing together, we could make up a ''Choir of People Everybody Hates The Most In The World''! ''
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Accusing commenters who fail to express a general hatred toward women of being "feminazis"...that, I might refer to as "spewing."
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jrhys responded to that statement with a rather lighthearted retort, and you called her a feminazi, and thus, painted yourself as probably at least somewhat sexist.
Not every little thing is sexist or an attack on women, but some things are. Pointing that out doesn't make someone a feminazi, nor does it make one paranoid or tiresome.
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The word "feminist" means someone who advocates for woman's equality.
The word "feminazi" is a word that belittles and insults people with this goal by comparing them to followers of Hitler.
Come on now.
03/22/09
"We talked about our bowels, and I was like, 'O.K., we're best friends now.'"
Doesn't seem like the comment of someone overly concerned about being presented as sexy.
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I think it's very important that we take all statements about their absolute unequivocal gorgeousness very personally. How they look is the most important thing in the world to all of us. Best to be extremely precise.