Portions of this article are cross-posted at my TV blog, House & Home
“Lorne brought her over to my house when she was head writer,”…“She was very mousy. I thought, Well, they gotta be having an affair. But they weren’t. He just appreciated her talent. –Sue Mengers, Hollywood Agent, on Tina Fey pre-fame, quoted in Vanity Fair.
‘Liz Lemon’: Besides wanting Tina Fey’s tiny waist as my own, I respect this woman’s work ethic. I watched the whole first series of 30 Rock this past weekend. It is one of the funniest, sharp, witty and general joke programmes that has come out of the US for many years. I am not normally a massive fan of US comedy to be honest. I think a lot of the sitcom fodder like Friends was dull and unoriginal. 30 Rock is not a sitcom but it is like a new form of comedy that is self-referential and makes fun of itself. Do yourself a favour and watch it please.
It’s no secret that Tina created the show, developed it, writes on it sometimes as well as being the lead actress on it. I can barely find time to work on my website as well as doing my assignments for my journalism MA and this woman is doing so many roles on the show. Tina is 38, married, a mum of one child and this hard working woman who has basically built a brand.
Reading that Vanity Fair quote again, I take great offence to this idea that Fey had to have been *with* a man (older than her, of course) to have been successful. It’s such an annoying idea and even more so that it comes from a WOMAN!
We really are our own worst enemies. Fey worked hard for her success. It doesn’t always have to be a man who is there.
9 Comments
05/03/2009 at 14:23
I thought Tina Fey was pretty good in the movie Baby Mama the film was a modest success. I thought Fey’s acting in Baby Mama could of been better though she definitely needs to work on her acting skills.
I know this won’t sound PC does Tina Fey have a lazy eye? It looks like one of her eyes are drooping?
05/03/2009 at 21:44
It was hardly a modest succes, it made a whole lot of money at the box office. Tina is a bankable. She wrote Mean Girls, which catapulted Lindsay Lohan to fame. I think she is very talented and her rise to fame is 100% deserved.
And whether or not she does not have a lazy eye is not really relevant IMO because it doesn’t impair her work. (I have never personally noticed that anyway whilst watching 30R).
04/03/2009 at 17:16
Aulelia,
30 Rock is a good show but…sometimes they have a little hipster racism going on with Tracey Morgan’s character.
04/03/2009 at 18:17
@Monie, I thought that at first before I watched the show deeply but in fact, after watching the whole series, I think they are mocking the idea that Hollywood has made of black people *only* being funny and used as funny mechanisms. Essentially, it’s very satirical and it has a very British way of looking at things in that it takes the piss out of everything. Also, Tracey Morgan is not the only black character on the show. Kevin Powell plays Toofer, who is hilarious.
03/03/2009 at 19:32
@kimi, lol I *hate* Friends. I think it is so contrived. That’s just me though!
@ph2072, that is what society tells up. I am cooking up a post about the disposability of women because I want to talk about this more at length. It’s very sad.
03/03/2009 at 19:15
Yeah because you know, fucking is all we’re good for, right? :-/
03/03/2009 at 18:50
“And yeah, I agree with you on women being their own enemies. I even think that, unfortunately, they are more misogynist amongst women than amongst men. Sad.”
Yes. It’s a real shame.
I never saw what the excitement was with “Friends”.
I’ve heard good things about 30 Rock. Maybe I need to watch it one night……..
03/03/2009 at 19:11
@ph2072, Thank you for commenting. I think what I find so disheartening is the fact that some women make it seem like women have to use sex to get ahead. It’s so disgusting. Not all women fuck to the top. Some women do, but some do not. It’s just not fair.
30R is hilarious. It takes a few episodes to get into but it is very funny. It’s about a writer and a TV she makes so it would suit people into sarcastic mocking shows.
02/03/2009 at 21:24
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat ?!
Calling FRIENDS “dull” ?! “original” ?!
How dare you !! You can’t be serious !!
Nah, seriously, “Friends” is in my personal hall of fame TV series. I don’t normally watch sitcoms a lot (I’m totally indifferent to “Ugly Betty”, “Lost”, “24″, “Prison Break” and tons other TV series that folks praise constantly)… but “Friends”, that was (and still IS) my shit !
I don’t know 30 Rock. I don’t think it is aired in France, yet… Or maybe it is on the cable channel named “Canal +” Usually, they are always the first to show US Tv series. I think at the moment, they are showing “Pushing daisies” and “Dexter”…
I don’t have the cable, so…
And yeah, I agree with you on women being their own enemies. I even think that, unfortunately, they are more misogynist amongst women than amongst men. Sad.