Project Question: Can you be commercially successful
and call yourself a feminist?
Paper Question:
Women in comedy: Race, Sexuality, and Feminism
Can you be funny and be a “something” (lesbian, feminist,
woman of color, liberal democrat, etc.) or should you sacrifice your self-identification
to be able to play all parts?
3 Main Topics
Race:
The SNL Issue- why have the producers and cast members been
saying that they “haven’t found someone ready for the task” concerning women of
color on the show when there are literally hundreds of capable women of color
in the entertainment world? Have
they intentionally chosen not to cast a wide enough net?
Why are we still dividing comic sketches to fit antiquated racial demographics? Comparing the intended audiences for Key and Peele vs. John Stewart and
Colbert. Why are there no men of color hosting late night or political talk shows? Why do all female hosted shows end before 5pm?
Sexuality:
Ellen and Kate McKinnon- do they fall into a trap of having
to be out to be respected? Why do we just presume that a certain amount of men
in comedy are gay, but it’s a big deal if one is lesbian? Why is that a historical trend?
Feminism:
Tina Fey, Amy Pohler, Ellen Page, all funny women who have
deemed themselves feminists. This
seems to work fine- they are among the highest paid comedians in TV. So how do they manage to fend off the
negative criticisms often aimed at pop stars (Gaga, Miley), film makers (Diablo
Cody, Catherine Hardwicke), writers (Stephanie Meyers) and politicians (Hillary
Clinton, Wendy Davis)? It TV
acting alone in its category because we have made more strides thematically?
If anyone could give me advice on how to narrow my topic/
make a more developed thesis I would love the input!
No comments:
Post a Comment