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| Elizabeth Banks, Actress |
I can't.
So why do people find it acceptable to state that pretty women cannot play funny roles? An article I read recently which quoted comments from Nikki Finke appalled me. After actress Julie Bowen won her second Emmy (in 2012), Nikki Finke's backlash was:
"Only women who grew up ugly and stayed ugly, or through plastic surgery became beautiful, can pull off sitcoms or standups. Bowen wasn't a comedienne just like Brooke Shields wasn't and a zillion more. Because it's all about emotional pain and humiliation and rising above both by making people laugh with you instead of at you. So stop casting beautiful actresses when you should be giving ugly women a chance." (Finke, 2012)
I am going to dissect this statement...
Firstly, are beautiful women exempt from feeling 'emotional pain' or 'humiliation'? I think not. I believe human beings, of every kind, experience humiliation within their lifetime. Peoples' appearances do not exclude them from feeling human emotion. Furthermore, Elizabeth Banks says, while humiliation can be funny, “it is not a state of being reserved solely for the ugly, whatever that means to Nikki Finke.”
In regards to 'stop casting beautiful actresses' in comedic roles and 'giving ugly women a chance' - casting comedic roles should be entirely down to the actresses' comedic and acting skills and not how 'beautiful' or 'ugly' they are. Of course, there is the issue of character breakdown - and part of that is physical. There are factors that limit the casting type of actresses up for a role.
However, it is utterly outrageous to make a statement as blunt as 'stop casting beautiful actresses' in comedic roles.
If that comment was reversed - 'So stop casting ugly actresses when you should be giving beautiful women a chance' - there would have been an uproar in counter attacks. So why is it somehow acceptable to slander 'beautiful' actresses? Can they somehow cope better with the attack because of their 'good looks'?
My commedia dell'arte teacher in drama school is one of funniest people I have come across - and she also happens to be a highly attractive lady. The two aspects, appearance and funniness, have no correlation. Since I was a kid I have wanted to make people laugh. It is the simplest of things. It's not an experience or talent specific to an 'ugly' or 'beautiful' person (whatever the line is between those primitive generalisations...)
“Wouldn’t it be great if older, more experienced women like Ms. Finke were kinder to her fellow females in the entertainment business?” Banks retaliated.
http://ew.com/article/2012/09/27/elizabeth-banks-women-funny/
So outrageous that people make comments like this. I am sure there are many women who play/played comedic roles or who do stand up would be very offended by the notion that you should be unattractive to be in this role.
ReplyDeleteI understand that when portraying a historical role an actress may be required to look a certain way (playing queen Elizabeth in her 60's would have to be a white, older female) or someone playing a gymnast/body builder would have to have a certain physique.
But aside from this I don't understand why any one should be expected to look a certain way for a certain role?
Imagine an advertisement for an office job - "You must be 5"5 - 5"8 (because all the other women are this height, so it would be unbalanced otherwise) or "Must have blonde hair" (because we already have two brunettes and one blonde, so we need another blonde" the outcry this would cause!
Looking forward to see how your inquiry progresses and hearing about your findings.
Emily x
This is such a good post and one I think will be very useful in your inquiry.
ReplyDeleteBeauty or lack of is insignificant to whether you have talent or not. Does her statement mean all 'ugly' women are funny, because of how they look? or because of their talent?
Another point entirely, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....
This is so fascinating. I find in the world of ballet things can work out very much like this. People are cast because of their looks and not on the talent of their dancing or the ability to interpret a role. Comic roles are almost always assigned to small male dancers never the tall ones who are assumed to look too much like a prince. I think it is time people took a step back and stopped stereotyping on appearance. Yes I agree with Jennifer, beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway.
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to following your inquiry.