![]() "Can you believe it, Hillary?" Fey's Palin asked as she described how she was now closer than Clinton to getting into the White House. "I believe diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy," Clinton intoned seriously, before Palin chirped: "I can see Russia from my house!"Īs the sketch went on, Fey perfectly captured a preening, posing, ignorant Palin against Poehler's stunned and amazed Clinton, who by that time had lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama. ![]() The two stood together at a plinth and addressed America. It reached its apogee in a Saturday Night Live skit with Amy Poehler playing Hillary Clinton as the pair issued a joint statement condemning sexism in politics. Fey skewered Palin's mom-turned-mama-grizzly political persona with such accuracy that it became a pop culture sensation.īut at the same time she was also skewering the representation of women that many thought Palin symbolised: the conservative, "hockey mom" values and ignorance of a wider world. One of the most ground-breaking and devastating moments in recent US comedic history was Fey's Saturday Night Live impression of former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin during the 2008 election campaign. On her way she has also been unafraid to punch out at not just men but more traditional depictions of women. To get where she is, Tina Fey has had to break through a lot of walls," said Adam Frucci, who runs the comedy blog Splitsider. "TV really has been a pretty male-dominated field. Instead she sticks to her strengths, trusting that her sly intelligence will carry her through. Unlike some successful female comedians, such as Sarah Silverman, Fey has not had to outswear and outoffend her male rivals to do well. Using that same math, I can deduce that male comedy writers also piss in cups," she said.Ĭlearly Fey is not afraid to give as good as she gets in her working environment, which perhaps explains why she has done so well. Anytime there's a bad female standup somewhere, some idiot interblogger will deduce that 'women aren't funny'. But four or five out of 20 did, so the men have to own that one. "Not all of the men at SNL whizzed in cups. And sometimes jars," she observes of her fellow writers in one chapter, before detailing the habit in hilarious prose. ![]() They often address the problems of being a woman in the comic world, usually in funny and surreal ways. Indeed many of the passages extracted from Bossypants could easily be made into episodes of 30 Rock (and perhaps many have been). 30 Rock bears more than a passing resemblance to Saturday Night Live. After all, Fey was lead writer on Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006 and is a successful woman in a man's world of comedy television. It is hard to get away from the fact that Lemon and Fey are intimately bound up with each other. Lemon's insecurities, combined with her independent career girl persona, make her a role model for many modern women. "Liz Lemon is so self-deprecating but she also keeps zinging out these witty humour barbs underneath that," Carter said. Fey plays the character with warmth and a clumsy vulnerability which only adds to the comedy. She eschews any interest in fashion or dressing sexily and relies on her brain and wits to get through each episode, though not always successfully. Fey plays Lemon as a dishevelled geek who frets about not having any sex. She has climbed every mountain and succeeded, and she is a huge role model for women."įey's high profile to a large extent lies with the success of Liz Lemon, the main character in 30 Rock, who is the lead writer of a late-night comedy show. "Tina is a huge breakthrough," said Judy Carter, a standup comic and motivational speaker. Women across the US are taking notice and anointing Fey in perhaps her least expected role so far: that of feminist pioneer. She is also doing it by dint of an intelligent, witty brand of humour that slyly undercuts the usual celebrity obsession with looks. Two excerpts have appeared in the New Yorker: an honour more often associated with renowned writers.īy any standards it is a remarkable rise – but it is made more so because Fey is rocketing skywards as a successful woman in the overwhelmingly male-dominated world of comedy. Fey has graced numerous magazine covers and this week sees the release of her autobiography, Bossypants. Nor is her realm limited to television and Hollywood. The truth is that might not be the case, for she has rapidly spread across America's cultural landscape, from late-night comedy to primetime television to movies. Yet, in order to work, the joke relied on disingenuousness: the idea that Fey stands in the shadow of someone like Mirren. It was the sort of thing that her most famous alter ego, Liz Lemon from the hit TV sitcom 30 Rock, could easily have said herself. It was vintage Fey, combining sharp satirical wit with a faux seriousness and a sudden attack of insecurity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |