Some thoughts on media and identity

During this time period it is more important than ever to be media literate.  In our culture we are constantly being bombarded with screens, advertisements and everything we could ever want is at the touch of our fingerprints due to our smartphones. When engaging with media it is crucial to question whom are the people making this? What prejudices may they have? What motives are behind this? What ideals/products are they trying to sell us? With these questions in mind you can form informed opinions about the world around you. Even though the media often times gets a bad rap it has the ability to create shared connections between people, create social capital, and let creative people put together innovative content. Shared media events and spectacles don’t seem to be the norm as much as it used to be. I remember as a kid everyone watched American Idol. Literally everyone, and everyone constantly talked about it. I don’t think there are network shows like that anymore with such broad appeal where everyone anticipates each new episode. Events like the Superbowl though and political debates seem to be the norm when it comes to a widespread sense of common experience. My ultimate goal is to be a producer and writer for television. As Julia Louis Dreyfus put it “Television is the most fertile ground for women right now. And that’s why television is so good right now, because there are shows on television with women in starring roles and supporting roles that aren’t just ‘The Woman Role’ .” TV is the best place to really explore and push narratives and character development. Also I connect more deeply and am more compelled by the storytelling I see in television rather than film or any other kind of visual media.

           

I would say media has been a major shaping force in my life and of my identity. I attribute early exposure to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Legally Blonde for my healthy sense of self-esteem.  Growing up watching SNL I was obsessed with the comedy powerhouse of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Molly Shannon, and Kristen Wiig. In regular scripted shows however, I never really felt like there were girl, or teenage girl characters that I related to. I tended to gravitate towards the spunky goth sidekick trope whenever it arose but that was about it. I recently finished watching the CW show Crazy Ex Girlfriend, and I was suprised that the main character Rebecca Bloom is a half Jewish, half Irish girl from Westchester. It’s a pretty niche demographic but it happens to be the same as me! It wasn’t until this show that I realized that you never really see or hear about Jewish women in TV unless it’s an overbearing mother or a Jewish American Princess (i.e. Shoshanna on Girls). And while Crazy Ex Girlfriend has a lot of merit, it’s not a part of the shows prerogative to demonstrate a fully fleshed out insight to the meaning of being a Jewish woman, or the complexity of the struggle of identity when you are only half.  But Jewish men can be seen all over, they even make up some of my favorite shows like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Like many reform Jews my age, I am not particularly religious but Judaism only ever seems to be brought up when it is needed as a punchline .  The only TV show that covers Judaism, feminism, and what it means to be a woman with any nuance or honesty is Transparent, a show written and directed by a Jill Soloway about the father of a Jewish family that comes out as transgender late in his life. To have a complex female rabbi as a central character, to see rituals and traditions practiced with love and affection, was incredibly moving to see done in a popular show. According to Soloway most of the negative feedback on the show (YouTube comments) have been more anti-Semitic  than they've been transphobic, "There are more people saying horrible things about Jews than about trans people. It's crazy."(Citation)

The lack of complex, well developed female characters across the spectrum of the entertainment industry is worrisome. The lack of positive portrayals of women in media is what made me want to work in this industry. I’ve just barely started and I’ve already experienced sexism, (a story for another time). But I am optimistic that things are getting better for women and more routes are opening to find success in this incredibly competitive, boys club, industry.