“This better be important Jack, I was in the middle of buying a bag of bras on e-bay.”
Liz LeMonday, Tina Fey’s character on “30 Rock,” isn’t exactly the kind of woman that men fantasize about. But the way Fey shapes her character makes her one of the of the most refreshing and funny leading women portrayed on TV. Fey’s honest portrayal of societal biases against women brings to light a theme that is largely ignored on the small screen and one that deserves more attention.
Recent shows like “Mad Men”, “Pan Am” and “The Playboy Club” have brought the theme of the feminist struggle in the 1960’s into the spotlight. But what about feminism today? We may have come a long way since the ‘60s, but sexism hasn’t just gone away. It’s hard to find female characters on TV who exemplify leadership or make objections to unfair standards set by men. As one of the few female superstars in the male-dominated word of comedy, Fey has had her share of obstacles. In her memoir “Bossypants,” Fey makes several critiques about the prevalence of men in comedy. On working for “Saturday Night Live” she comments, “Only in comedy does an obedient white girl from the suburbs count as diversity.” Throughout her journey from “TheSecond City” to “Saturday Night Live,” she has dealt with men who were convinced that audiences didn’t respond to female comedians as well as they did to male ones. Clearly the stereotype that women aren’t as funny as men isn’t true, as Fey has become a household name in comedy.
Fey’s struggle has clearly influenced her work, which often shows hints of feminism. Some of Fey’s most famous performances on “SNL” were her Sarah Palin sketches. She highlighted the sexism that marked the election by making a plea for people to stop photoshopping her head onto girls in bikinis, while Amy Poehler as Hilary Clinton asked people to stop telling her she has cankles. Fey also wrote “Mean Girls,” a movie that may not have made profound feminist statements, but sent a clear girl power message. In her role as dowdy high school teacher, Fey pleads to her jaded female students, “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it OK for guys to call you sluts and whores.”
And then there’s “30 Rock,” in which Fey plays the overworked protagonist. Her personal life is perpetually in shambles and she dresses as though she bought all her clothes on one trip to the Gap in 1999. You get the feeling Liz has had it rough from day one – her last name is Lemon. She has real flaws, but she perseveres and maintains her humor through it all. She’s juxtaposed by Jenna, the blonde actress who relies on her “sexuality” to get her places, characterizing the double standards imposed on women by the media.
The self-deprecating humor that defines Liz Lemon makes her a unique character on TV. She’s the antithesis to women on shows like “Sex and the City,” who spend their days going to lunch in designer clothes. When I spend my nights sitting at my desk in my Snuggie doing work, I relate a lot less to Carrie Bradshaw than I do to Liz LeMonday, who spends her nights sitting at her desk in her Snuggie. In the show “The New Girl,” Zooey Deschanel plays a character who seems to emulate this relatable, guy-challenged Liz Lemon-type figure, but Deschanel is so charming and beautiful that it’s hard to believe she’s ever been a dork.
However, Liz Lemon is not an overtly feminist character, and “30 Rock” is a lot more about one-liners and outrageous plots than meaning. But I think there’s a lot to be said for Fey’s portrayal of women as real, flawed people rather than “Sex and the City” glamazons. Also, if “30 Rock” or a show like it were more openly feminist, I doubt that it would be as well-received. When Tracy Morgan catches Liz Lemon in her snuggie, she exclaims defensively, “I’m wearing it as a joke!” But maybe the joke’s on us. LeMonday, as frazzled and disheveled as she is, should perhaps be taken seriously as a feminist figure.
Natalie Friedman is a Weinberg senior.
She can be reached at [email protected]
