Oh, and she's physically attractive.
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First, we have LIVE REPORT where a local news team reports on a car-swallowing sinkhole at a local shopping center. When the location reporter turns to interview the locals, the story quickly becomes Hot Woman with Lame Guy?! The five-minute sketch only devolves from there. Lame guy must be rich? No! He's a puppeteer!? He must be well endowed then? No, he doesn't even have a penis!? I'm not making this up. Margo Robbie gets to stand there and look hot while everyone else wonders how her character could possibly have picked a man that doesn't fit society's standards. I'm wondering how this ever made it to air.
Second, we have THE LIBRARIAN. You can probably guess how this goes. A student pines for the sexy librarian and his friend decides to embarrass him by drawing this fact to the librarian's attention. She responds by launching into an increasingly disturbing erotic display, eventually turning into some kind of demon creature and literally blowing the boys' minds. I honestly don't know what to make of this. Maybe it was supposed to be subversive? If so, I don't think it worked and we now have two sexy-host sketches. They couldn't think of anything better for her to do?
These disasters look worse given the other missed opportunities throughout the show. For example, my hopes were raised somewhat as I started on ACTRESS ROUND TABLE. Here was a sketch with five women representing show-business role models (Keira Knightly, Marion Cotillard, Lupita Nyong'o) discussing their industry and craft. What a great opportunity to showcase female performances in some cutting feminist satire! Unfortunately, the sketch was mostly a vehicle for (the fabulous) Kate McKinnon to do one of her unhinged old-biddy characters. What could have been a strong feminist sketch slowly died in a pool of dementia-based humor. Ms. Robbie's turn as Keira Knightly barely registers.
Perhaps most damning of all is the absolutely fantastic MR. ROBOT sketch in which Leslie Jones co-opts the show's hacker protagonist to help reveal the people behind her recent nude photo hack. The sketch is a brilliant FU to all the haters and it proves that the SNL writers can produce brilliant satire at the highest level. Margot Robbie has an 8-second cameo. Where was this brilliance when they were writing for her?! This was the season premiere!
FAIL. She deserved better.
I hate when comedy writing is so lazy that it just relies on the cheap laugh based on some stereotype or trope . . . also the Mr.Robot sketch really bothers me, people think it's funny because they are able to capture the look and style of the original show, but the crux of the joke is that the person who is responsible for this woman's leaked photos and invasion of privacy . . . is herself? Once again, literally: twist the story to blame the victim.
ReplyDeleteI wrote this SNL post in haste before the election and was a bit embarrassed to see it pop up today. The quick fluff piece didn’t seem appropriate in light of recent events. Luckily, L’s comment this morning helped crystallize a relevant dilemma I’ve had festering in the back of my mind for several weeks, namely: How do we balance a woman’s right to do whatever the F*** she wants, with her responsibility (if any) to advance feminist causes?
ReplyDeleteWith regard to the Margot Robbie SNL episode, consider this thought experiment.
What would you say/do if Margot Robbie had gone into the SNL writer’s room and said, “My brand is totally about being sexually objectified. In this episode I really want to [proposes the Live Report and Librarian sketches.]”
Do you shout, “YOU GO GIRL! LIVE YOUR TRUTH!”?
Do you scream, “BURN THE TRAITOR!”?
Do you think, “That’s unfortunate, but she can do what she wants.”?
For the record, none of those responses seem satisfying to me and I don’t think Margot Robbie said anything of the kind. Even if she had, the writers had many opportunities to balance things out in other sketches (Actress Round Table?!). Instead, we’re left in a grey area. The writers undoubtedly worked with Ms. Robbie in advance of the show, getting feedback from her and working to make her happy. It’s doubtful anyone forced her into anything and she looks like she’s having a great time on the show. If she was “in on the joke,” does that excuse the lazy writing under the Doing-What-She-Wants doctrine? Does it give the audience clearance to laugh? OR, should we be doubly angry because she failed in her responsibilities under the Advancing-Feminism doctrine? What are those responsibilities? Who decides? If some people insist that privilege = responsibility but the individual in question doesn’t know or accept that premise, is the individual still responsible?
Leslie Jones’ Mr. Robot sketch seems like an even murkier grey area. I will admit that the victim-blaming concern raised by L never crossed my mind and I went for a 2-hour walk to consider the charge. On one hand, the sketch seems very “on brand” for Ms. Jones. Its themes match sentiments she’s voiced in many interviews, namely: I’m here, I’m not shy, and I don’t take myself that seriously. [See https://youtu.be/qxGbNCLelt0 for her recent monologue on Weekend Update.] Coming from an older, black woman, the I’m-Going-to-Keep-Being-Me message seems powerful. On the other hand, the Oops She Did It ending seems lazy at best considering persistent victim-blaming sentiments.
ReplyDeleteI can’t find writing credits for the sketch, but given its personal nature, it seems likely that Ms. Jones was involved at some level. Again, if she was “in on the joke,” does that excuse the lazy writing under the Doing-What-She-Wants doctrine? Does it give the audience clearance to laugh? OR, should we be doubly angry because she failed in her responsibilities under the Advancing-Feminism doctrine? What are those responsibilities? Who decides? If a person doesn’t use all of her/his privilege to address all systems of oppression, has she/he failed?
Analyzing a comedy sketch to this degree seems a little dumb, but the tension between INDIVIDUALISM and THE PUBLIC GOOD underlies many of our societal disputes and Feminism is no exception. Committed free speech advocates decrying the “PC culture” favor the individual’s right to expression. Advocates for women, minorities, the disabled, and the LGBT community are more likely to prioritize protections for the vulnerable. Many people have legitimately strong views on both sides, but unless one lives off the grid deep in Montana or in a collectivist commune somewhere, we must accept some trade-offs.
ReplyDeleteWith our new President Elect Donald Trump, we forget this at our peril. Voters who prioritized their individual interests above the interests of others feel vindicated yet vilified. People who prioritized group values feel betrayed and afraid. I don’t have answers, but we need to acknowledge both sides’ lived experiences and find ways to match personal interests/freedoms with responsibility for the wellbeing of others.
Perhaps (Consciousness Raising + Empathy) x 350,000,000 will get us to a mutually beneficial society.