Leading Ladies: No Longer the Target of the Joke

Julia Neis
Sep 9, 2018 · 3 min read

I don’t know about you, but whenever I want to watch a movie or show, the first thing I always flip to is the “comedy” section. Maybe it’s because if I’m not in a good mood, laughing is the only thing that makes me feel better. Or, maybe it’s because when I am in a good mood, laughing only makes it better. And I know I’m not alone, laughing is one of the best parts of the human experience because it inherently makes us happy. Comedies make us feel good about ourselves, either we’re laughing with someone, or at someone.

The poster for “Bridesmaids,” a popular female-driven comedy.

Growing up with a love of comedy, I always pictured myself starring in a sitcom or a rom-com, then as I got older I thought it’d be more interesting behind the screen of comedic entertainment on the business. Recently, I got my chance at really learning the inner workings of comedic filmed entertainment. Interning for a comedy entertainment company focusing on television and movies taught me a lot about what is considered “funny.” There, I did a lot of research on talent in projects, and more often than not, I saw that the stars of comedic shows and movies were men. The Geena Davis Institute lends an explanation to this finding sharing that based on their research “men appear onscreen more often- even when women play the lead roles…only when women are the leads do they speak more than men,” (Davis, G. 2016. “Geena Davis’ Letter to Hollywood: Want a Female President?”). From my own work looking at popular comedies, women were rarely the stars that cracked the jokes and got the laughs. When women were the center of attention, if at all, it was usually as the target of a joke. Essentially, film and television portrays guys as “funny,” and women “funny to laugh at.” In simple terms, “there’s always been this line that filmmakers or society didn’t want to cross that women can be just as funny, raunchy, crude and crass as the guys, to great comedic effect,” (Mandell, A. 2017. “Why Women-led comedies,”). Female portrayals in popular comedy aren’t representative of real life because they are shallow depictions. So I wonder, what’s it going to take for women to be portrayed as funny leads in popular media in a positive light?

As a female, I love watching women being funny. It’s not only sometimes easier for me to relate to their sense of humor, but subconsciously, it feels good to support women by giving them a laugh and being in on the joke. Because when female characters are respected for giving us a good laugh, they’re seen as three-dimensional, a portrayal that’s rich and dynamic. Of course, shows like “The Mindy Project” and movies like “Bridesmaids” — personal favorites of mine- are popular because the leading ladies are not meek characters who are the butt of the joke. Between female comediennes and female-driven comedies, women are carving out a space for positive comedic female portrayals in television and film. Instead of being “caricatures of their gender” like women in comedy previously appeared, females are written into witty, multi-faceted roles. Of course, not all portrayals of female are positive in comedic entertainment still. However, shows like “Veep,” “Parks & Rec,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” prove that we’re moving in the right direction.

Fallon, C. (2015, May 8). Women In Sitcoms Are Getting A Lot More Three-Dimensional. And That’s A Good Thing. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/08/women-in-sitcoms_n_7183856.html

Geena Davis on Roles for Women in Hollywood: How To Shatter The Glass Ceiling | Hollywood Reporter. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2018, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/geena-davis-roles-women-hollywood-how-shatter-glass-ceiling-952466

Mandell, A. (2017). Why women-led comedies can’t get no respect. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/06/13/why-cant-women-led-comedies-get-no-respect-rough-night-girls-trip-bridesmaids-bad-moms/102629606/

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