Of course, if you have seen it, you won't be surprised to hear that my favorite character is Meghan, played by the wonderful, beautiful, hilarious Melissa McCarthy.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma9fxipubb1rafiigo1_500.gif
Melissa McCarthy gained a lot of popularity from this role as the funniest, raunchiest, and most quotable character from the entire movie. But this weekend while watching it, I couldn't help but think about McCarthy's more recent roles in movies such as Tammy (2014), Identity Thief (2013), and The Heat (2013) and realize that all her characters are basically the same.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love Melissa McCarthy. But I can't help but be bored of the roles she's playing when they're always the same. However, I don't blame the actress here as much as I blame Hollywood for putting her in the box she's in. A box that sets her apart from other actresses in Hollywood through a process scholars actually refer to as "Othering".
Othering is a common thing we all do in order to distance ourselves from another person or group of people, whether we realize it or not. The U.S. does it with other countries all the time on the news when we talk about how different people in the Middle East are from Americans because "we love democracy and they love terrorism" and "we believe in freedom while they hurt their people." Othering is even common in our every day lives, when we compare ourselves to those around us, when we subconsciously note their different skin colors or the way they dress to affirm our own identities.
This practice is also present in Hollywood with "plus-sized" actresses in movies. Melissa McCarthy doesn't fit the thin, model image we often associate with "gorgeous" so she needs another quality, a special, unique one to make up for that, according to society's standards. This is why she's always cast as the hilarious, crude character...to consolidate for the fact she's not thin.
Sadly, this Othering of larger females isn't confined to Melissa McCarthy but also actresses such as Rebel Wilson who also happened to make her big debut in Bridesmaids and has since landed roles as the awkward, brash, and hilarious side woman in films such as Pitch Perfect and What to Expect When You're Expecting.
I hope that these women continue to play such hilarious roles in their comedic careers and shine bright doing so, but also that Hollywood stops over playing their crudeness simply because they're what our skinny-obsessed society would consider fat.
http://www.instyle.co.uk/awards/mtv-movie-awards-2013/melissa-mccarthy-and-rebel-wilson
Check out this article that gave me some inspiration!
http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/02/09/melissa-mccarthy-sookie-st-james/
I think this is a really good topic! I am a big fan of Bridesmaids and Melissa McCarthy as well and it is a shame that actresses and ones similar, such as Rebel Wilson, are always portrayed as the same character. As nice as it is to see a diversity of sizes on TV and in movies, it is not fair to only categorize them for such specific roles, such as the "fat and funny" character. This is an interesting view on othering with great examples.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting commentary on the use of bigger women in Hollywood. I had never really thought about the fact that women like McCarthy are pushed into boxes and stereotyped so that they are basically playing the same person in every role they have. Do you think actresses like McCarthy have any say in this? Do you think this kind of stereotyping could also apply to bigger men in Hollywood as well? I thought your post this week was very interesting and would be interested to know if you thought fat men in Hollywood get a similar treatment.
ReplyDeleteWhat interests me about "fat" men in Hollywood is that they are more often described as average looking than fat. Not to say there aren't ridiculous standards for male's body but a lot of times in comedies, the "average" looking guy ends up with the gorgeous, tiny/thin lady. Think Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in "Just Go WIth It" or Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl in "Knocked Up". Overall I think this comes across as more acceptable to audiences but hardly have I ever seen an "average" looking lead woman paired with a really attractive and fit male.
DeleteGood point Erica. We're going to talk about that pairing more in week 7. It's very prototypical pairing especially in sitcoms.
DeleteThis is a really good point to bring up, because Hollywood is a place that presents certain body images as being acceptable unless presented in a humorous matter or with a humorous character. I think the topic is important because I do think that with woman who don't fit the thing image, their struggle to succeed in entertainment is often overlooked so I'm glad that you brought this up in your topic for the week. There is a lot of othering in the way that certain identities are typecasted in hollywood and it's something that really needs to be talked about.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post. You made an important point that I think many consumers of media are blind to. I feel as though society views this type of othering as positive; like actresses like McCarthy and Wilson should be honored for being so popular. The sad thing about our society is, in my opinion, the public wouldn't accepts either of these actresses as a main female love-interest role. Honestly I couldn't imagine Melissa McCarthy or Rebel Wilson playing Rachel McAdams' role in "The Notebook". I think my unfortunate thinking goes perfectly with your title, "In Hollywood, Thin is Gorgeous and Fat is Hilarious".
ReplyDeleteI have definitely noticed that both actresses consistently play the same role in different situations but I never thought about it as othering. However, that makes a lot of sense. What I personally think is sad about this, though, is that it says a lot about the way we in the United States think of overweight women. We constantly portray them as crude and at times borderline disgusting and by repeatedly portraying them this way, we're giving the American people a go to stereotype of what to expect when dealing with someone who is overweight. It's not a fair depiction and its sad that these women have to resort to always acting this way so that they are allowed to take part in the movie industry.
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