Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Buy Your Favorite Striking Feminist Writer a Sandwich

Are we activists here, or what? Look, picketing is hungry work - especially if you usually spend your days in front of a computer screen and are not used to all the walking around and sign lifting and angry gesture making and such. So, we should be feeding these people. If you live near the NBC headquarters in NYC, you know what to do. For the rest of us... uh... you can send your money to SI and I'll make sure it feeds some talented feminist writer on another. Of course, if anyone has any better idea, let me know. And remember, these people are used to the finer things, so don't be thinking dollar menu.

Also, now that I've told you all about what the writer's strike will mean for The Office writers, I suppose I'll let you hear their take on it too:

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, this is a political issue too now that Clinton, Obama, and Edwards have come out in support of the Writers Guild. I wonder what the Republicans will have to say.

Anonymous said...

are there femist writers in Hollywood? Writing for Bay Watch or something? They probably would not eat a sandwich, just send them some carrots.

habladora said...

Good point. Here is my (perhaps overdue) defense of my clasification of the writers on The Office as being feminist writers, since I've never heard them refer to themselves as such:

1. They poke a lot of fun at "Nice Guy TM" type sexism. There is one such scene in which Michael is complaining about Jan to the women of the office. He repeatedly critiques her figure, but then complains that she is "insecure about her body" - all while trying to portray himself as the victim.

2. They repeatedly call attention to the ways in which Michael's stereotypical views of women get in the way of his female employees' advancement. For example, he is willing to base his recommendation for his replacement on completely superficial qualifications, but scoffs when Angela reminds him that corporate might hire an 'outside hire woman.' He also refuses to see Pam as a viable replacement option, even while admiring her bravery and honesty - leadership qualities.

3. In several episodes - like Women's Appreciation, Sexual Harassment, and Boys and Girls - the central plot is based on mocking Michael's sexist management of the office.

OK - so I'm going to make a declaration: since The Office derives so much of its humor from mocking the patriarchy as unjust and ridiculous (thus prompting people to distance themselves from the sexist views that are portrayed and ridiculed on the show), its writers can be considered feminist writers, and, as such, merit sandwiches.

Except, of course, when they don't.

Anonymous said...

Fine, The Office writers can get sandwiches for being decent human beings. However, as someone put it:

"The movies are an eruption of trash that has lamed the American mind"

and writers are responsible for it quite a bit (I might be quoting out of context, b/c I am too lazy to read the entire article, but I like the strong language of the quote).

http://www.salon.com/books/review/2007/10/25/norman/index2.html

PS I think that writers for "Californication" deserve to starve. not even one carrot!

habladora said...

Well, I didn't know what Californication was, so I went to the Showtime site and watched the preview. It looks like you are right about its quality, anonymous. The Californication writers will get no carrots from me!

But... I was hugely disappointed to see that actress Natascha McElhone is part of this tawdry project. She was excellent in Steven Soderbergh's Solaris, which is a movie that I would recommend to anyone who feels that all movies are mind-laming trash.

Anonymous said...

Sorry I subjected you to Californication. I really did not mean for you to see it, I brought it up as the worst show I have seen in a long time. Have you seen "Pushing Daisies"? it reminds me of the Series of Unfortunate Events, but with/for adults.

habladora said...

Naw - we haven't seen it. Still no cable. That's why I talk about The Office so much, I wanna talk TV but the only channel we get is NBC.

I do prefer to watch shows on DVD, but I'm worried... did we kill Arrested Development??? No one I know watched it on Fox, we just sorta passed around the DVDs.

Have I killed something beautiful?

Anonymous said...

Dear Pobre,

You can't blame yourself for the end of Arrested development. There are just not enough goofy liberals watching FOX, what can we do? May be they will get together and make a movie ...

also you can see full episodes, with limited commercials, of some shows (Pushing Daisies, but I am not suggesting anything) on ABC.com

Take care.