I don't keep track of the award shows, but in the past couple of years, I was very impressed with the uniformly great cast of Transparent. Also, American Horror Story had wonderful performances by Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Lily Rabe, Sarah Paulson, and Angela Bassett. The scariest thing in the six seasons of that show was Frances Conroy as the insane mother of a backwoods family who happened to be cannibals.
1
Love that Bruni is shining a light on Anderson in The Fall. Baffled by the paucity of praise for her astonishing performance in that series. Lancashire is a force of nature.
1
Before I retired, five years ago, I was a financial advisor. One of the most important parts of the job is to profile new clients on a wide range of personal financial facts. And the, to keep this up-to-date, as time goes by.
I always found that women were willing to ask the questions which, although apparently insignificant to the person--advisor and client--just breezing through it. But, in many cases, found them extremely poignant, and vital to our dialogue. Men, on the other hand, are too proud to admit that they don't know something.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
I always found that women were willing to ask the questions which, although apparently insignificant to the person--advisor and client--just breezing through it. But, in many cases, found them extremely poignant, and vital to our dialogue. Men, on the other hand, are too proud to admit that they don't know something.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
4
How about those three Republican Women in Congress have the audacity to say No to satisfy Donald Trump's ego refused to be his puppet ?
They came to Washington for their constituents
I can't help but think what if Hillary was the President at this moment, she would have broken that glass ceiling.
But America has fallen behind the rest of the World who has or had Woman as their leader
They came to Washington for their constituents
I can't help but think what if Hillary was the President at this moment, she would have broken that glass ceiling.
But America has fallen behind the rest of the World who has or had Woman as their leader
6
I thought the new high water mark for stardom these days was TV commercials, let alone ordinary TV.
1
Why does this article not mention the internet, which gives a much wider choice of film and television television entertainment, along with video produced and developed on the internet like Amazon or Neflex originals. Television and films shown in movie theaters are losing in popularity, so the lack of women in leading film roles is no longer that important, but female presence on the internet is crucial.
2
Yes, I know we need a break from politics, but I can't help but thinking my favorite leading ladies this week are Collins, Murkowski, and Moore Capito.
13
You are so right!
1
Yes too many wonderful Women, Jessica and Susan are actually in their70's Frank. Then there are Judy Dench, Maggie Smith are actually in their 80s. Nicole Kidman in 50s ?
But who really cares , they all are brilliant actors, just watched Kidman in Lionwow !
But who really cares , they all are brilliant actors, just watched Kidman in Lionwow !
6
Thank you, Frank, for an entire article that has nothing to do with trump, other than that we all know he watches tv way too much.
2
The issue isn't gender, but quality of scripts, and as almost always, there's the usual paltry junk.
Do people seriously watch most of this TV cliched nonsense?
Do people seriously watch most of this TV cliched nonsense?
5
Speaking of wonderful women, we had 40 year old yogi and meditation teacher Justine Damon gunned down by a Minneapolis cop after she had reported what she thought was an assault near her home. The policeman fired his weapon through the window of the squad car. But the body cameras and car camera were turned off. Nothing to see here, folks.
Justine was the 541st person shot by police this year in US. On average 3 people per day.
Justine was the 541st person shot by police this year in US. On average 3 people per day.
14
I heard about this and saw photo of Ms. Justine. She was beautiful, with a charismatic smile, and appeared full of life. It is a tragedy. And when I heard she was a yogi, who had practiced yoga and meditation for nearly 17 years, and it shows in her inner and outer beauty, I was even more shocked and disgusted with my country. She came to our country with hope, trust and love...and men in our country killed her. For what? For what?
I am sorry Mr. Paskal, I am sorry! Please accept an apology, regret and a deep sorry on behalf of my country. At this rate, we don't have to withdraw in protectionism...we will be quarantined!
I am sorry Mr. Paskal, I am sorry! Please accept an apology, regret and a deep sorry on behalf of my country. At this rate, we don't have to withdraw in protectionism...we will be quarantined!
1
Mr. Bruni, please. A "golden age for TV"?
I've heard that one before...
I've heard that one before...
2
Well, not network television...
5
Thank you, this was a very refreshing break. I loved Lange MOST of all, in " Feud". Best thing I've seen in years, on ANY screen. I will be buying it on DVD's, and re-watch every few months. More like this, please.
8
I think we should celebrate women in television and the compelling and fascinating characters they play. However, missing from your commentary and television are women of color. The actresses that your reference are predominantly white. Unfortunately, there are still limited (but growing!) roles for women of color. For U.S. Children, Minorities Will Be The Majority By 2020. That diversity is not yet reflected for women on screen.
5
Good of Frank to mention three BBC crime series featuring female actors in strong roles, two of which my husband and I are already watching with zeal. He might also have mentioned Brenda Blethyn in "Vera," and Olivia Colman in "Broadchurch," as well as pointed out that all these shows are vehicles for a number of strong performances by women: e.g. Siobhan Finneran, who played the mischievous lady's-maid O'Brien on "Downton Abbey," has a great role on "Happy Valley." (That series is also helpful for tracing the career of the lovely James Norton, who there was a vile rapist and murderer, but later, after a remarkable religious calling, resurfaced as the priest in "Grantchester." "Yes, the clergy of the Church of England come from a wide variety of backgrounds . . . ")
Meanwhile, it's a pity that movies have mostly deteriorated into boy-pleasing violent sensationalism. But in general we should deplore the prevailing show-biz ethic -- which affects female characters as well as male -- , that their virtue becomes clear only when they show themselves to be prepared to commit acts of violence (never mind that it's "in a good cause"), and to have some prowess in performing those acts. That's a serious moral failure all round. We need good writing and good characters that better serve the cause of peace-making. Violence is not good theater; it's merely sensation.
Meanwhile, it's a pity that movies have mostly deteriorated into boy-pleasing violent sensationalism. But in general we should deplore the prevailing show-biz ethic -- which affects female characters as well as male -- , that their virtue becomes clear only when they show themselves to be prepared to commit acts of violence (never mind that it's "in a good cause"), and to have some prowess in performing those acts. That's a serious moral failure all round. We need good writing and good characters that better serve the cause of peace-making. Violence is not good theater; it's merely sensation.
9
Oscar winner Kathy Bates starred in Harry's Law on tv just a few years ago. Received good ratings but NBC cancelled it after a year because the demographics skewed too high. I'm in my 60s and I liked the show. I also watched and liked all 6 years of Girls. Cable is better than network tv for older actresses.
10
I loved that show, too.
4
Great column, Frank. From the title I would not have been surprised to find a piece about Trump's latest bad behavior at an international conference or beauty pageant - what a nice change of pace!
5
So Bruni thinks women are objects to be "counted", as if counting head of cattle. Surprising to see this misogyny come from the left.
By the way, Carol Burnett won 6 emmys in 22 nominations. Great women on TV is not a new thing. It's like some people think nothing existed before their first memory.
By the way, Carol Burnett won 6 emmys in 22 nominations. Great women on TV is not a new thing. It's like some people think nothing existed before their first memory.
3
Not "My Turn", but "OUR Turn."
8
Mr. Bruni, I am today celebrating three very real women who took the national stage and played their part to a standing ovation from this seat.
I refer to Senators Murkowski, Collins and Moore Capito. Their stand against taking up a repeal of the Affordable Care Act will, hopefully, force republican leadership and the current administration to face the incontrovertible fact that this repeal is deeply repugnant to an overwhelming majority of Americans.
Bravo, Senators
I refer to Senators Murkowski, Collins and Moore Capito. Their stand against taking up a repeal of the Affordable Care Act will, hopefully, force republican leadership and the current administration to face the incontrovertible fact that this repeal is deeply repugnant to an overwhelming majority of Americans.
Bravo, Senators
23
Since these three Senators were strongly FOR repealing the PPACA, we are left with the suspicion that the bribes offered to them to become progressive on this issue finally had enough zeroes in them. Do they all have family foundations, too?
That is a funny conspiracy theory, Oz. Capito, who has been in McConnell's pocket did the math, noting that there are more people on medicaid in WV than voted for her in the last election. Reality bites, Oz.
6
Not Mark...
You hit the nail on the head Bruni. Shockingly Hollywood, since the 70s, has been regressive when it comes to women actors, women leads, women biographies and women's issues. People still talk about Thelma and Louise(1991) as a cult movie and cutting edge.
How many movies have been made about women in politics, women in medicine, women in engineering, women in space (that is not sci-fi or action thrillers), women intellectuals, women academics and women activists? Not much...and yet Hollywood likes to consider itself as a "trend setter". Trend setter...my foot!
Our movies are now "cartoons, stories about stupid or goofy people with lots of vulgarity and juvenile jokes, fast and furious car chases, explosions and high kicks...and hyper sexy women with guns or karate punches".
For lot of women movies about feminizing our men, our policies and our communities, without emasculating our men, would be the "real trend setter". We are far from it.
Our women in Hollywood are wearing tight fitting clothes, chasing the bad guys while looking gorgeous and petting their men with sarcasm...while our men are "lost in space, or just lost souls continuing war games". Those are not images for any country or society that wants to make itself "Great Again"!
You agree? :))
You hit the nail on the head Bruni. Shockingly Hollywood, since the 70s, has been regressive when it comes to women actors, women leads, women biographies and women's issues. People still talk about Thelma and Louise(1991) as a cult movie and cutting edge.
How many movies have been made about women in politics, women in medicine, women in engineering, women in space (that is not sci-fi or action thrillers), women intellectuals, women academics and women activists? Not much...and yet Hollywood likes to consider itself as a "trend setter". Trend setter...my foot!
Our movies are now "cartoons, stories about stupid or goofy people with lots of vulgarity and juvenile jokes, fast and furious car chases, explosions and high kicks...and hyper sexy women with guns or karate punches".
For lot of women movies about feminizing our men, our policies and our communities, without emasculating our men, would be the "real trend setter". We are far from it.
Our women in Hollywood are wearing tight fitting clothes, chasing the bad guys while looking gorgeous and petting their men with sarcasm...while our men are "lost in space, or just lost souls continuing war games". Those are not images for any country or society that wants to make itself "Great Again"!
You agree? :))
4
lots of people, including women, girls, whole families, are in the tv audience. its highly segmented and doesn't count on every release to be huge and international for people to keep their jobs.
corporate owners of major movie studios have a largely international market and concentrate on more rarefied markets, largely 14 year old boys of all ages and projects that can play worldwide without much reliance on dialogue. their current conservative stock in trade is preqels, sequels, remakes, reboots, sfx pictures, and even occasional adaptations... anything that does not take a showmanlike risk on originality or require snappy dialogue.
promise me they'll never do tv.
corporate owners of major movie studios have a largely international market and concentrate on more rarefied markets, largely 14 year old boys of all ages and projects that can play worldwide without much reliance on dialogue. their current conservative stock in trade is preqels, sequels, remakes, reboots, sfx pictures, and even occasional adaptations... anything that does not take a showmanlike risk on originality or require snappy dialogue.
promise me they'll never do tv.
9
The once disparaged "vast wasteland" of TV has come a long way.
My favorite role in TV is Arya Stark on Game of Thrones, and I hope she is successful in killing every last character that has done her family wrong!
In the real world, sometimes it's easy to find "wonderful women" - just look at the 3 female senators who said they'd vote against the latest "Repeal and Replace" scam. Women TV journalists love to frequently remind us all of these very courageous women.
And then sometimes the wonderful women aren't there where they are really needed. Look no further than the 20+ House republican women who voted for the "Repeal and Replace" scam, thus providing a solid margin of victory for the bill. Not wonderful. Deplorable as the men! ... Flip the 20 votes, and the bill fails.
I believe the same is true of the millions of women and men who voted for Trump.
My favorite role in TV is Arya Stark on Game of Thrones, and I hope she is successful in killing every last character that has done her family wrong!
In the real world, sometimes it's easy to find "wonderful women" - just look at the 3 female senators who said they'd vote against the latest "Repeal and Replace" scam. Women TV journalists love to frequently remind us all of these very courageous women.
And then sometimes the wonderful women aren't there where they are really needed. Look no further than the 20+ House republican women who voted for the "Repeal and Replace" scam, thus providing a solid margin of victory for the bill. Not wonderful. Deplorable as the men! ... Flip the 20 votes, and the bill fails.
I believe the same is true of the millions of women and men who voted for Trump.
6
The best thing about TV these days is there are noticeably fewer shows blatantly targeted at women or other specific demographics (and if they do, they do it well); just good stories and filmwork that don't need gender, sexual preference, or race as a central theme; or to even consider such things when noting the artistry of actors, writers, producers, directors. And isn't it about time we retired the word "actress"?
8
Great women on TV...Hasn't this been true for years? Seems I can name loads such as Murphy Brown, Designing Women, Cyril, Dinah Shore and other female talk show hosts, Roseanne, Martha Stewart, Julia Childs, AnnSouthern, Barbara Stanwyck is several series including Thornbirds, Loretta Young, et. al. I just welcome this new batch of ladies to the wonderful small screen. As a young child I watched TV , feasting on old movies from the 40s and 50s, wanting to be just like Myrna Loy or Ann Sheridan or Alexis Smith. Everyone is so right about TV being more interesting than movies these days, especially for good actresses.
9
I don't know why Alexa Davalos in Amazons', "The Man in the High Castle" didn't get an Emmy nod. She is amazing. The series is horrific and stunning in its 1950's everyday averageness in an alternative universe. But it doesn't seem to be on anyone's radar. Perhaps because the premise itself is so disturbing.
4
Let's not neglect to mention two shows I wife really enjoyed: "Good Girls Gone Bad," and "Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling." Both have a strong female and feminist perspective. "Good Girls" gave our daughter a great insight into the not so "good old days" our our youth.
2
I applaud the gist of this op ed, but to start with the examples of movies such as Wonder Woman and atomic blonde is misguided. Both characters are tall, beautiful, hairless, Amazonian women, scantily clad and ogled by men. They seem more likely the male ideal. Hardly the version of feminism I was taught to embrace.
This country couldn't even elect a female president, as many developing nations in the world have done. Voters preferred the crass sexist male with way more baggage. Women are sorely underrepresented in congress and the senate, yet half the country is populated by females.
Women have been underestimated for hundreds of years, yet have the strength to undergo menstrual cycles, pregnancy and childbirth. Men are intimidated by this power and have worked to undermine women as the weaker sex.
So while it's fantastic to have great roles for actresses, and aging ones as well, it's the 21st century, and begs the question why this is still a front and center issue.
This country couldn't even elect a female president, as many developing nations in the world have done. Voters preferred the crass sexist male with way more baggage. Women are sorely underrepresented in congress and the senate, yet half the country is populated by females.
Women have been underestimated for hundreds of years, yet have the strength to undergo menstrual cycles, pregnancy and childbirth. Men are intimidated by this power and have worked to undermine women as the weaker sex.
So while it's fantastic to have great roles for actresses, and aging ones as well, it's the 21st century, and begs the question why this is still a front and center issue.
7
An extremely qualified female just lost the US presidential election to a vulgar, licentious, unqualified male, but "...let’s trade the usual, sadly necessary outrage about how poorly a given group of Americans is being represented for a hearty cheer about some heartening progress." Let's not. It's too soon. The suggestion that an uptick of parity in the entertainment industry portends universal momentum for women is woefully inadequate. I'm reminded of Roseanne Barr being asked years ago about how she felt regarding better roles for women in Hollywood at the time. Her response was something like this - "I'm sure some housewife who has just been beaten in a trailer in Kansas is saying to herself - 'well, at least Michelle Pfeiffer is getting good roles'." And as far as atomic blonde is concerned, I hear there is an extremely graphic love scene between the lead and another woman - does that equate to a female Bond? Does that represent empowerment? Frankly, I'm sure that scene is in there for the amusement of the male audience, so let's not get ahead of ourselves that there is some sort of emancipation on the horizon for the females in this world just because the television industry has recognized that a rich diversity of characters can be drawn from half the residents of the planet.
17
Just a quick note Mr. Bruni. House of Cards is terrible.
4
Excellent column.
But here's the thing: The vast majority of these shows are only available on cable or similar pay-to-watch venues.
Poor people, stuck with broadcast offerings, get almost none of this.
Which makes me usually shake my head in disgust when people behind all these shows assume a stance of advocacy for us poor slobs struggling to pay the rent.
Yeah, right.
But here's the thing: The vast majority of these shows are only available on cable or similar pay-to-watch venues.
Poor people, stuck with broadcast offerings, get almost none of this.
Which makes me usually shake my head in disgust when people behind all these shows assume a stance of advocacy for us poor slobs struggling to pay the rent.
Yeah, right.
8
Your range is limited. If it's not Trump, it's either identity politics or the movies, better yet, both.
5
"The Emmy nominations came out last week, and they affirmed not only that television is indeed enjoying a golden age but also that part of that is its juicy opportunities for female actors. "
I must point out Mr. Bruni that it were not for the writers who created such delicious storylines and wrote such tantalizing and incredible dialogue, Hollywood's finest females would not have had at their disposal a role to run with, to put their high heel pedal to the metal, bringing memorable moments to life for all to enjoy and cherish. Without the writers, there would have been no scripts or stories to tell.
7
Nor would there have been any roles for Hollywood's finest males. And without the directors, producers, cinematographers, and on, and on, and on, there would have been no shows. The topic of this piece is actors, specifically female actors. Lauding them takes nothing away from the writers. Who, without actors to embody the roles they've written (and all those other contributors mentioned above), would never see their screenplays performed.
2
My LA-native, devoutly movie-going Mother-in-Law (First Church of the Cinema, twice a week!), who is also a lifelong devotee of all things British entertainment, has said for years that it's about time the US entertainment industry takes a page out of the Brits' playbook. Haven't haven't seen Dame Maggie Smith on the big screen in a while? It's because she's also doing TV for BBC and probably starring in something on stage in the West End. The same can be said for such stars as Benedict Cumberbatch, Hellen Mirren, Sir Ian McKellan, Sir Patrick Stewart and countless others. There's much less snobbery about the medium; the British actor cares about the craft less than the delivery system.
Years ago, while waiting for the curtain for Blythe Spirit at LA's Ahmonson, we all wondered what would happen to Lady Edith and Mr Gregson, lamenting his absence from Downton. Should have looked at the program: Charles Edwards performance that evening could only be eclipsed by the Grande Dame of them all, a Brit who excelled in all three media: Angela Lansbury.
Years ago, while waiting for the curtain for Blythe Spirit at LA's Ahmonson, we all wondered what would happen to Lady Edith and Mr Gregson, lamenting his absence from Downton. Should have looked at the program: Charles Edwards performance that evening could only be eclipsed by the Grande Dame of them all, a Brit who excelled in all three media: Angela Lansbury.
6
Frank, I also applaud better roles for women. However, your implication is that an Oscar is more worthy than an Emmy, and cinematic movies are bigger vehicles than television movies or series. Why?
Many more people watch television than go to the movies. There is no proof that movie writers are better than television writers, so there shouldn't be a difference in content. Cinema is older than television as a medium, but that doesn't mean it's superior. Both have excellent content, and both have substandard content. It's just a difference in distribution, and distribution doesn't impact the quality.
Many more people watch television than go to the movies. There is no proof that movie writers are better than television writers, so there shouldn't be a difference in content. Cinema is older than television as a medium, but that doesn't mean it's superior. Both have excellent content, and both have substandard content. It's just a difference in distribution, and distribution doesn't impact the quality.
5
I didn't guess this would be about TV, so let me give you my own list:
Hillary Clinton, first woman ever nominated for the Presidency, winner of the popular vote by a landslide.
Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Kristen Gillibrand, Maxine Waters, Dianne Feinstein, and many more in Congress, working tirelessly for the people and against the treasonous thieves of the GOP and their billionaire supporters.
Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Shelley Capito, all GOP Senators, who broke with their party to support their constituents and everyone in the country, after an all-male contingent of the GOP tried to force through a bill to cut taxes on the superwealthy and cut healthcare for everyone else.
The women of the resistance, who have been calling, marching, writing letters, visiting their reps' offices, sometimes daily for months, telling their stories, attending town halls, fighting for their families against this hateful administration.
Far too many wonderful women to count. I am so grateful to all of them.
Hillary Clinton, first woman ever nominated for the Presidency, winner of the popular vote by a landslide.
Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Kristen Gillibrand, Maxine Waters, Dianne Feinstein, and many more in Congress, working tirelessly for the people and against the treasonous thieves of the GOP and their billionaire supporters.
Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Shelley Capito, all GOP Senators, who broke with their party to support their constituents and everyone in the country, after an all-male contingent of the GOP tried to force through a bill to cut taxes on the superwealthy and cut healthcare for everyone else.
The women of the resistance, who have been calling, marching, writing letters, visiting their reps' offices, sometimes daily for months, telling their stories, attending town halls, fighting for their families against this hateful administration.
Far too many wonderful women to count. I am so grateful to all of them.
38
Seems every time I turn on the 3 Cspan TV channels, I see women in high positions that I didn’t know existed---such as heads of various govt agencies, or in academia, in science, finance, journalism, and law. Their names many not be well known-- they aren’t in the news much, but their expertise is on display on cspan’s public affairs and Book TV programming.
Bruni might switch channels from his entertainment shows and check this out, then write a column on it.
.
Bruni might switch channels from his entertainment shows and check this out, then write a column on it.
.
12
People have time to watch TV? News to me.
3
TV SERIES Are the new blockbuster movies. There is such an overflow of choices available that it's possible to spend all the time you have allotted surfing what's on offer. Women do get the top roles and do outstanding work. There are some notable exceptions, such as the series starring Lily Tomlin and Shirley McClain, which, in my opinion, is insultingly stupid. The scripts are so poorly written that even these two great actresses cannot squeeze anything convincing out of them. By contrast, however, are the roles that Maggie Smith and Shirley McClain played as seniors in Downton Abbey. Their disdain for each other, along with anything and anyone else, was so outlandish that it was amusing. Shirley and Maggie traded some zingers that were hilarious. One comment by Maggie that was truly oustanding was when she was told that some servants had days off on the weekends, she said, What are weekends? An actress I've enjoyed is the roles played by Edith both in the Sopranos and Nurse Jackie. I think she's too good for the movies.
2
I must wonder the worth of feminism if its biggest accomplishment is making woman as violent and promiscuous as men. Good job.
2
The "worth of feminism" is found in the power and strength and equality of women. Society lifts up when people acknowledge this truth.
6
ugly comment there, Patrick...doubt that it's anywhere close to being accurate.
3
Don't worry a woman is still three times more likely to murdered by an intimate partner than a stranger. Men are still killers.
5
You left out Brenda Blethyn whose character "Vera" in BBC TV is a knockout.
7
While we are on the subject of Mr. BRUNI'S taste in t.v. shows, it might be enlightening for your readers to know of a possible double standard maintained by the author and Times newspaper, which was willing to run Mr. BRUNI's article on" why Trump is allegedly dissing the Jews," completely unfounded since his son in law is Jewish, and his daughter is a convert to Orthodox Judaism, more difficult than a Reform conversion, and his close ties to Israel, unlike his predecessor. But two faced to attack Trump for "alleged " anti Semitism, fake news, yet say not a word about Trevor Noah who is on record as saying"Jewish chicks don't go down easily, behind every rap billionaire is a Jewish (businessman), almost bumped a Jewish kid and would have felt bad in my German car!" TN has also attacked fat women and Lesbians. Yet such mean spiritedness, so unAmerican and out of the main stream is overlooked by Bruni and Times newspaper. Hugely ironical.
5
"Some of my best friends are Jewish..."
1
This is an idealized view. The one thing that the column never explicitly acknowledges is that it is talking about a specific segment of American (and to some degree British) television. Of course this parochial bit of television is closer to norms (at times, though only to a limited degree, progressive norms) of the English-speaking world. But "television" also includes the stations in countries where women newscasters take off their tops or seem about to (and we're not as far from that as we'd like to pretend), and where women are otherwise made (even) more subservient than in the US, or are missing entirely or nearly so. And thanks to the globalized movie market, these countries are increasingly driving the sorts of movies that get made by Hollywood studios, including many movies starring actors who are considered for (US) Academy Awards. These differences aside, when we talk about the wonderful opportunities for women in American television, shouldn't we also be remembering reality shows and the like, that are at least as much a part of current television as any series mentioned in this column? Are the opportunities really so wonderful in our television as a whole? Or is it only that there's a corner of our television that's just enough better than in the past that we can focus narrowly on it and tell ourselves how great it is?
4
For Trump, women are mere attachments to great men. In fact, not always are they men of greatness. Most likely, they are men like Trump, kids who lucked out in the gene pool. If Trump were born just some average Joe in Queens, with his limited capabilities, he might succeed as some carny barker, or one of those guys who see working the street with their three-card monty scams. Trump, so willing to disregard any sense of scruples, might even make out in the underworld. Peddling real estate in NYC is for many nothing but legalized crime anyway.
What is a crime however is when millions are supposedly halfway sane Americans go to the polls and willingly vote for someone who has absolutely no skills to serve the public. Trump not only does not have any experience in that profession, he has no desire to serve anyone but himself and his family of greed, self-centered, uppity, scam artists who think they're smarter than they are because they are rich, and believe sincerely they earned every dollar on merit. You vote for someone like that, you deserve what's coming your way, which is, in case you still haven't figured it out, bupkis.
DD
Manhattan
What is a crime however is when millions are supposedly halfway sane Americans go to the polls and willingly vote for someone who has absolutely no skills to serve the public. Trump not only does not have any experience in that profession, he has no desire to serve anyone but himself and his family of greed, self-centered, uppity, scam artists who think they're smarter than they are because they are rich, and believe sincerely they earned every dollar on merit. You vote for someone like that, you deserve what's coming your way, which is, in case you still haven't figured it out, bupkis.
DD
Manhattan
16
Does anyone else out there see the irony of male Times OP ED columnist whining and complaining about all those wonderful TV women?? Frank Bruni should try to deal with his own stereotypes of women in the movies and on TV. We're not helpless damsels in distress who need some alpha male to come to the rescue.
3
if you think this is a complaint and not a celebration, then i dont know what to tell you (especially if you think that frank bruni, of all people, believes that that women need some kind of alpha male to rescue them).
6
All of this talk about the social warrior battles being fought on and behind the screens started me wondering about the Times" quest for equality and parity.
Take the Op-Ed Columnists just for the heck of it. We have Frank, Tom, Tim, Charles, Nick, David B., David L., Paul, Roger, Ross and probably a few others - who can remember all those guys' names.
Then, The Times Editorial Board managed to work in Gail and Maureen (Mo is really just part time).
It would seem Frank's headline writer "Too Many Wonderful Women to Count" was not referring to the Times.
Sad, Times.
Take the Op-Ed Columnists just for the heck of it. We have Frank, Tom, Tim, Charles, Nick, David B., David L., Paul, Roger, Ross and probably a few others - who can remember all those guys' names.
Then, The Times Editorial Board managed to work in Gail and Maureen (Mo is really just part time).
It would seem Frank's headline writer "Too Many Wonderful Women to Count" was not referring to the Times.
Sad, Times.
30
"....brawlers, bawlers, schemers, dreamers...." Hedley? Hedley Lamar??
5
It's not just the women's roles that are better on TV. Everything is better than what is coming out of the Hollywood movie factory.
9
What about the three women who helped diss the Senate health bill
28
I was hoping this was going to be about all the women who are stepping up politically to help thwart the Trump dumpster fire! #Capito #Collins
15
Eh, bravo! that was a perfect retort.
"In terms of gender parity, it puts corporate America, the Trump administration and the Senate to shame."
How about New York Times Opinion Writers?
How about New York Times Opinion Writers?
23
How can you equate the garbage of television with the REAL WORLD?
5
It's kind of sad that, in 2017, this is news
12
Mr. Livingston, I did not find Mr. Bruni's column a "news" item, per se, but rather a delightful pause and break from the daily grind and depressing stories about Trump, the GOP, Russian, North Korea and a host of other important, albeit, heavy and disheartening stories. The Emmy nominations were just posted the other day and for once, it's nice to read a column and either reminisce about TV back in the day or read some fun stuff about today's varying programs and TV stars. The fact that Mr. Bruni focused on women just made the article all the more enjoyable and interesting. If anything, Mr. Bruni's column helped describe a plethora of great drama and comedy in which women truly shine. If anyone ever said to me that there isn't anything worthwhile to watch on TV, I could only assume the person joined a monetary lives in the desert. I find it refreshing to read something entertaining for a change instead of being bogged down in the reality of life every moment of the day.
2
Oprah, the late Barbara Jordan and poor Mrs. Obama are the only Black females I ever heard that were actually worth listening to!
1
I would guess that you are missing most of the really good News!
3
How myopic and absurd. Try listening to Angela Davis or Cicely Tyson. And there are so many more!
2
The pages of the NYT are American liberals at prayer in the Church of Political Correctness. If they have their way, we will soon have commissars in every industry who enforce gender, race, ethnic, sexual preference, and so on (ad nauseam) quotas.
If consumers -- more women than men -- "vote" for male leads at the box office, then who is Bruni to second-guess their choices?
If Wimbledon spectators prefer watching men's tennis to women's, why should that be considered a violation of social justice?
And, if actresses draw more TV viewers than actors, then good luck to them. You won't hear me complaining. Let it be.
If we allow columnists, editorial writers, and identity lobbies to dictate our choices for us, they will turn our culture into a bleak socialist slum or Stalinist cultural wasteland. Mind-numbing boredom and regimentation await us.
It's not too late to stop them.
If consumers -- more women than men -- "vote" for male leads at the box office, then who is Bruni to second-guess their choices?
If Wimbledon spectators prefer watching men's tennis to women's, why should that be considered a violation of social justice?
And, if actresses draw more TV viewers than actors, then good luck to them. You won't hear me complaining. Let it be.
If we allow columnists, editorial writers, and identity lobbies to dictate our choices for us, they will turn our culture into a bleak socialist slum or Stalinist cultural wasteland. Mind-numbing boredom and regimentation await us.
It's not too late to stop them.
5
The NY Times also attracts conservatives like yourself who rail against liberals and political correctness and, unlike the Trumpistas who comment on the Fox news website (a journalistic wasteland), can actually write coherently in trying to save us all from a Stalinist cultural wasteland.
8
Hard to tell what type of leads consumers "vote" for at the box office, when there is a limited menu of choices on offer. Consumers can only pick from the products available. Likewise hard to tell what voters really want when the only choices they get have been bought and paid for by the same corporate interests, but I digress...
10
Makes as much sense as saying that Trump--or, for that matter, Hillary--were chosen by the people when only the filthy rich, and politically compromised, can ever get to the privileged position of being on a major party ticket. Same with movies. Men put out movies about their fantasies, and the public gets to choose among them.
Vive la difference.
1
Netflix has changed the business model for TV and it will do so for the movie industry as well. As more and more Over-The-Top (OTT) providers enter the fray, established studios and broadcast networks that have long dominated the TV and movie business will be forced to adjust. OTT is allowing women more opportunities than ever before in every aspect of the entertainment business.
The Emmy nominations are a precursor to the revolution that is taking place: HBO – 111, Netflix – 91, NBC – 64, FX Networks – 55, ABC – 36, CBS – 29, Fox – 20, Hulu –18, Amazon – 16, National Geographic – 15, Showtime – 15, AMC –13, and PBS –11. The “content is king” mantra is translating from the Internet streaming media domain to Hollywood, as the traditional broadcast networks and studios scramble to compete. And, women are leading the way!
The Emmy nominations are a precursor to the revolution that is taking place: HBO – 111, Netflix – 91, NBC – 64, FX Networks – 55, ABC – 36, CBS – 29, Fox – 20, Hulu –18, Amazon – 16, National Geographic – 15, Showtime – 15, AMC –13, and PBS –11. The “content is king” mantra is translating from the Internet streaming media domain to Hollywood, as the traditional broadcast networks and studios scramble to compete. And, women are leading the way!
5
Please. The Obama administration paid women 89 cents on the dollar paid to men. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/obama-white-house-still-pays-women-les...
4
Excuse me for pointing out the obvious. It doesn't matter what Obama administration paid women, he is out of office and that is moot.
Trump is in office now, so find out and let us know what HE pays women.
BTW, Obama had far more respect and admiration for women on just one day than Trump has ever had in his entire life.
Trump is in office now, so find out and let us know what HE pays women.
BTW, Obama had far more respect and admiration for women on just one day than Trump has ever had in his entire life.
6
@Sajwert - sorry, but if Obama had respect for women he would not have bragged about how he could have beaten Trump right after the election. And he would not have withheld the information he had on the Russian hacking.
1
How do you connect Obama's respect for women to what he said about Trump or how he made a decision about Russian hacking?
Blaming Obama seems to be a side business of far too many trolls.
Blaming Obama seems to be a side business of far too many trolls.
2
Forget about the movies! Has no one noticed that of the six Republican senators that doomed Trumpcare FOUR of them were women! Those are the super-women we need to praise, over and over again
24
Films and their stars have rarely reflected the vicissitudes of women's reality.
A truly thuggish male mentality has always governed our nation and until women gain more control in the so called halls of power where our political elite stroll, they will continue holding bouquets, enduring slaps on known parts of their backsides and little else.
This piece doesn't read as much more than condescending fluff.
A truly thuggish male mentality has always governed our nation and until women gain more control in the so called halls of power where our political elite stroll, they will continue holding bouquets, enduring slaps on known parts of their backsides and little else.
This piece doesn't read as much more than condescending fluff.
6
Oh dear, yet another thing for American white males to have a hissy fit over and keep their current temper tantrum going.
9
And there was Chrissy Metz' nomination for "This is Us," her role showing that fat women are more than just the skinny lead's sidekick, more than the butt of the joke, and more than a "before" photo.
8
"Women" are not objects to be "counted". What is wrong with you?
3
Would you headline "Too many wonderful men to count?"
Think about why and why not.
Think about why and why not.
3
They are simply trying to please their male overlords?
1
There is no known limit to the size of an item a glacier can carry to the sea, from a grain of sand to a boulder the size of a cathedral.
We are realizing in television as well as in real life with a sea of pink hats first fully appreciated also on our television screens on 21 January women are tired of simply giving. They give us life. They give us succor. They give us supper. We men give them a short shift to wear and short shrift to bear.
Now they are waking up and we men are waking up to a new day where the Pussy-Grabber-in-Chief's vixens are becoming vicious and women are moving from pole dances to poll chances. Hello Kitty becomes Aggretsuko and for me, I delight in the changes in the enmity of equity on the horizon.
We are realizing in television as well as in real life with a sea of pink hats first fully appreciated also on our television screens on 21 January women are tired of simply giving. They give us life. They give us succor. They give us supper. We men give them a short shift to wear and short shrift to bear.
Now they are waking up and we men are waking up to a new day where the Pussy-Grabber-in-Chief's vixens are becoming vicious and women are moving from pole dances to poll chances. Hello Kitty becomes Aggretsuko and for me, I delight in the changes in the enmity of equity on the horizon.
8
Great column. You forgot Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in "Grace and Frankie." Fonda is almost 80 and Tomlin in her late 70s. Lange, nearly 70 (not just over 60) deserves the drama award hands down, in my humble opinion.
55
I would suggest that technology i.e. streaming democratized tv and allowed a greater diversity of voices to be heard and seen. The old network male-dominated top-down model is dead.
As for Tom Hanks disparaging tv he started in it, dressed as a woman in Bosom Buddies.
As for Tom Hanks disparaging tv he started in it, dressed as a woman in Bosom Buddies.
5
I was most stunned in the past year by the performances of Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II and Vanessa Kirby as her sister, Margaret in "The Crown" on Netflix. Well-written scripts and classy costuming and design also contribute to the compelling personal and political stories the series takes on.
7
And how about the wonderful Marta Dusseldorp in the title role of the excellent Australian series, "Janet King" in which she expertly plays the role of a brilliant sharp tongued senior crown prosecutor calling to mind Helen Mirren in "Prime Suspect"?
4
TV has succeeded in replacing theaters as hangout and watch spots. Consider the Game of Thrones parties on Sunday night. The quality of film has diminished terribly. I go to an art theater now and then because that"s where the better films are.
Should the stars of Hollywood feel slighted by television roles? Not at all...
Should the stars of Hollywood feel slighted by television roles? Not at all...
2
My wife likes the wooden Mr. K. Reeves and so, many moons ago, we went to see "The Devil's Advocate." The performance of Ms. Theron was extraordinary - who was this actress? At the time, based on her last name in the credits, the only thing I knew was she must be from South Africa (Theron was a coronet of de Weit). All I can say is I too hope she'll do television that will permit many more people to see her incredible talent.
2
It has been refreshing to watch especially older actresses thriving on television since their demise on the big screen now that the multi-plexes are flooded with mindless action movies with a teenaged cast.
5
Apotheosis of film, television, everybody happy with all the programming, happy with the representation of society in film and television (male, female roles, representation of this race, sex, etc.)?
The apotheosis of film and television will succeed by compression of the human. Increase population, overpopulate. Damage the climate, the environment, drive people indoors. Contain, constrain people. Closely watch children, drive them carefully in educational track, drive them more and more into finally box home, box job. Turn them into consumers with increasingly only dreams as consolation. Increase supply of drugs in society for pain psychic and physical and to escape barren reality.
Plug people's minds more and more into computer, film, television, have them dreaming as much as possible in their free time. They either work or are shuttled home to plug in and dream. At first actors and actresses fill out roles, represent our dreams to us in film and television. Gradually all of society when not working takes up the hobby of acting, and we all more and more not only sit and watch our dreams but actively pretend to be other people for others to watch.
Millions of people more and more plugged in and watching their dreams and when not watching pretending to be anything other than what they actually are. Everyone happily represented, everyone happily pretending to be this or that, who or what...America the industrious actually at end industry and prison of daydream.
The apotheosis of film and television will succeed by compression of the human. Increase population, overpopulate. Damage the climate, the environment, drive people indoors. Contain, constrain people. Closely watch children, drive them carefully in educational track, drive them more and more into finally box home, box job. Turn them into consumers with increasingly only dreams as consolation. Increase supply of drugs in society for pain psychic and physical and to escape barren reality.
Plug people's minds more and more into computer, film, television, have them dreaming as much as possible in their free time. They either work or are shuttled home to plug in and dream. At first actors and actresses fill out roles, represent our dreams to us in film and television. Gradually all of society when not working takes up the hobby of acting, and we all more and more not only sit and watch our dreams but actively pretend to be other people for others to watch.
Millions of people more and more plugged in and watching their dreams and when not watching pretending to be anything other than what they actually are. Everyone happily represented, everyone happily pretending to be this or that, who or what...America the industrious actually at end industry and prison of daydream.
Is it possible that our esteemed columnist has not stumbled into the world of Korean movies and TV? I'm totally addicted and I would be lying if I said that the addictive agent was anything other than great actresses. Gong Hyo-jin in 'Crush and Blush', a dark movie of obsession, and the series, 'It's OK, That's Love' in which she is truly phenomenal from beginning to end (16 episodes); Jun Ji-Hyeon (Gianna Jun) in the movie 'Assassinstion', and 'Legend of the Blue Sea'. UEE (Kim Yu-Jin) in 'Birdie Buddy' and 'Night Lights'. All three display incredible expressive range delivering nuanced performances. For me, Gong (aka Olive) is right up there with Isabelle Huppert AND she lives in NYC at last report. So get an interview already.
8
While I enjoy many of the women you have depicted, I am particularly fond of the 3 women playing prominent roles in our daily soaps some call the US Senate. Shelley Capito, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins are playing great leaders, while so many of their colleagues seem to be bungling the part, despite all the coaching and second chances.
18
No Dunham for “Girls,” no Oprah Winfrey for “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” no Claire Danes for “Homeland” and no crime in any of that, because there was so much else that deserved — and got — recognition.
I find it hard to believe that Tatiana Maslany, who won the lead actress drama Emmy last year, was NOT nominated for her work in Orphan Black this year. It's a challenging role to bring a distinctly different personality to the five + characters she plays.
I find it hard to believe that Tatiana Maslany, who won the lead actress drama Emmy last year, was NOT nominated for her work in Orphan Black this year. It's a challenging role to bring a distinctly different personality to the five + characters she plays.
5
I agree with your praise of Tatiana Maslany; however, my impression is that "Orphan Black" was excluded because the latest season opened past the deadline for this year.
2
I am on my third screenwriting class and this time around it is an interesting experiment, as there is not one man in the class this time. Normally, there will be a mix of men and women.
In this class of women ranging in age from eighteen to over sixty, not one script contains explosions, car chases, or someone trying to take over Mars. With one exception, they are all about women's experiences, or what some critics call the "female gaze," a way of perceiving the world from the viewpoint of the "other."
It would be great if this viewpoint were ultimately to become as mainstream as the male gaze. There are other ways of perceiving events, beyond what men experience. Up until the last century, most of what has been offered to us in the way of entertainment throughout the centuries has been authored and executed by men who naturally promote their own views and ideas.
Televison today is the most progressive media we have. Seeing the world through different viewpoints helps us all to understand each other better. It reinforces the notion that we are all in this world together, and that we must learn from each other in order to make it better for everyone who inhabits it.
In this class of women ranging in age from eighteen to over sixty, not one script contains explosions, car chases, or someone trying to take over Mars. With one exception, they are all about women's experiences, or what some critics call the "female gaze," a way of perceiving the world from the viewpoint of the "other."
It would be great if this viewpoint were ultimately to become as mainstream as the male gaze. There are other ways of perceiving events, beyond what men experience. Up until the last century, most of what has been offered to us in the way of entertainment throughout the centuries has been authored and executed by men who naturally promote their own views and ideas.
Televison today is the most progressive media we have. Seeing the world through different viewpoints helps us all to understand each other better. It reinforces the notion that we are all in this world together, and that we must learn from each other in order to make it better for everyone who inhabits it.
19
Men control the money and they are intent on making women out to be as bad and bad-assed as they are. It's not true.
Women with a social conscience admire women who have accomplished something great for society and civilization - not destroying everything in sight.
It is time for a Women's Overground - an economic stream for and by women - to replace the destructive capitalism wall street model that controls and conquers. The Women's Overground would use resources for Women's health, socially and family friendly communications and making the world a better place to be.
Women are the main workers and volunteers in society. Time to put the product of their hard work - money - to work for Women and Girls. Let the boys fight it out by themselves while women BUILD something better than the model we have now.
Women with a social conscience admire women who have accomplished something great for society and civilization - not destroying everything in sight.
It is time for a Women's Overground - an economic stream for and by women - to replace the destructive capitalism wall street model that controls and conquers. The Women's Overground would use resources for Women's health, socially and family friendly communications and making the world a better place to be.
Women are the main workers and volunteers in society. Time to put the product of their hard work - money - to work for Women and Girls. Let the boys fight it out by themselves while women BUILD something better than the model we have now.
17
I used to love going to a movie theater, especially after they installed those big comfortable easy chairs that can be adjusted and you aren't sitting elbow-to-elbow with the next person. But, it was soon ruined by the deafening "improvements" in sound, where I now need earmuffs to hear the dialog clearly as it bounces off the walls and to not get an earache.
I'm all for TV now, especially when I can choose from a selection of more than 50 channels and find really excellent programming.
I'm all for TV now, especially when I can choose from a selection of more than 50 channels and find really excellent programming.
13
It's easy to utter generalities such as "women still don’t get enough opportunities behind the camera". That indeed may be so (and most likely is), but such a sentiment remains facile unless it is accompanied by suggestions of women who deserve the chance and are not getting it. So the author would be making a contribution that was actually meaningful if he were to tell us who they are.
3
As a leading journalist and responsible member of the Fourth Estate,Mr. BRUNI is not fulfilling his mission to educate his readers and raise their cultural level by devoting precious editorial space to t.v. programs.He should be encouraging his readers with obvious lacunae in their trivium and quadrivium,numbers are staggering, to read newspapers and real books, explore the writings of some of our great journos like Westbrook Pegler, George Sokolsky Max Lerner, Henry Luce, Joseph Barry among others!Instead he waxes enthusiastic over "commercial tripe" that passes for entertainment daily on t.v.Newton Minnow once described television as a vast wasteland. Was he wrong?Never forget 1 commenter who cited Rachel Maddow as a source for her anti Trump rant.And this was a person who is a self admitted septuagenarian who grew up in a more literate age and in my view, should have known better.
1
Ther real test for women now and in the future is opportunities for great parts after age 45. Look at Tom Cruise - I can't believe that guy still gets action movie parts. And he isn't the male of a certain age that does. I hope to see Ms. Theron kicking butt when she is 60.
9
Thank you for the shoutout to Sarah Lancashire! I discovered her in the very watchable "Happy Valley," and I loved Anna Friel in "Marcella." And now BBC better come up with a new detective series, because I'm ready. Also -- Frank, my goodness gracious, how did you leave out Tatiana Maslany in "Orphan Black"?
6
TV A vast wasteland.
1
It can be. But we have choices and they are now producing some interesting art. Man cannot live by bread alone.
TV is great as long as u don't have to watch the commercials.
8
You may have watched the British crime show, Broadchurch, with David Tennant and Olivia Colman. Colman is brilliant in the role. She is not conventionally pretty, but she is such a compelling actor that by the end of the series you find her beautiful in every way.
When the Americans tried to do their own version of this show, they kept David Tennant but replaced Colman with Anna Gunn. With no offense meant toward Ms. Gunn, in typical American TV fashion for a female lead, she has the usual perfectly straight blond hair, classic, regular features--and not an ounce of personality in her face, especially in comparison to Colman. Not surprisingly, the series went absolutely nowhere. Tennant was good, but his co-star, Gunn, was no Colman, not by a long shot.
When will American TV casters understand that it's OK to have women in non-comedic lead roles who don't have the usual pretty but utterly blank face? If a woman has character, personality, and acting skills, she becomes far more fascinating in her role than any boring blond starlet, with a face like a million other boring blond starlets, could ever be. Grow up, American TV.
When the Americans tried to do their own version of this show, they kept David Tennant but replaced Colman with Anna Gunn. With no offense meant toward Ms. Gunn, in typical American TV fashion for a female lead, she has the usual perfectly straight blond hair, classic, regular features--and not an ounce of personality in her face, especially in comparison to Colman. Not surprisingly, the series went absolutely nowhere. Tennant was good, but his co-star, Gunn, was no Colman, not by a long shot.
When will American TV casters understand that it's OK to have women in non-comedic lead roles who don't have the usual pretty but utterly blank face? If a woman has character, personality, and acting skills, she becomes far more fascinating in her role than any boring blond starlet, with a face like a million other boring blond starlets, could ever be. Grow up, American TV.
28
I.E. Meryl Streep, one of the greatest actors of all time and hardly a conventional beauty.
2
Anna Gunn is hardly a blonde starlet. You are clearly unfamiliar with "Breaking Bad."
I have a hard time with faces, and find British TV so much easier to watch because I can tell the women apart. They have a much greater diversity of both age and features than US TV does.
6
There are a myriad of factors as to why the ''better'' sex is getting their spot in the limelight. ( and just basic equality )
I think the main reason is that there are\have been so many women BEHIND the camera and the scenes that are\have paved the way. The writers and directors and executives. You couple all of that with an unleashing of cable itself and a whole host of platforms now, for women to show their talent unencumbered.
There still is going to be backlash to all of it with glass ceilings cracking, but not yet breaking. ( especially just this week with the reaction of nude photos being published of the new Doctor Who ), but it is an optimistic time.
Bring on the fab, intelligent and brilliant women !
I think the main reason is that there are\have been so many women BEHIND the camera and the scenes that are\have paved the way. The writers and directors and executives. You couple all of that with an unleashing of cable itself and a whole host of platforms now, for women to show their talent unencumbered.
There still is going to be backlash to all of it with glass ceilings cracking, but not yet breaking. ( especially just this week with the reaction of nude photos being published of the new Doctor Who ), but it is an optimistic time.
Bring on the fab, intelligent and brilliant women !
6
If I may, I'd like to make the subject women, not just women in movies and TV.
I spent the bulk of my working years as a nurse, an LPN/LVN fresh out of the military and then as an RN until I retired. I worked a few jobs outside of nursing, (where my boss or immediate supervisor was always male) but I kept returning to the job the Army trained me for, and where I always reported to a woman. (Only in Vietnam was my immediate superior not female.) Throughout my adult life, I have always had more women than men friends.
The United States of America would be an infinitely better place today if women had been in positions of authority in proportion to their number. Any one of the women I worked for would be performing on an infinitely higher plane than the current resident of the White House. (That actually falls under the category of damning with faint praise, so now allow me to apologize to them.)
Women must do more than appear in substantive roles in the entertainment world. Women must take the reins of power into their own hands. I fully believe this is an existential necessity. Sexism is more devastating than racism, if for no other reason than it makes more than 1/2 the residents of Earth second-class citizens.
The old joke about Mama not being happy is really not a joke at all. Make that, "If Mama ain't in charge..."
I spent the bulk of my working years as a nurse, an LPN/LVN fresh out of the military and then as an RN until I retired. I worked a few jobs outside of nursing, (where my boss or immediate supervisor was always male) but I kept returning to the job the Army trained me for, and where I always reported to a woman. (Only in Vietnam was my immediate superior not female.) Throughout my adult life, I have always had more women than men friends.
The United States of America would be an infinitely better place today if women had been in positions of authority in proportion to their number. Any one of the women I worked for would be performing on an infinitely higher plane than the current resident of the White House. (That actually falls under the category of damning with faint praise, so now allow me to apologize to them.)
Women must do more than appear in substantive roles in the entertainment world. Women must take the reins of power into their own hands. I fully believe this is an existential necessity. Sexism is more devastating than racism, if for no other reason than it makes more than 1/2 the residents of Earth second-class citizens.
The old joke about Mama not being happy is really not a joke at all. Make that, "If Mama ain't in charge..."
23
@Glen: You say all the right things, but can they be substantiated?First of all, you don't know that US would be a better place if women were on charge or if a woman were c-in-c. Pure speculation! Second, sexism worse than racism? Tell that to African Americans in the south who have memories of Jim Crow, to the surviving family members of Emmett Till, murdered by 2 WWII veterans . Roy Bryant and JW Elam.Till's offense was to have flirted with Bryant's wife, and paid a horrible price. Killers were acquitted by an all white jury! Tell that to Medgar Evers's widow. civil rights activist assassinated by another WWII vet, ex Marine, Byron de la Beckwith, or the surviving families of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, kidnapped and killed by KKK members, among whom there was a local preacher, or families of 4 young girls attending Sunday School in Birmingham, also known as "Bombingham,"victims of a bombing, which "engin infernal " was set by Robert Chambliss, Dem. Party precinct captain in 1964, also known as Dynamite Bob. Knew the south of "faded R.C. cola signs and rusty gas pumps, " and while it seemed picturesque to my eyes, since I was white, it was definitely a terrifying place to live for African Americans. Did the jingoistic Margaret Thatcher, who led her nation in an unnecessary war for an archipelago in the South Atlantic which few had ever heard of, causing deaths of more than 1,000 Argentines and over 100 SAS commandos, possessed of better judgment than a man?
Alalexander, I stand by my comment. And for future "correspondence," please refrain from addressing me as @Glen. I do not Tweet, Facebook, Instagram or any of the other juvenile-oriented social media [cr]apps. You will not reach me that way.
Thank you for the celebration, for women over 25, not to mention over 60. Having such characters written into shows is itself such progress, but you remind us of the banquet of fabulous actresses who need not fear aging. That means being post-menopausal is no longer a sentence of invisibility.
8
What twaddle.
Sociologically speaking, my weakest Institution is the Institution of Culture (Core Value: Non-codified traditions and novelties).
Of all of the tv shows and movies that you mention, I've seen one: "Pretty Little Things" and, frankly, Frank, the book was better.
Okay. That's my 2 minutes of time spent on this.
Today is my birthday and I'm headed out to the bookstore and lunch. I hope I don't mess up my hair scratching my head in puzzlement.
Equal Rights Amendment, NOW.
Sociologically speaking, my weakest Institution is the Institution of Culture (Core Value: Non-codified traditions and novelties).
Of all of the tv shows and movies that you mention, I've seen one: "Pretty Little Things" and, frankly, Frank, the book was better.
Okay. That's my 2 minutes of time spent on this.
Today is my birthday and I'm headed out to the bookstore and lunch. I hope I don't mess up my hair scratching my head in puzzlement.
Equal Rights Amendment, NOW.
1
I assume Tom Hanks request that Charlize Theron "never do television" are born of what must be his awful memories of the terrible TV show he was on back in the day, the one where he and some other forgotten actor pretended to be women living in an all woman hotel. Hanks is wealthy enough to have bought all the tapes and negatives and burned them. I only wish I could go back and obliterate some of my own embarrassing memories as easily.
1
It was "Bosom Buddies," he starred with Peter Scolari ( who won an Emmy last year, so "forgotten" may not be the best word choice), and the show was an enormous success. Other than those facts, everything you said was true. Did you say anything else?
I totally agree. I hardly bother with movies anymore because TV is so good - Happy Valley was a revelation and the great drama coming out of Scandinavia and the UK (occasionally the US!) shows such a range of actresses - and a range of parts. Hollywood thought it was doing us a favour by giving us a busty action heroine every ten years. Boy was it on the wrong side of history.
36
Sofia Helin in "The Bridge!"
Yes, also worth watching: the Danish "Dicte"--the heart of a woman laid bare, but strongly showing up, confronting every challenge, no matter what. This riveting series is based on the work of Danish author Elsebeth Egholm.
There is age discrimination in everything (in case you have not noticed). And it is big time in business. That is why I laugh when anyone says in these opinion posts people should wait until 70 to retire, collect social security or whatever. There are very few people around at sixty; they have been pushed out of business. I know plenty. Only teachers and professors can work until they die as people who have their onw business, lawyers, dentist, physicians, and those have their own business. Why shouldn't the "big d" hit the stage? It hits everyone else.
2
Movies. Two hours of escape in an air conditioned theater with buttered popcorn. TV. 30 minutes, one hour, two hour, 6 hour miniseries, or 10 hour-long episodes to binge on over a weekend, popcorn on your own. Jessica Jones, Vikings, American Crime, and on and on. Ken Burns, documentaries, and ESPN 30-30. With subscriptions to Netflix and Amazon I have more excellent entertainment than I can reasonably watch, and yet I confess to lusting just a bit for HBO, Showtime, and USA.
Will this last? This cornucopia? I hope so. Will women ever get equal opportunity, equal billing, free from gender discrimination? Hmm. Maybe not in my lifetime. Certainly "more opportunity" is a plus and perhaps the mere volume of opportunity could overcome some of the bias. Not an excuse. I would rather watch Charleze Theron than almost anyone.
I sometimes wonder if we are not now in an entertainment bubble, one that might pop any day, and we will be reminiscing - remember when? (Net neutrality anyone?) As I wait for the next season of Halt and Catch Fire to come to Netflix I see programs get Emmy nominations that, honestly, have not been on my list of must sees.
What a country.
Will this last? This cornucopia? I hope so. Will women ever get equal opportunity, equal billing, free from gender discrimination? Hmm. Maybe not in my lifetime. Certainly "more opportunity" is a plus and perhaps the mere volume of opportunity could overcome some of the bias. Not an excuse. I would rather watch Charleze Theron than almost anyone.
I sometimes wonder if we are not now in an entertainment bubble, one that might pop any day, and we will be reminiscing - remember when? (Net neutrality anyone?) As I wait for the next season of Halt and Catch Fire to come to Netflix I see programs get Emmy nominations that, honestly, have not been on my list of must sees.
What a country.
1
Television is not a defeat for film actors. Why would you think so? These women are to off to the soaps, they are playing large sophisticated characters. A TV series is not limited to the 120-150 minute film format, there are fewer special effects, more close-ups, more intimate like the stage. TV is getting better than film - buy a large screen and settle down on your sofa.
4
"Tom Hanks, who signed her script with words that, she told Variety, “I bet he’s eating.” They were these: “Promise me you’ll never do television.”
I find it funny that Tom Hanks would write those words because it was television in which he became known in "Bossom Buddies". That show clearly displayed his array of comedic skills. Peter Scolari was no slouch either.
I too remember when the only thing worse an actor could do besides television was a commercial on television. But I think with the birth of HBO, Showtime and now Netflix, those networks have really stepped up the game and pushed the envelope when it comes to storylines, dialogue and intense scenes which you NEVER saw on the "traditional commercial" broadcast networks because of the censors. There is finally a reason why big name "movie stars" would want to do television.
I am relieved and glad that television has been and continues to produce incredible entertainment because I still love sitting in my own home with my husband, eating FREE popcorn, and being able to pause the program to make a pitstop when Mother Nature called.
And Mr. Bruni, I would not be too disappointed that Claire Danes was not nominated this year - she won enough times for best actress in the past, it's nice that someone else has a shot at the award.
5
More --- Michelle Dockery "Good Behavior"; Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Allison Wright "The Americans"
TV and streaming costs a bloody fortune. More expensive than going to the movies a few times a year, if you subscribe to more than a couple of premium services. Viewers are paying for quality and will easily cut the service that doesn't merit their time and money.
TV and streaming costs a bloody fortune. More expensive than going to the movies a few times a year, if you subscribe to more than a couple of premium services. Viewers are paying for quality and will easily cut the service that doesn't merit their time and money.
1
My favorite line in this article: "for the best talent cast the net wide and don't ignore any of the available pools". This is it exactly! In all arenas, business, government, education, we cheat ourselves as a human society by eliminating whole categories of people and settling for C or D grade white men. Those men may be worthy folks but they're not the best suited to many purposes.
7
Movies today are unwatchable. I feel that way but so does the rest of my family and they vary in ages, gender and interest. More than once this year we've tried to go to the movies only to be unable to find anything worthwhile. Sorry to say that all that blow-it-up, or shoot-em-up, or third m-sequel or sad-sack-artsy is simply unwatchable.
So I'm not surprised that talented actors of all genders are moving to TV. Even so, I think we're only scratching the surface of telling women's stories that are recognizable or relevant to our lives. On TV Girls, Younger, Big Little Lies were contenders but only one is still on air. In movies only one stands out as entertaining, engaging was On The Edge of Seventeen. Like modern women's fiction, it's hard to find narratives that mirror back our lives but it's vastly improved and television is the reason.
Now I would love to see stories about Latinas of all races without making ethnicity the main plot point..
So I'm not surprised that talented actors of all genders are moving to TV. Even so, I think we're only scratching the surface of telling women's stories that are recognizable or relevant to our lives. On TV Girls, Younger, Big Little Lies were contenders but only one is still on air. In movies only one stands out as entertaining, engaging was On The Edge of Seventeen. Like modern women's fiction, it's hard to find narratives that mirror back our lives but it's vastly improved and television is the reason.
Now I would love to see stories about Latinas of all races without making ethnicity the main plot point..
2
Interesting that the article wonders why Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon have "fled" to television. Sarandon and Lange are two of our best actors, and this was some of their best work. They're actors, and actors go where the work is. British actors certainly know that: most of the work there is in London, and great actors like Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen have no qualms about moving from stage to film to television to radio. It's called being a working actor. The assumption that television is a step down from movies is more than a little condescending. It's also wildly antiquated. Television hasn't been film's impoverished little sister for some decades now.
12
Doctor Who is now a woman and men are complaining, want Doctor Who to be a man?
The modern world is apparently a nightmare to many people, not much of a reality to live in. Apparently overpopulation, every possible hoop that must be jumped through (a child is watched, regulated, educated, squeezed, and as an adult is boxed into home and employment with the rest of adults) has led to rat race in rat cage, except unlike rats we desperately dream, and now with arguments over representation in film and television (should it be a man? woman? minority? who, what?) we argue over the forms our dreams will take in a barren, unexciting reality.
Television, film, is cruel--it is anything but our lives. We dream of a middle ages fantasyland or science fiction dream or being a super cop killing people or a criminal wasting opposition. We apparently can't stand the lives we lead, and men and women have contempt for each other, argue about parcelling out who gets what job or whatever in empty reality and the shape each other takes in dreamworld of television and film.
The U.S. and Mexico need to combine into one country. That way Mexico can turn entirely into a drug supply manufacturer/chain pumping drugs into the overpopulated climate change/environment destroyed box home/work lifestyle and the U.S. can ramp up television/film so we live perpetually in fantasyland.
Jack Nicholson in the Wild Ride: "Next thing you know you'll be on a sofa watching TV. You might as well be dead".
The modern world is apparently a nightmare to many people, not much of a reality to live in. Apparently overpopulation, every possible hoop that must be jumped through (a child is watched, regulated, educated, squeezed, and as an adult is boxed into home and employment with the rest of adults) has led to rat race in rat cage, except unlike rats we desperately dream, and now with arguments over representation in film and television (should it be a man? woman? minority? who, what?) we argue over the forms our dreams will take in a barren, unexciting reality.
Television, film, is cruel--it is anything but our lives. We dream of a middle ages fantasyland or science fiction dream or being a super cop killing people or a criminal wasting opposition. We apparently can't stand the lives we lead, and men and women have contempt for each other, argue about parcelling out who gets what job or whatever in empty reality and the shape each other takes in dreamworld of television and film.
The U.S. and Mexico need to combine into one country. That way Mexico can turn entirely into a drug supply manufacturer/chain pumping drugs into the overpopulated climate change/environment destroyed box home/work lifestyle and the U.S. can ramp up television/film so we live perpetually in fantasyland.
Jack Nicholson in the Wild Ride: "Next thing you know you'll be on a sofa watching TV. You might as well be dead".
I know why there are more wonderful actresses on television. The fan boy garbage in movies theaters. One comic book hero character after another. I don't go to the movies anymore. I prefer to get my movies from TCM.
10
"....women still don't get enough opportunities behind the camera". I know this is well intentioned but, do you know what it takes to become a TV writer? You say, "I'm a TV writer". That's it. The rest is about writing for other mediums and getting recognized for it, or doing stand up, or submitting stuff to agents, etc. just like the guys do. There's no Hollywood producer that cares about gender if they'll make money.
Too Many Wonderful Women! Frank, could have sworn you were referring to those strong-minded and smart Republican women in Congress who stood up yesterday to the president and their incompetent, dysfunctional male colleagues by refusing to support their party's latest ridiculous repeal-only "strategy". Stupid is as stupid as does, from the shameful president on down (sad!), but these women stand up, speak up, and are honest enough to refuse to play the shell game of the Republican's disgraceful attempts to "solve" America's health care crisis. Of course, I add these women to the long list of Democratic "Wonderful Women" in the House and Senate who have spoken up for the needs of their constituents and have refused to support this sham all along, for years. One hope that truly sustains me through this miserable time for America, is that there will be no shortage of excellent women candidates (of both parties) in 2018 and 2020, who will bring their intelligence, compassion, experience, energy and practicality to making America functional again. A girl can dream......
17
Frank Bruni, How could you leave out Game of Thrones?! Every interesting lead is a woman, hero or villain. The surviving contenders for the throne are all women: Danaerys (and her sidekick Missandrei), Sansa Stark, the gloriously evil Cersei Lannister, Yara Greyjoy. And then there's the avenging angel Arya Stark, the magnificent cypher Brienne of Tarth, Lady Olenna (fabulously played by Diana Rigg), the sorceress Melisandre. Of course they need men, because whoever gets the throne will have to have heirs, but it's the women who run the show.
4
One suspects the endlessly resourceful Cersei will find a way around that. ;)
More and more screen women simply turning to acting like men, acting as men, being as violent as men. The re-writing of male parts for women to play. Praise follows this new genre. Praise of profit. When the newness of this ploy wears off, we'll wonder where the actual women went. I already do.
5
"I Have Abandoned My Search For Truth, And I'm Looking For A Good
Fantasy" ( Ashleigh Brilliant). With honest appreciation for Frank Bruni...
from average mid-America...Life and News is dominated by East (and our "Leader, who is surreal enough to bend and abolish Truth) and West, having succeeded in imitating it. Finally, in Reality, Life, indeed, Is a Stage. Our"President" can afford to purchase his "audience" for an occasional "statement", meanwhile Tweeting his 24/7 daily dictums. From the West, we will be spectators of the periodic performances of the interpretations
Emperor, 24/7. But I babble....but, as I have repeated:
"Sometimes the sanest reaction to an insane situation....is Insanity".
Fantasy" ( Ashleigh Brilliant). With honest appreciation for Frank Bruni...
from average mid-America...Life and News is dominated by East (and our "Leader, who is surreal enough to bend and abolish Truth) and West, having succeeded in imitating it. Finally, in Reality, Life, indeed, Is a Stage. Our"President" can afford to purchase his "audience" for an occasional "statement", meanwhile Tweeting his 24/7 daily dictums. From the West, we will be spectators of the periodic performances of the interpretations
Emperor, 24/7. But I babble....but, as I have repeated:
"Sometimes the sanest reaction to an insane situation....is Insanity".
A quote from the character, Dick in Jill Soloway's most recent series "I Love Dick"
“I think it’s really pretty rare for a woman to make a good film because they have to work from behind their oppression, which makes for some bummer movies.”
I found that quote to be so interesting because the arts, for all of its reputation for being on the left and liberal, is a brutal field for most women artists. Stop any person on the street and ask them to name 5 women artists or 5 women filmmakers. They can't do it. Move beyond the cinema to museums and other venues and you will find a near vacuum when it comes to representation of women artists and filmmakers. But, most importantly, look at where the money is spent. Prices for artwork made by women is significantly lower then artwork made by men. Investors don't want to risk their dollars on female artists and filmmakers. Television, because it had been considered among the lowest mediums and is relatively low cost compared to movies was able to make room for some women's expression. And, those women have taken hold and shown that given the opportunity, they can make great television. Now, what about the rest of the creative fields?
“I think it’s really pretty rare for a woman to make a good film because they have to work from behind their oppression, which makes for some bummer movies.”
I found that quote to be so interesting because the arts, for all of its reputation for being on the left and liberal, is a brutal field for most women artists. Stop any person on the street and ask them to name 5 women artists or 5 women filmmakers. They can't do it. Move beyond the cinema to museums and other venues and you will find a near vacuum when it comes to representation of women artists and filmmakers. But, most importantly, look at where the money is spent. Prices for artwork made by women is significantly lower then artwork made by men. Investors don't want to risk their dollars on female artists and filmmakers. Television, because it had been considered among the lowest mediums and is relatively low cost compared to movies was able to make room for some women's expression. And, those women have taken hold and shown that given the opportunity, they can make great television. Now, what about the rest of the creative fields?
6
Women are writing more cookbooks, self help books, novels, children's books-- just more books, period-- than men. And this has been true for decades now.
Stop anyone on the street and ask them to name 5 filmmakers, 5 artists, of any gender. They can't do it.
Stop anyone on the street and ask them to name 5 filmmakers, 5 artists, of any gender. They can't do it.
The heck with Emmys and Oscars. Who is raking in the cash and getting the ratings? It isn't bijou high concept productions, that's for sure. Shonda definitely wins there.
And that picture of an empowered female police officer pinning a man against a van. Does anybody seriously think it likely in real life, if the man wanted to resist? Sorry folks, lots of this "empowerment" is fictional.
And that picture of an empowered female police officer pinning a man against a van. Does anybody seriously think it likely in real life, if the man wanted to resist? Sorry folks, lots of this "empowerment" is fictional.
An ode to women impersonating wonderful women who count - I hope Bruni knows that these are just actors.
Instead, why not an an ode to genuine women who count? We see them every day, every where.
Instead, why not an an ode to genuine women who count? We see them every day, every where.
5
Ordinary slugs need diversion, and will pay for it. That's Hollywood, Broadway, Disneyland. Women, collectively speaking, are always doing an "impersonation," what do you think makeup is all about, boob jobs, labia surgeries, etc., that's how many affluent "modern" women in the Western countries get pregnant and get "manginas" to marry them or divorce them but in either case carry the load of paying the bills. Women, really attractive women, can be dangerous to men and to themselves. Only rarely does a menstruating female show up that has being a woman nailed. Rarely.
Thanks so much for the paper and its writers shilling for female employment in the entertainment business. There have always been women in the movies. The current crop and their managers and agents are good opportunists at self-promotion and making millions. The story is always about the money to be made in the business of mass entertainment. But look carefully...the scripts, the productions, the acting are the same old, same old. Read a book, grow a garden, make love. FICTIONAL PRE-PACKAGED ENTERTAINMENT IS A WASTE OF TIME.
Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley is amazing. This is a riveting series.
29
Yes, hopefully there will be more-more-more from its fabulous author, Sally Wainwright--a phenomenal storytelling talent and genius who so skillfully captures the heart, courage, and grit of women. Worth checking out her other works of art made into British TV. Hurrah, Sally!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Wainwright
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Wainwright
Thanks, Frank. While I don't watch much TV and go to the movies even less, I will say (as a man) that, generally speaking, of all the good, decent men and women I know, the women are vastly superior in almost every way. Most men (including yourself, it seems) of good will already know this and, perhaps, this knowledge is now finally being reflected in our entertainment. It's about time.
6
Women provide a whole new set of interesting plots, twists, and conflicts.
BSG's reboot could be added to the list.
Editor alert:
"Theron long ago worked on a movie with Tom Hanks, who signed her script with words that, she told Variety, “I bet he’s eating.” They were these: “Promise me you’ll never do television.”
I've read this 3 times. I get the gist, but am utterly confused.
BSG's reboot could be added to the list.
Editor alert:
"Theron long ago worked on a movie with Tom Hanks, who signed her script with words that, she told Variety, “I bet he’s eating.” They were these: “Promise me you’ll never do television.”
I've read this 3 times. I get the gist, but am utterly confused.
1
I think the meaning is "I bet he's eating these words. Promise me you'll never do television." The sentence construction is a bit clumsy.
1
I see.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Well said. Women's assertion has been held in the background for far too long, a waste of talent and ingenuity...and imagination. We men ought to be happy in watching the parity of opposites complementing each other perfectly, a social intercourse that could only be of mutual interest and contentment. Actually, at least in these United States, women always had the upper hand, although well hidden, so a 'macho' society could have the necessary time to adapt...instead of dying of sensual thirst.
2
There are some excellent actresses on Frank Bruni's list, but I can't help thinking that 10, 20, 30 years from now, not one of them will capture the public's imagination and matter to the American psyche in the way that a dozen or more actresses who commanded the big screen in the 1930s, '40s and '50s did. I'm thinking of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, of course, but also Katherine Hepburn, Claudette Colbert, Ingrid Bergman, Judy Garland, Vivian Leigh, Barbara Stanwyck, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor . . . . Night after night, the greatest women performers on the small screen can be seen on Turner Classic Movies.
80
I agree. I would also add Irene Dunne, Lorertta Young, Rosalind Russell, Ginger Rogers and one of my favorites Grace Kelly. These actresses had style, breeding and presence. That is what is lacking in today's movie stars.
2
Charles,
May I humbly add to your excellent list of stellars the names of such greats as Myrna Loy, Marlena Dietrich, and (where would Fred be without) Ginger Rogers?
Your, I believe, and my point is that without these and similar names, cinema would would have been and would be so much less. Barbara Stanwyck, like so many of these women, had so much presence on screen she made any male counterpart in any role all the better. Bogie's power and empathy in Key Largo would be tepid without Lauren Becall spurring him on. John Wayne in The Quiet Man towered because Maureen O'hara was a prize well worth his efforts. Without such female opposites, these male powerhouses would be like a disappointed child sitting grounded on one side of an otherwise empty seesaw.
And, yes, TCM is my answer and antidote to the noise and crassness of our today.
May I humbly add to your excellent list of stellars the names of such greats as Myrna Loy, Marlena Dietrich, and (where would Fred be without) Ginger Rogers?
Your, I believe, and my point is that without these and similar names, cinema would would have been and would be so much less. Barbara Stanwyck, like so many of these women, had so much presence on screen she made any male counterpart in any role all the better. Bogie's power and empathy in Key Largo would be tepid without Lauren Becall spurring him on. John Wayne in The Quiet Man towered because Maureen O'hara was a prize well worth his efforts. Without such female opposites, these male powerhouses would be like a disappointed child sitting grounded on one side of an otherwise empty seesaw.
And, yes, TCM is my answer and antidote to the noise and crassness of our today.
20
No doubt, these women are icons. They were also before the youth quake of the '60s, which led to younger--i.e. sexier--leading ladies. They worked as hard as their male contemporaries without equal compensation. And while they made some classics, the politics and mores of the day--gender and racial inequality--don't make their films as universal as the television shows mentioned in Bruni's piece.
2
And now let's turn to the Senate. Who saved us from the despicable, GOP, no healthcare bill? Susan Collins spoke out when nobody else had the guts. She was all over CNN condemning the healthcare bill as cruel, unreasonable - unacceptable. She called that bill by its right names when her cohorts were kneeling down to Mitch McConnell, or so far to the right that they were off the spectrum (Paul, Cruz).
And today, who sank the even more terrible alternative of repealing the ACA without replacing it? Three Republican women senators, including Collins, that's who.
In life as in art, women stand out not merely for their talent, but also for their courage. We hold our families together while working full-time, we stand up to authority when authority is inhumane, we have the guts to say "no" when "no" is the right answer.
Hillary Clinton would have been a terrific president. I hope the Democratic Party starts looking to its women when planning its future, because we are out there, we are ready and we will get the job done.
And today, who sank the even more terrible alternative of repealing the ACA without replacing it? Three Republican women senators, including Collins, that's who.
In life as in art, women stand out not merely for their talent, but also for their courage. We hold our families together while working full-time, we stand up to authority when authority is inhumane, we have the guts to say "no" when "no" is the right answer.
Hillary Clinton would have been a terrific president. I hope the Democratic Party starts looking to its women when planning its future, because we are out there, we are ready and we will get the job done.
68
I hope the democratic party drops the idiotic emphasis on identity politics and starts nominating people not in the pocket of Fraud St. and who have an actual chance of winning.
If you're watching TV and women, don't forget to catch Brenda Blethlyn as Vera. Set in Northumberland, it's one of the best detective series ever.
14
Yes!! I love that program, even if I've watched it every time it is scheduled again.
Please don't ignore Grace and Frankie! Profound, funny, outrageous and brilliant. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are my heroes.
19
Frank, surely at the top of the list and so relevant with respect to todays fractured political climate in our terribly divided nation, that it should be required viewing: The Bridge(Broen) a Danish political drama about the ascendency to and life as the female Prime Minister of Denmark; Brigitte Nyborg, played by the lovely, fascinating Sidse Babette Knudsen. Not only is this in my opinion the finest piece of film making ever for the small screen but equally as important it shows in detail how a "real democracy", as opposed to our plutocracy works; one in which there are actually people who represent all factions of society and do so in a meaningful manner that attains results. One of the most fascinating things I found in their system is the ability to have snap elections when there was deemed to be a loss of confidence on the part of the P.M. or her members of Denmarks Parimentary Representative Democracy, in which a monarch( Queen Margaret II)is head of state. Denmark describes itself as a nation state with broad consensus on important issues within the political community, but more importantly to attain concensus for society as a whole. We should be so lucky.
12
While I agree heartily with your description, I believe that you are referring to "Borgen". The Bridge or Broen is also a Scandinavian noir production that has completed three seasons and stars another fine Danish actress, Sofia Helin. It was also subject to an American version that was IMHO one of the best adaptations of the genre yet done. One should check out all three, especially Borgen.
While I agree that there are many fine shows coming from the subscription providers, network TV in the US, especially this summer, seems an endless stream of game shows, "reality TV" interspersed by inane comedy. Many have reached the nadir where the ads seem more entertaining than the show itself. It's a good time to catch up on that reading one has been meaning to do.
While I agree that there are many fine shows coming from the subscription providers, network TV in the US, especially this summer, seems an endless stream of game shows, "reality TV" interspersed by inane comedy. Many have reached the nadir where the ads seem more entertaining than the show itself. It's a good time to catch up on that reading one has been meaning to do.
1
Actually i think you may have your shows mixed up. The political show is Borgen. The Bridge stars Sofia Helin & Kim Bodnia and is more of a thriller (along the lines of The Killing).
1
Selena 61 and Jeanette:,You are so correct, my apologies, it was most certainly Borgen; I had thought of bringing up Broen and had a senior moment in the process. Sorry! Selena, I also agree about the reading, I never used an computer until Four or five years ago when I was "gifted" with an I pad as the N.Y.T. had long ago dispensed with" letters to the editor" and my friend felt it was a way to express my discontent with America today and the direction we are headed. After five years and no change because Ted doesn't like things the way they are I am going to give her the I pad back and resume reading, certainly more rewarding and less stressful, these computers really do take over your life, in particular if you are no longer living in an area where meaningful discussions, as in my business in particular as well as the coffee shops and bars of my youth in San Francisco, are possible. Thank you for correcting me age does not become ones powers of concentration!
2
The surprise of the past few years is that the small screen has been outdoing the big one when it comes to compelling viewing. Since it requires less of a bankroll to get that first toe in, followed by the foot and the rest of the body , that pulls many with good ideas that wouldn't be salable to conventional movie studios. The more independent thinker knows that many of us have no interest in another Tom Cruise hero, or storyline. So the small screen has been filling in, bringing a world of more characters who look more like actual people an complex story lines which are perfect for series. They even look like women! I remember trying to figure out how Prime Suspect was different from other regular TV viewing: I think it was seeing someone who looked a lot like myself and my friends, juggling home problems while navigating her police job. The backdrop of the stories included the real obstacles, usually ignored in entertainment. The British have always been more comfortable with showing actors with far from youthful perfection in major roles. So American narrative and visual story telling is catching up.
20
Wait, Rachel Maddow doesn't make the list? She's on television, she's strong and she actually affects things.
96
I have not seen her in Fargo, but Carrie Coon delivered standout performances in the three seasons of The Leftovers.
7
Really? Only someone uncomfortable in their reality would prefer life inside a vacuum tube. But, given the many "food choices" this author has sampled, it is no surprise he prefers a perverse fantasy to his unfortunate reality as an unserious scribe toiling in a dying medium.
3
the market for enganging analysis will never die. it may become more niche. but that's an elective problem that will simply increase the value - and joy in finding a similar engaged citizen. if the medium and author are so distasteful to you, do us all a favor and find some other way to occupy your time
3
As others have noted, it's quite a shame that Hollywood and our government has abandoned network (free) television. Comcast, ATT, Time-Warner and a few other players have our remote controls in their greedy hands. It's impossible to find something decent to watch, much less appreciate the actresses in the shows you mentioned, without paying a monthly sum that is actually more than my electric bill.
43
At least this article is not about Russia Russia Russia. That is a nice change and diversion.
7
There are a myriad of factors as to why our better halves are getting their spot in the limelight. ( and just basic equality )
I think the main reason is that there are\have been so many women BEHIND the camera and the scenes that are\have paved the way. The writers and directors and executives. You couple all of that with an unleashing of cable itself and a whole host of platforms now, for women to show their talent unencumbered.
There still is going to be backlash to all of it with glass ceilings cracking, but not yet breaking. ( especially just this week with the reaction of photos being published of the new Doctor Who ), but it is an optimistic time.
Bring on the fab, intelligent and brilliant women !
I think the main reason is that there are\have been so many women BEHIND the camera and the scenes that are\have paved the way. The writers and directors and executives. You couple all of that with an unleashing of cable itself and a whole host of platforms now, for women to show their talent unencumbered.
There still is going to be backlash to all of it with glass ceilings cracking, but not yet breaking. ( especially just this week with the reaction of photos being published of the new Doctor Who ), but it is an optimistic time.
Bring on the fab, intelligent and brilliant women !
19
Reading this, I thought back to the recent re-boot of the "Ghostbusters" movie.
A sequel of the original movie came out a few years after the original and didn't do all that well, perhaps because it was a movie that didn't lend itself to having a sequel.
But that didn't stop the second attempt which, from all accounts, wasn't much different that the original except "all the leads were women".
Okay, a lot of people (women, mostly or exclusively) thought that was a good enough reason to go see this movie. And of course there was a lot of cheering for this movie (despite some tepid reviews) "because they are women".
And I guess Hollywood (or TV) will continue doing this so long as there is a crowd that will come out (or watch) "because they are women".
Personally I'd prefer a better reason to watch though.
A sequel of the original movie came out a few years after the original and didn't do all that well, perhaps because it was a movie that didn't lend itself to having a sequel.
But that didn't stop the second attempt which, from all accounts, wasn't much different that the original except "all the leads were women".
Okay, a lot of people (women, mostly or exclusively) thought that was a good enough reason to go see this movie. And of course there was a lot of cheering for this movie (despite some tepid reviews) "because they are women".
And I guess Hollywood (or TV) will continue doing this so long as there is a crowd that will come out (or watch) "because they are women".
Personally I'd prefer a better reason to watch though.
8
When it becomes commonplace to see women in roles other than "love interest," "femme fatale," or "Mom" it will cease to be a novelty and no longer a good enough reason. As things now stand, it's rare enough to celebrate.
But setting aside the too-enthusiastic cheerleading, the real shame is Ghostbusters's near universal derision from (almost exclusively) males who hadn't seen it, simply because it had female leads. And that one of those women was subject to an vicious, orchestrated hate and harassment campaign by the Milo bros.
But setting aside the too-enthusiastic cheerleading, the real shame is Ghostbusters's near universal derision from (almost exclusively) males who hadn't seen it, simply because it had female leads. And that one of those women was subject to an vicious, orchestrated hate and harassment campaign by the Milo bros.
4
Hear, hear, J.B.! We shouldn't forget to add to the commonplace female roles hooker/prostitute, without or without a heart of gold.
1
Silly me.
From the title I thought Bruni meant the wonderful Senators who refused to kill healthcare for their constituents - for instance the one who "didn't come to Washington to hurt people"!!!!
From the title I thought Bruni meant the wonderful Senators who refused to kill healthcare for their constituents - for instance the one who "didn't come to Washington to hurt people"!!!!
58
Me too! I'm so proud of the Senators that stood their ground against "Repeal and Replace" farce.
10
right! "...television is hardly a last-resort medium anymore. And what’s happening in front of the camera really does warrant celebration."
no one has "fled."
and btw, those who produce and perform in this new "golden age" are part of what the media refer to as "hollywood," when they need a quick pejorative on their pages or in their cable comment.
reflect and discuss.
no one has "fled."
and btw, those who produce and perform in this new "golden age" are part of what the media refer to as "hollywood," when they need a quick pejorative on their pages or in their cable comment.
reflect and discuss.
Issa Rae's Insecure is great too! Orange is the New Black! Orphan Black! The Americans! Shameless! The Man in the High Castle! All featuring fantastic actors--women led or of equal importance in the plot. I love these series--they're like modern Dickensian novels unspooling. They're better than movies because you can fully develop back stories, minor characters, settings. There's also specific, funny, real, fantastic, uncomfortable, thought-provoking. I think we should go back to summer drive-ins and run two or three of the week's series just as movies; loyal crowds would return to see what's upcoming!
11
Yes, there should be more interesting roles for women, everywhere, actually. Not just within the entertainment industry. I will just point out, however, that a lot of us women in the audience actually still LIKE men of all ages, and enjoy viewing them on the screen, too. This may not be true of NYT's readership, but I'm pretty sure it's true of the population in general.
6
Thanks for writing to celebrate these women and their work. Lange and Lancashire, in particular, are brilliant in drama, and McKinnon rules SNL comedy. What a treat to have these choices these days.
10
I thought you were going to write about the brave female senators who are speaking out on health care! what an untimely article?
10
I looked up "virtue signaling" on the internet and it linked to this article.
3
Hear, hear and thank you Frank Bruni for appreciating this and pointing it out. My husband and I haven't found a single movie this summer at the multiplex that we had any interest in seeing while we have enjoyed a number of the female-dominated series on TV you've mentioned. Big LIttle Lies especially was fabulous and we continue to enjoy House of Cards.
7
Are these women, and the not so famous ones, getting equal pay?
7
As much as I think this is wonderful I read through the Emmy awards and saw very few females at the helm of these TV productions. Almost all directors, producers, etc., were male.
4
Men don't like women -- except for sex. How do I know that? Men pay women less, keep them out of jobs and organizations whenever possible, maintain religious tenets that keep women as second-class citizens, and rape them with impunity. And that's just the start. Women, on the other hand, thrive on being victims; they are incapable of teaching their sons to respect women and are incapable of convincing their husbands to treat women fairly. To top it off, women continue to think that men are going to support their societal progress. It really is a confederacy of dunces!
2
Men don't like women? Bob, I think you're running around with the wrong crowd.
6
As a teenager, I watched the world of televisionland agog at the spectacle of a sitcom about a single working woman. Mary Tyler Moore played on TV a role that was a peek at what was going to be the life of all of us in still in high school and headed for college. And yet, it was an amazing break though for TV to admit a woman on TV who wasn't holding a mop on a commercial for floor cleaner.
And commercials showed us a woman who could "Bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan..." as if that were the end of one world and the beginning of another.
Forty years have passed since that time, so yes, I am grateful that women are portrayed on TV in strong roles and great numbers. We exist.
But I really wish we could get to the point when it is not remarkable, but ordinary - a basic assumption that women can carry a movie, carry a TV show, be the protagonist in compelling TV. It has been a lot of years since Mary Tyler Moore and the bacon-frying perfume model.
And commercials showed us a woman who could "Bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan..." as if that were the end of one world and the beginning of another.
Forty years have passed since that time, so yes, I am grateful that women are portrayed on TV in strong roles and great numbers. We exist.
But I really wish we could get to the point when it is not remarkable, but ordinary - a basic assumption that women can carry a movie, carry a TV show, be the protagonist in compelling TV. It has been a lot of years since Mary Tyler Moore and the bacon-frying perfume model.
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And Marlo Thomas in That Girl, and Dianne Carroll in Julia. What a trio of inspiration for we girls of a certain age!
1
Could it be that many of the films that we associate with a male audience (fairly or not fairly) work on the big screen because cars crash and race, buildings crumble, and stuff blows up, but stories that develop characters may actually work better in a more intimate setting, with time to develop them? Not making an argument, so much as asking a question.
5
And quiet strength, intelligence, and sacrifice take a while just to become recognized.
1
Car crash movies might even be cheaper, since everything is CGI now. meaning you don't have to pay as many human beings.
1
As a former film lover who is old enough to remember when television was the graveyard for film stars - I now find myself eschewing Fast & Furious 100 and more superheroes vs bad guys at the multiplex to sit at home and binge watch the gluttonous amount of high quality tv shows available. As a woman over 30 - I want to see stories about interesting women leading the complex and varied lives that we lead. You will almost never get that at the movie theater anymore, I'm sad to say. But seeing the amazingly complex and layered Big, Little Lies, Handmaid's Tail, Man in the High Caste, Veep and I could go on and on - all starring women over 30, often over 40 giving memorable and compelling performances there is just no need to leave the couch. Sadly, in an era where misogyny and sexism are at an all time high - I can retreat to the comfort of my couch and enjoy the warm glow of my tv - filling my soul with these incredible performances.
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And, while retreating to the comfort of one's couch, PBS' offerings include plenty of intelligent nostalgia through which we may experience plenty of warm glow without too much "edge."
5
@Dana, Santa Monica: I can feel the angst in your post. I'm old enough to have seen Susan Hayward (I Want To Live) and Simone Signoret (Room At The Top), both kick-ass performances winning the Best Actress Oscar. In the former, the woman fights for her life; in the latter, she fights for her soul. Today, most of the top actresses are working out at the gym, "doing what the boys do." I like my wife's Sunday show, Madame Secretary; there should be a real-life Madame President but please don't get me started on that!
2
@DANA: Eloquent comment and shows depth of thought, and I too remember when television was considered the graveyard for film stars, and making commercials seen on t.v.would have been considered beneath their dignity. Stopped going to movies when they stopped making good ones:"Three days of the Condor "was the last decent film I recall seeing in a theatre. Now, its strictly dvd's from the library since even video stores have gone out of business. Reason for poor quality of script writing is that Hollywood is now making movies primarily for audiences who have English as a second language, who prefer to see implausible action films w/o a semblance of verisimilitude, but that's where the money is, and to quote an old Provencal saying, "l'argen a pas de quoe et gillo eissadament(Money has no tail. It slides easily)!"
And perhaps important to add although I too like movies more than life, that the three senators whose veto on the so called health care bill, more aptly called the sick throw us under the bus bill, were women. My favorite remark in an otherwise dark week is. 'I didn't come to Washington to hurt people. ".
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Reading this piece reminded me of the TV shows, and movies, I've enjoyed over the decades which have portrayed women as more than objects, playthings, or stand-ins for the audience as the actor mansplains things to her. Possibly because I grew up in a family where women were business owners and centers of social and financial power I gravitated to the women on TV who represented women as persons in their own right. And then too my divorced mom had her own local TV show in the early 60s. I didn't realize my reality growing up in the 60's and 70's was so much different from others until later in life when I learned my outlook of women as whole persons wasn't shared by many.
It is true that there are more good parts for women now than in the past, no doubt due there being more women in decision making roles who just naturally create parts for women as persons and not just props, but while mot as plentiful they have always been there. Precious in their being.
It is true that there are more good parts for women now than in the past, no doubt due there being more women in decision making roles who just naturally create parts for women as persons and not just props, but while mot as plentiful they have always been there. Precious in their being.
8
One gets the impression that Frank still watches a lot on the "small screen". I find that as I age I watch less and less, which makes me in turn less apt to miss the fact that movie actresses lighting up those "limited series" simply are strutting their stuff in motion pictures chopped up differently and presented on a medium that allows one to avoid a ticket cost that the Post is telling us soon will be $30 in Manhattan; and to eschew the $15 bucket of popcorn (made from corn kernels that go for 15 cents a silo) in favor of a bachelor's favorite English-muffin-tuna-melt that costs less than a buck and is consumed in one's own easy-chair.
There always have been too many wonderful women to count. But the fact that Lena Dunham ("Girls") is missing from the most celebrated lists might simply be a harbinger of a general loss of patience with women who don't work out but insist on occasionally appearing naked, festooned with body art that they'll likely need to live with for the rest of their lives as smiley-faces sink into frowns.
There always have been too many wonderful women to count. But the fact that Lena Dunham ("Girls") is missing from the most celebrated lists might simply be a harbinger of a general loss of patience with women who don't work out but insist on occasionally appearing naked, festooned with body art that they'll likely need to live with for the rest of their lives as smiley-faces sink into frowns.
6
Ms. Dunham's appearance-or anyone's appearance for that matter- is not the reason she would (or would not be) nominated for an award.
30
Maybe you need to watch the shows in order to comment.
16
I admit to being a reader rather than a watcher, so I have seen very few entertainment-type TV shows. But I have a theory as to why women are appearing in more and better-quality shows. How many households have only one TV these days? The battle for the remote is no longer a battle. If Dad wants to watch The Simpsons, it doesn’t have to be a family affair. Different interests and different tastes can hide in different rooms, so it's logical that more talented women will show up on screen. And that is good.
23
In rereading my comment, I noticed that I wrote "those of us" without qualifying what I meant, which was "those of us who care", about "minorities" and the rights of all people to be proud of who they are without facing the wrath and discrimination displayed by people who only see others as rivals, intruders or threats to their delusional sense of superiority..
6
I think it probably says something important that every time I read an article written by a man that lauds women for their achievements, I'm ridiculously grateful. So, thank you, Frank Bruni.
I spend time working with children of all ages and I frequently find myself worrying, well to be honest about all of them in this superficial era, but especially the girls. I'm extremely happy when I can present them with a variety of role models and can point out to achievements beyond the usual "rich" or the ubiquitous number one contemporary goal, "famous". It's gratifying to be able to add "talented", "hard working" and "brilliant".
Funnily enough when I read the headline of the piece I thought it might be referring to the female Republican senators, heroes in my book, who just refused to vote for or support the excessively punitive "repeal and replace" or just repeal tax cut/"health care" plans. Trump is already doing enough to punish women's health on his own; the last thing we need is more systematic discrimination towards an entire gender, still treated as a minority despite our majority. Soon the latter (majority) will be true of people of color, who certainly deserve more representation in movies and on tv. Already the LBGTQ community is making strides and those of us must work hard to ensure that continues in the face of the outbreak of regression and reversal.
I spend time working with children of all ages and I frequently find myself worrying, well to be honest about all of them in this superficial era, but especially the girls. I'm extremely happy when I can present them with a variety of role models and can point out to achievements beyond the usual "rich" or the ubiquitous number one contemporary goal, "famous". It's gratifying to be able to add "talented", "hard working" and "brilliant".
Funnily enough when I read the headline of the piece I thought it might be referring to the female Republican senators, heroes in my book, who just refused to vote for or support the excessively punitive "repeal and replace" or just repeal tax cut/"health care" plans. Trump is already doing enough to punish women's health on his own; the last thing we need is more systematic discrimination towards an entire gender, still treated as a minority despite our majority. Soon the latter (majority) will be true of people of color, who certainly deserve more representation in movies and on tv. Already the LBGTQ community is making strides and those of us must work hard to ensure that continues in the face of the outbreak of regression and reversal.
44
Frank, you say that there is a world of fascinating women on television now and three cheers for that!! As an organizational consultant, I can assure you there are even more fascinating woman out there in the every day work world (including those woman who work from and at home). Everyday I have the privilege of meeting accomplished, strong, competent, intelligent and truly amazing woman who work and contribute in all walks of life and in ways unimaginable and often largely unrecognized.
We really don't need to go to the movies or to turn on the television to see fascinating women, we just need to open our eyes where we are.
We really don't need to go to the movies or to turn on the television to see fascinating women, we just need to open our eyes where we are.
90
And thank you for that! But let's leave room for the role of literature in helping us see what's in front of us.
6
There are many fascinating women writers too but not many seem to have columns in NYT
7
Thank you for this lovely and sharply realized overview. I am fairly glued to the TV these days, not just for entertainment but especially when I need a jolt of a rarely-experienced emotion--hope.
33
Sarandon and Lange are majestic as Crawford and Davis; the story line aside, watching them execute their craft is a mesmerizing treat, executed on a wonderful platform provided by writers and production crew - so authentic.
25
I have a bone to pick with Sarandon though. She worked to persuade Bernie supporters to stay home rather than vote for Hillary in November.
2
I won't watch anything with Sarandon in it. She helped deliver the Trump victory. Horrendous. Sorry Jessica.
1
Great article. When Mad Men premiered all those many years ago, my husband and I were amazed and delighted that there were so many women in leading roles. And, ironically, they were playing the preyed upon secretary, the mocked office manager who can only get ahead by using her sex appeal, and the chain smoking, beautiful and depressed housewife. It was a great show that truly charted the rocky ascent of women in society. I wonder if part of this current breakthrough for so many wonderful female actors, is the writing behind these shows. Writers seem to have more power in TV than they do in committee-produced film, perhaps because tv shows are still less costly to produce than film, and it is possible to take more "risks", i.e. cast woment. At any rate, there is much to celebrate in this article.
29
@artistcon3: "ironically, they were playing the preyed upon secretary, the mocked office manager who can only get ahead by using her sex appeal, and the chain smoking, beautiful and depressed housewife." You have to remember that Mad Men was a period piece that takes place in the 1950's to the 1960's, which is the reason why there is so much sexism in the show. Peggy, Joan and Betty were just stereotypes, but actresses who played the parts, Elizabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks and January Jones were terrific.
1
There was only one woman I wanted to see on my TV screen in 2017 and her name was Madame President. The bonanza of talented women in television drama is just a measure of how far off the true Zeitgeist of this country the election and the terrible media coverage of it was. Interesting that Bruni never mentions this obvious elephant in the room.
149
Agree - but it is suffocating when it is all politics all the time. We can expand the conversation and build bridges around many different subjects. There is more than 1 way to skin ...
15
There's only an "elephant in the room" for those who have to turn every discussion, no matter the original subject, into a screed about the election.
6
Because the article was about female actors, not politicians. Jeez.
7
Here, here, Frank. As a young women in the late 1970's I thought we were on the cusp of a new dawn for women. As move to retirement, I find that women's roles in the economy have not met my long ago prediction. I've done OK but I was denied many opportunities and equal pay for decades. I was excoriated for being too tough, too smart, not tough enough, not smart enough....I put up with mansplaining and empty suits for a long time. Happy to finally leave it behind and focus where I can be equal; my next task is the fight and resistance against one of the worst presidencies in my lifetime (and I remember Nixon and Reagan all too well).
245
I know Pat. After the 50's and the tumultuous 60's we thought the 70's with it's new outlook, modernization of many of life's artifacts, the optimism in space, the beginnings of hi-tech, and the acceptance of women in offices I look back it seems that those early promises are still waiting fulfillment, just as we are waiting on the flying car that 45 - 50 years ago seemed a certainty. The deniers will always push back - right in this comment section no doubt - but too many women have first hand experience and knowledge of the persistent forces that denied many opportunities and equal pay for decades despite demonstrated achievements and abilities.
42
And after my mom's hopes were initially built up on a factory line in the 40s.
15
And Ann, going further back, to the "Mill Girls" of Lowell (1822 - 1845). A truly fascinating and eye-opening time for women who emerged from being a wards or "encumbrance" on a man's estate. We owe much to these pioneering women, not just as women, but was workers who are not subjugated to 13 hours work days and unreasonable working conditions.
7
I confess I'm not familiar with many of these TV shows except the titles. But the increasing numbers of great performances by women--some finally recognized both via the Emmys and the Oscars, makes it clear that even though men rule Hollywood, women rule the screen.
32
While fictional representation is nice, I heard on the Sunday morning political talk shows that only 16 percent of people watch Game of Thrones, for example.
I wonder what the percentage of Americans is who have watched these cable tv shows that Mr. Bruni refers to. I bet it is under 20 percent.
Fictional representation of women is nice, but it hardly matters in society if nobody is really watching but the upper-crust tv elites. Meanwhile, on regular tv, shows like "Young Shelton" based on the number one tv show Big Bang Theory are what is fresh next tv season.
There really are two Americas now.
I wonder what the percentage of Americans is who have watched these cable tv shows that Mr. Bruni refers to. I bet it is under 20 percent.
Fictional representation of women is nice, but it hardly matters in society if nobody is really watching but the upper-crust tv elites. Meanwhile, on regular tv, shows like "Young Shelton" based on the number one tv show Big Bang Theory are what is fresh next tv season.
There really are two Americas now.
58
Why in the world would you equate viewing percentages with "upper-crust tv elites"? The size of the audience tells you nothing about the demographics of those who comprise it. We live in a glory era of TV when shows of all walks and stripes are available for viewing on an increasingly diverse array of platforms.
12
Making physicists look like dorky klutzes. It all looks like Big Bust theory to me.
1
Game of Thrones is on HBO. One has to pay extra to get HBO. That is probably why 16% of tv watchers view it. I have HBO and I don't watch it. This upper-crust theory you have is nonsense.
7
This column highlights once again the disparity of attention and respect that women are afforded in our society. However, it is interesting that in order to garner that notice, we have to adopt a more "macho" image...and then when we do so in real life, are castigated for it. Elizabeth Warren, one of the brilliant women of our era, is continually attacked for her sane, intelligent and persistent vocalization about the ills of the banking industry. Venus Williams toughs it out through illness to be an athletic warrior (i.e., a shadow of "male" dominance?). Hillary Clinton was pounded into the mud for daring to pursue historically male power (can you imagine the outrage of the GOP and Trump supporters if she was president and did even half the stuff that Trump gets away with?). Hedy Lamarr invented technology that was a precursor to cell phones. Mildred (Millie) Dresselhaus was considered the queen of carbon science, yet it took a GE commercial for many Americans to ever hear about her. Amelia Earhart certainly was as much of an adventurer as Teddy Roosevelt or Earnest Hemmingway. Then there are all of those thankless mothers who, with great personal sacrifice, raised the children who have become leaders of our nation (albeit, mostly men). So thank you Mr. Bruni, for raising our consciousness about the strong and feisty women who are being showcased in entertainment. I will feel much better when society recognizes the strengths and contributions of women as "normal".
151
Thanks for remembering the mothers....,
6
Brava!
Male dominance has returned with the Crazy Man. There are so few women in government today that are visible you need a magnifier to see them in the midst of all the ole white men on the stage. The only thing out of the first lady's mouth is a big zero and little Miss Cutie is selling, selling, and selling her goods. We have no one to speak out for us and no platform anymore. We have gone back to the dark ages ladies.
2
There is a moment in "Henrietta Lacks" in which Oprah Winfrey literally took my breath away. And that just doesn't happen very often.
Her performance should be rewarded and recognized.
Her performance should be rewarded and recognized.
38
As a former movie executive, I can remember with clarity our meetings that dealt with casting. The core group of movie-goers, age twenty-five and younger and predominantly male, wanted to see actors they could relate to. Women over forty were maternal figures, while young, virile men were role models. As a result, women of a certain age were rarely the protagonists, and only the most attractive and fit older men were the stars, with few exceptions. It was blatant ageism and sexism disguised as a profitable business model.
Television, on the other hand, has traditionally found its core audience up to age forty-nine, so there's more wiggle room where casting is concerned.
For those of us over sixty, we've always been the minority and the least important quadrant. Casting, and therefore award nominations, reflects this, especially where women are concerned.
Perhaps the tides will turn in the future.
Television, on the other hand, has traditionally found its core audience up to age forty-nine, so there's more wiggle room where casting is concerned.
For those of us over sixty, we've always been the minority and the least important quadrant. Casting, and therefore award nominations, reflects this, especially where women are concerned.
Perhaps the tides will turn in the future.
53
Thank you for bringing up one of my major complaints - the lack of seniors on television. I don't understand why, when we are told the senior demographic is increasing, there are almost no positive, functioning senior characters on television today. Why do we have to watch 30 year old reruns of Murder She Wrote, Matlock, or Law and Order to see older characters depicted in a non insulting or condescending way, in fact as protagonists? I'm sure there is an audience for shows with older actors, because, as an ID addict I know that this channel's most popular hosts/narrators are all over 50, if not over 60.
16
Ah, so that's the excuse of the movie industry. Thank you for your part in perpetuating negative stereotypes as well ageism and sexism. If you sleep well at night, there's a problem.
1
One of my absolute favorite shows at the moment is Franki me and Grace..,,
3
I dread for mr. Bruni.
This is the second in a row article that take a clue, or are based on Tv shows.
As much as there is a tradition to take fiction seriously for its implication and explanation of current times, it still remain what it was designed for, an escapatory view of reality, a twisting of the how-it-is for how-i-would-it-like-to-be.
I don't go any further to assert that in the end this is delusional. There were many good shows in the past whose insights were revealing of part of the society not open to the knowledge of others or simply ignored by them.
The problem, alas, is always within the limit of complacency, of over-indulging in seeing the shows as a must-be-reality more than for their inspiring good values.
You can't (or won't) for good reasons be all Cersei Lannister/Daenerys Targaryen out in reality.
This is the second in a row article that take a clue, or are based on Tv shows.
As much as there is a tradition to take fiction seriously for its implication and explanation of current times, it still remain what it was designed for, an escapatory view of reality, a twisting of the how-it-is for how-i-would-it-like-to-be.
I don't go any further to assert that in the end this is delusional. There were many good shows in the past whose insights were revealing of part of the society not open to the knowledge of others or simply ignored by them.
The problem, alas, is always within the limit of complacency, of over-indulging in seeing the shows as a must-be-reality more than for their inspiring good values.
You can't (or won't) for good reasons be all Cersei Lannister/Daenerys Targaryen out in reality.
5
@Alex Hmmm...was there a bad taste in your cereal this morn' Alex ?
Television ( movies to a lesser degree ) is a mirror of our society. We peer into it each day and laugh, cry or just contemplate our existence. If what is looking back at us doesn't quite fit, then we start to ask questions.
There is a very valid argument that portraying gays on TV as just everyday common red blooded folk like you and me helped push along greater equal rights for their group. ( let alone us all )
Wouldn't the same logic apply to women ?
So, the essay may not be politics, politics and more politics, but it certainly is relevant. ( and well ...about politics as well ) The politics of countering misogyny and celebrating women .
A good thing.
Television ( movies to a lesser degree ) is a mirror of our society. We peer into it each day and laugh, cry or just contemplate our existence. If what is looking back at us doesn't quite fit, then we start to ask questions.
There is a very valid argument that portraying gays on TV as just everyday common red blooded folk like you and me helped push along greater equal rights for their group. ( let alone us all )
Wouldn't the same logic apply to women ?
So, the essay may not be politics, politics and more politics, but it certainly is relevant. ( and well ...about politics as well ) The politics of countering misogyny and celebrating women .
A good thing.
13
@FunkyIrishman - no, the same logic does not apply to women.
It is interesting to read about TV, but I have not had access to those shows. Personally, I am disappointed that Hollywood has abandoned women. My daughters are now college aged and none of them, or their friends, enjoy going out to the movies for easy entertainment (something that my husband and I have always enjoyed doing). I can't blame them though as there are few romantic comedies or basic romantic story lines that make it to our local market. Romance has been replaced by blockbuster action films or by diversity promoting affairs (most animations). It is a loss. Does Hollywood realize that it has lost a generation of viewers by being so driven by money and sensation? They seem to be quite tone deaf to the needs of young women. It's sad.
42
Ratter than aiming at the domestic market that indeed includes educated Western women, Hollywood is focusing on the foreign-distribution market, where young men craving action-movies with male heroes at the helm star...
The women are the eye candy.
The women are the eye candy.
5
They've lost more than a generation. They've burned their coin with those of us who went to the movies our entire lives and now find very little to take us to the cinema. I went from living in LA where I could see anything at the cinema to living in the middle of the country where if it isn't some guy in a plastic costume smashing things with his super powers, I don't have access to it. The projectors in the multiplexes are tragic. It's like watching a film through a screen of mud. Not that it matters because most of what is available in the middle of the country isn't worth seeing.
2
For starters, women don't only just like romantic comedies, so there's that. Secondly, the ones Hollywood gave us during the last wave (like BRIDE WARS, 27 DRESSES, THE UGLY TRUTH) were so patronizing and sexist they seemed to have been written by straight-up misogynists. They insisted that women were catty obnoxious shrews who lived and died for the industrial wedding complex--and the right man. Those movies tanked the genre for the time being, and if that is the best the industry can come up with, I'm all for more superhero flicks.
This is a long overdue nod to the better halves of our natures, Mr. Bruni. While reading your column, I tried to fight off the recurring negative images that daily affront us from the present administration.
Whenever Kellyanne Conway or Sarah Huckabee Sanders, with their intrusive, invasive presence, come up on my (still-small) television screens, it almost seems that there's no getting away from All Things Donald Trump: the legion of outright lies (not simply snarky deceptions or mere untruths or obvious misdirections) designed to further drain the American experience of any kind of nobility or decency or credibility.
I was also reminded of the rampant sexism that is a social cancer that, sadly (that word again, in its adverbial dress) appears not only to be an unwelcome guest at the national party, but one that will be sitting at the table long after everyone's gone.
Perhaps what's uplifting about this column is the not-too-subtle message that women can still "bring it" long after they're supposed to have faded like last spring's flowers, no longer useful because their time has passed. When the president of the United States ogles the First Lady of a foreign head of state in that wife's very country, something is very wrong with us, as Americans.
Great Britain has a queen and a prime minister. America threw away its first genuine chance in our last presidential election to demonstrate an inclusive approach to life that other countries, like universal health, embrace.
Whenever Kellyanne Conway or Sarah Huckabee Sanders, with their intrusive, invasive presence, come up on my (still-small) television screens, it almost seems that there's no getting away from All Things Donald Trump: the legion of outright lies (not simply snarky deceptions or mere untruths or obvious misdirections) designed to further drain the American experience of any kind of nobility or decency or credibility.
I was also reminded of the rampant sexism that is a social cancer that, sadly (that word again, in its adverbial dress) appears not only to be an unwelcome guest at the national party, but one that will be sitting at the table long after everyone's gone.
Perhaps what's uplifting about this column is the not-too-subtle message that women can still "bring it" long after they're supposed to have faded like last spring's flowers, no longer useful because their time has passed. When the president of the United States ogles the First Lady of a foreign head of state in that wife's very country, something is very wrong with us, as Americans.
Great Britain has a queen and a prime minister. America threw away its first genuine chance in our last presidential election to demonstrate an inclusive approach to life that other countries, like universal health, embrace.
202
"Social cancer" - a perfect description. We need more male allies like you to call it what it is - and not keep pretending that it's not there
7