Bossypants Business Analysis
‘Inequality promises that it's here to stay. Always trust the injustice 'cause it's not going away.’ – Lilly Allen (Allen, 2013)
Hello, I’m Thomas Brooks and this is Literature Links, todays focus is Tina Fey’s autobiography Bossypants and its representation of women and sexism in society. Bossypants follows Fey as she reminisces about her childhood and the experiences that led to her “15 minutes” in Hollywood. Fey’s experiences within the film and television industry provide the primary narrative as she subtly attempts to position readers to understand the deep sexism in “the Business.” To appreciate how the author has positioned her audience to accept her invited reading, the following must be examined; how ideas, values and attitudes are
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The texts point of focus is Fey’s experiences in positions of power and the reaction of those around her. The text constructs the reaction to Fey’s success as predominantly hesitant and negative. A prime example of this hesitant tone is when Fey recalls the response to her executive producer role on 30 Rock:
‘…people have asked me, “is it hard for you, being the boss?” You know, in the same way they say, “Gosh, Mr. Trump, is it awkward for you to be the boss of all these people?” I can’t answer for Mr. Trump, but in my case it is not.’
This provocative portrayal of the sexism in modern society highlights the obvious way in which society has represented women as weak and subservient and incapable of properly wielding power. Humorous anecdotes of Fey’s experiences with combating sexism are a common device used to position readers to view that women can rise above the still prevalent sexism in society. For instance in a chapter which Fey refers to as ‘one in a series of love letters to Amy Poehler’, the comedian relays the story of how Poehler was making an “unladylike” joke at an SNL table read when:
‘Jimmy Fallon, who was arguably the star of the show at the time, turned to her and in a faux squeamish voice said, “Stop that! It’s not cute! I don’t like
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