I was traveling all day yesterday without internet access so here's my delayed wrap up from the Emmy Awards. Firstly, the show was so goddamn boring. The ratings sucked - only 12.2 million people watched. Secondly, from the get go, I thought it was extremely sexist. TV, unlike film, gives me hope because it does embrace women in leading roles. But clearly there was a disconnect between the women who were honored onstage and the pathetic, sexist writing that dominated the show.
The whole opening bit with the reality show hosts was HORRIBLE and went to the dark side when Heidi Klum's tuxedo was pulled off by William Shatner to reveal black Daisy Duke shorts. Gross.
But the saving grace was Tina Fey, and boy do I love her. She won 3 freakin Emmy Awards. Best writing, best actress in a comedy, and best comedy show. All the talk was about Mad Men and how basic cable is the new HBO, but to me Tina is the story. She is a Juggernaut.
But, people you have got to watch her show. Think of 30 Rock as a women's film. You gotta support it. I am very serious about this. The ratings for this show are not great, but NBC didn't have much in the pipeline this year and they also believe in the show so they stuck with it.
YOU MUST WATCH 30 ROCK. It is totally feminist, and totally subversive. Tina Fey is the real deal. A writer and actor who looks and thinks like a normal person.
Alec Baldwin who is absolutely hysterical on 30 Rock and won best actor in a comedy said this about Fey after calling her the Elaine May of her generation:
We have the greatest writers, but the show was created by one woman. This was Tina's idea. This was Tina's thing. She is the head writer. She is there every day, even when she's not shooting as an actress. She goes back and forth between acting and writing. We're very, very lucky.Sometimes the crazy man actually sounds sane.
Not that I needed any more reasons to love her more, but I do for saying this about playing Sarah Palin on SNL.
I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5. So if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me.Other awesome women winners:
Glenn Close- Actress, Drama, Damages. Close gave a great shout out to all her fellow nominees who by the way were all over 40. She basically said that her award shows that "complicated, powerful mature women are sexy and high entertainment and can carry a show. She called them all "The sisterhood of the TV drama divas."
Jean Smart- Supporting Actress, Comedy- Samantha Who?
Dianne Wiest- Supporting Actress, Drama- In Treatment
Paula Weinsten- Producer, Made for TV Movie, Recount
Laura Linney- Actress, Mini Series or Movie, John Adams
Eileen Atkins, Supporting Actress, Mini Series or Movie, Cranford
Tricia Regan, Director, Non-Fiction Special, Autism the Musical
Check out this smart piece from Sarah Warn at After Ellen:
Women were almost completely absent from all the directing and writing categories (in other words, any categories that were not gender-specific). There were no women nominated in the categories of Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special or Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (all the nominees were white men), and there was only one woman nominated in the categories of Outstanding Director for a Drama Series (Arlene Sanford, for an episode of Boston Legal), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Robin Veith for Mad Men) and Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special (Heidi Thomas). None of them won.After Ellen's Emmy Wrap Up
If visibility was bad for women overall, it was really bad for women of color.
