Tina Fey

Tina Fey, has shown the entertainment business just what a woman can do. As the first female head writer of Saturday Night Live (1999-2006) Tina's creative sketch writing brought us many hilarious skits.

In Bell Hooks article Making Movie Magic, her first paragraph talks about how the viewers defend the story line against her critiques; despite the viewers opinions, movies are not accurate depictions of reality, Hooks states. However, I do believe that Tina Fey has a specific way of highlighting reality in all of her work. Perhaps it's because as a comedian and a improvisational actress Fey uses everyday life experiences as her "muse". When I think of Fey's most honest work, I of course picture her skits on SNL - then, Mean Girls comes to mind. Although Mean Girls is a satirical interpretation of modern day high school relationships and cliques, there is so much truth to the story itself. Over exaggerated? Of course- but truthful. When I first saw Mean Girls, I felt relieved that I was not the only girl to have dealt with issues specific to the movie- but I also laughed. I believe that is Tina Fey's role as an auteur; her style is to take something that is serious and uncomfortable and lighten it to expose a truth.

Another example of her very honest yet satirical work; her impression of the 2008 Republican candidate, Sarah Palin. She (like the rest of the SNL cast) brought

light (and truth) to the elections by emphasizing the candidates personalities. Hooks also states that "film must be free from all imitations, of which the most dangerous is the imitation of life." I cannot not disagree more with that statement based on the fact that "movie magic" is about feeling something- if we don't feel anything because we aren't able to relate, what is the point of seeing a movie? I don't believe it's necessary to always have a happy ending but, to experience something that is real and honest is what we as movie-goers are looking for...isn't it?

Fey's career since leaving SNL in 2006 has been extremely successful. She has been involved in several movies, including Baby Mama, Ponyo, The Invention of Lying, as well as winning several awards for her hit sitcom 30 Rock. Fey was quoted saying

"When I started, improv had the biggest impact on my acting. I studied the usual acting methods at college – Stanislavsky and whatnot. But none of it really clicked for me. My problem with the traditional acting method was that I never understood what you were supposed to be thinking about when you're onstage. But at Second City, I learned that your focus should be entirely on your partner. You take what they're giving you and use it to build a scene. That opened it up for me. Suddenly it all made sense. It's about your partner. Not what you're going to say, not finding the perfect mannerisms or tics for your character, not what you're going to eat later. Improv helped to distract me from my usual stage bull**** and put my focus somewhere else so that I could stop acting. I guess that's what method acting is supposed to accomplish anyway. It distracts you so that your body and emotions can work freely. Improv is just a version of method acting that works for me."

After I read that quote, it helped me to understand her process more. She wants reality is reaction- also, as a comedian, she naturally sees things different which is clearly depicted within her works. .

As a woman, an aspiring actress and comedic writer I can't help but feel so inspired by her. She opened so many doors for woman as the first head writer on SNL and has proven time and time again that women really can make it in this man's world.