why middle-aged actresses are the backbone of hollywood π πΌπ¬
and in defense of the fangirl tumblr blog to social media manager pipeline π©π»βπ»
At eleven years old, my dad bought me the tiniest Lenovo laptop in existence. The intended use of the laptop was to complete school work and to write my stories. It was me, Microsoft Word, and a small library of 99Β’ iTunes songs against the world.
What no one was expecting when I acquired the power of Microsoft Office and the internet at my hands was access to an online streaming platform that would revolutionize television and film over the next decade and then some.
Netflix catapulted me into the world of binge-watching, fandoms, and Tumblr. Yes, I am a graduate of the Tumblr fan blog to social media manager pipeline. My father, a news cameraman turned media director who taught me how to edit videos on Final Cut Pro, shouldnβt have been as shocked at the direction of my life.
The very first show I binge-watched, a life-altering event I think happens at least once to literally everybody, even now, wasΒ Law & Order: SVU.
Olivia Benson is the Blueprintβ’οΈ. The first domino in iconic middle-aged actresses to topple over and start a sequence in my life that continues to this day. So, when I recently saw the following tweet, I felt a certain amount of validation in the fact that even the internet audience of today knows the importance and allure of these talented women.
In my youth, to be called a fangirl in reality was embarrassing. Let me read my fic in peace (see: in secret). Donβt perceive me as I edit videos in the trenches of iMovie with bootleg recordings and upload them to YouTube for a whopping 78 views. (I never said I was a successful fangirl.)
General society didnβt respect or empathize with the feelings of community that fandoms could provide, especially to and for young women. So, it was almost better to keep to the shadows and engage with your love of βwhateverβ in your safe spaces. And from what I gather, as a 28-year-old online, fangirls are more accepted and understood, which allows them to be more open about their passions in real life. Overall, the term is more known to the general public, but the negative sentiment still exists in its own way.
I want to share this article from Refinery29 titledΒ βIs Fandom An Obsession Or Is That The Misogyny Talking?βΒ The writer explores the criticism young women fans face in the wider worldβmuch of it tied directly to misogyny.
"To share space with likeminded people, about particular affective attachments to a celebrity, means that not only are your feelings being validated in a culture that doesn't often validate young women but also that whatever hate or misogyny is being directed at you, you can then abstract that. It isnβt about you, itβs about men feeling threatened and them feeling like they're entitled to this space, so the community in fandom is incredibly powerful," Banet-Weiser explains.
Iβm not here to explain what it means to be a fangirl and whether that is socially good or bad. (Plot twist: It can be both at the same time.) And I know there are many examples of fans and fandoms overstepping boundaries or engaging in prejudiced behavior. Every large group is bound to have misled or uncalculated apples. And within the world of fandoms, each of them, large and small, blockbuster and niche, operates in different ecosystems.
Iβm here because I think the majority of fangirls keep Hollywood (and other entertainment industries) alive.
The fanvids, memes, Twitter accounts, etc. Itβs all promo! Free promo!
And while, yes, I do love a good Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal, or Glen Powell edit. Nothing hits like discovering an actress with an IMDb list that goes into or further than the 90s. Respectfully, if theyβre indie or B list β¦ even better.
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Iβve been interested in dynamic female characters for as long as I can remember: Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory π€), Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), Tami Taylor (Connie Britton), Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga), and many more. If it were a few years ago, I would make one of those millennial T-shirts with bold names.
There was always a connection or (I hate to say it) warmth I would feel watching shows like Law & Order: SVU, The X-Files, or Bates Motel, which is insane because each of those shows is not exactly labeled light-hearted. There are light-hearted moments, but cβmon. (And what weβre not going to do is psychoanalyze me right now, my dear readers.)
These women are badass β intelligent, confident, and assertive. But it doesnβt mean theyβre not thoughtful, kind, and loving. Many women wanted βstrongβ female characters because the woman was always seen as the meeker supporting character. And while that still may be true, itβs evolved to wanting layered female characters. Give us villains. Give us leaders. Give us mothers.
As long as theyβre written well. (Or have the potential to be written well on AO3.)
So, anyway, my mind is going a million miles a minute on every piece of context I have on middle-aged actresses, the ones I love, the ones currently in pop-culture conversation, the lack of diversity that still exists, and how their youthful looks and styles often contribute to their continued success and discovery in todayβs world because although we have progressed, we can still pull a 90βs photo of whoever from Pinterest and label it incredibly aesthetic. Hell, I did that with a Substack note on Julia Louis-Dreyfus a few weeks ago.
Itβs also why you can search βDana Scully editβ on TikTok and get served up an edit with clips from award ceremonies in the 90s seen by 1.2 million people and liked by over 100k. But I donβt see this as a negative, as long as they are equally revered in their older age. Because women donβt just disappear once they hit 45.* If anything, Iβve noticed they finally get to do the work theyβve wanted to do forever.
And I imagine it is cool to discover Gillian Anderson in something like Sex Education and then come to find out she has years and years of work you can watch on a streaming platform near you.
Itβs also a rush when you find out they are actually in something you love and never knew until you did a little deep dive. For example, I absolutely loved Mexican actress Cecilia SuΓ‘rez in La Casa De Las Flores on Netflix. She is one of Mexicoβs prominent actors with a ton of great work in her CV. Lucky for me, she was also in one of my favorite movies, Spanglish. And I never wouldβve known!
More recently, with Twisters out in theaters, I found the following gems on actress Maura Tierney. And these may just be pockets of the internet every time, but with numbers that range from the millions to the tens of thousands, itβs not non-existent. Middle-aged actresses are always the additional aspect to a hit, the secret sauce, if you will.
Iβm no entertainment expert or TV/film critic.** But I am a fangirl at heart. Plus, I simply love watching shows and movies. And I almost always bet on the woman. So, in reflection, compared to appreciating actors and characters closer to my age, I never βemotionally attachedβ to them because, in many ways, I never felt seen. Personally, I was always looking forward to my future.
Especially when it came to relationships and love.
What happens after the big kiss? How do two people grow alongside each other? Will I approach my children the same way my parents approached me? Why or why not? Will I become who I want to be? How will I continue to love myself?
ForΒ quiteΒ the surprise, I discovered Molly Parker's portrayal of Maureen Robinson inΒ Lost in SpaceΒ (2018-2021) at just the right time.
Lost in Space is a reboot of the original popular 1960s series. Yes, sometimes the zingers are cheesy, and there are alien robot battles β but in the depths of space, the center of the show is held together by the human trials and tribulations of the whole Family Robinson.
Maureen Robinson (Molly Parker) is the protective matriarch, incredibly intelligent, with high expectations, sometimes questionable motives, and dangerously curious. She practices empathy like a seesaw and learns from her mistakes after saying something she shouldnβt have. Maureen often has the answer for everything and lets people know it, but she also feels the weight of such a heavy crown. Toby Stephens plays her husband, John Robinson, and weΒ quicklyΒ learn that John is more emotionally vulnerable than Maureen.
Maureen is βThe Headβ and John is βThe Heartβ. You feel like you would see them as a real couple at your local grocery store. They have that βgravitate around each other without tryingβ chemistry. Theyβre not afraid to be brutally honest in heated moments and protectively comforting in others. Watching them work through their issues and face new problems together is a treat. And I love that the writers also gave us plenty of feel-good moments.
I love these Space Parentsβ’.
Mature relationships, and in general, the domesticity of adulthood through the lens of someone wildly observant, will have me in a chokehold each time.
Enter: Sharon Horgan.
My Irish queen! My favorite TV writer! Shonnnnaaaa! You may know her from the hit Apple TV+ show Bad Sisters. Or from Catastrophe. Or my favorite, This Way Up.
From an interview with Sharon Horgan from The Irish Times:
Horganβs post-50 βenergyβ and βpowerβ has sparked βa different kind of ambitionβ¦ I have no time for spending my time doing something that I donβt love, you know what I mean? Like, if something looks like itβs gonna be a pain in the arse, to sell or to write, or to make, Iβm kind of saying, βIβm outβ.β
βOf course itβs about finding the right projects and stuff that you love... but to feel happy in your work has to be everything because when youβre not, it sort of bleeds into what you bring homeβ¦ so yeah, if I can avoid it at all, Iβm not working with or for anything that doesnβt feel like itβs got a good sort of energy in it. Thatβs the big one.β
If Sharon Horgan writes it. I will be paying attention. And donβt think the girls arenβt clipping together Bad Sisters edits.
There are so many other talented examples, like Carrie-Anne Moss and her legendary role as Trinity in the Matrix franchise, which I think was only more badass in the latest film,Β The Matrix Resurrections.Β Say what you want! The Wachowskis are geniuses. When I went down the rabbit hole of Carrie-Annes work and saw Memento for the first time, my life was changed. And now sheβs in Disneyβs The Acolyte.
My last example and recommendation is to watchΒ Better ThingsΒ on Hulu. It stars and was created by Pamela Adlon. She plays a divorced actress living in Los Angeles and raising her three daughters alone. Five lovely seasons encapsulate every intricacy of girlhood, motherhood, community, friendship, allyship, βhollywoodβ, and so much more.
I may have lost the plot because I get excited, but nonetheless, perhaps consider stories and art from the βolderβ women in your life. I canβt tell you what to watch. And I wonβt lie to you that I never watch βthings more my age.β Because if Lara Jean and Elena Alvarez and Veronica Lodge have one fan, thatβs me! (Which doesnβt really make sense because Iβm not in high school anymore. I digress.)
To bring us full circle, the youth are discovering Seinfeld. Which is coooool. Elaine is cool. Oh my god, I wonβt die on the hill of Seinfeld. But Julia Louis-Dreyfus is a prime example of someone with such a profound career that spans decades and only gets better. This isnβt an unknown thing, obviously. The many many awards and nominations and kudos and general knowledge of her iconic characters are well known. I have the unfortunate (because Iβm so late) but amazing experience of first watching her in Veep and then two of my favorite films, Enough Said and You Hurt My Feelings.
I canβt imagine my TV and film experiences without the inspiration of these actresses, and itβs nice to know Iβm not the only one.
*My small plug is to listen toΒ Wiser Than Me, a podcast hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, where she has personal conversations with iconic older women who are βbrimming with the kind of unapologetic attitude and wisdom that only comes with age.β
**Shameless promo: I do have a Letterboxd account where we can be friends, or you can judge my tastes, either is welcome!
Ahhhh this was an amazing read, thank you for sharing! I absolutely love the opossum meme hehehe
Iβve had a rotation of βcurrent favourite middle aged actressβ on the go since I was about 14, so glad to find someone with whom this is a shared experience π€