A man that is close to me expressed distaste for Reese Witherspoon’s character Elena in Little Fires Everywhere. He didn’t want to proceed watching her in shows. He would avert his eyes, get up and walk away from the TV. When asked why, he just expressed that he “didn’t like her,” with disgust on his face. I aided him by putting a sentence to his feeling, “is it because she’s “‘man repellent?’” He agreed, and it clicked for me. A woman who stands in her truth is threatening because she possesses infinite power. A woman that isn’t afraid to expose reality is no longer suppressed. A woman that carries herself with conviction has the power to disembody the patriarchy. A woman that does not care what you think about how she behaves is free.
Masogyny has lurked around in Hollywood for a long time. With individuals like Harvey Weinstein, a good amount of work has been facilitated through the male lens. With the Me Too movement and Weinstein behind bars, the industry is undergoing a massive shift. Reese Witherspoon is producing revealing work that is going along with it. Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s production company, was behind three of my favorite shows I bingewatched during quarantine: Little Fires Everywhere, Big Little Lies and The Morning Show.
Reese and her co- stars play dynamic females roles in all of them. The characters in these shows disseminate the oppressed, obedient, simplistic version of a woman that has been historically idolized in Entertainment. With uniquely developed character profiles, each woman demonstrates how complex and unpredictable real women can be.
Where women were once constructed with idealistic femme narrative, or even villainous yet still, one dimensional in film, Witherspoon’s work gives the dynamic nature of women justice. In Big Little Lies, the audience witnesses women during their good, bad and ugly moments. The show dives head first into how women interact. How they find ways to relate to each other regardless of their differences. How they protect their families while having rich friendships apart from their spouses. Celeste Bright, the character who’s plot line centers around domestic violence, embodies the paradoxical nature of womanhood. Celeste is self-aware, profoundly intelligent, wealthy, and beautiful to the outside world. Simultaneously, she carries the darkness of pain, guilt and shame. For me, she displayed how people often come to internalize how others see them, and how that can distort your self perception. “I am what I think you think I am.” The way the director captured Kidman in her private moments showed the dissonance in her sense of self concept. In different words, Celeste explains to her therapist that her guilt over her fertility issues trauma bonded her to her husband, and it’s why she feels prohibited from leaving the marriage. She felt alive by the erotic, twisted nature of her relationship, and it felt to her like an addiction. I felt her plight in that she was conscious of the darkness inside her, but could not release that shadow. She allowed the audience to witness the beauty in the pain, the complexity, that exists in women.
As young women we come to admire so many adult females above us. The show demonstrates how different women can “mother” other people’s children. As opposed to the “dutiful mother” archetype, we see less anticipated aspects of being a mother that you can’t understand unless you are one: themes of rejection, possessiveness and morality. The audience is shown how mothers project themselves, their values, and experiences onto their daughters. We hold idols outside of our bloodline, whether it was friend’s moms, older sisters, even teachers. Little Fires Everywhere made me think about how strange it must be to watch your child idolize other woman. How envy-provoking and intolerable that must be.
Similarly to Lady Bird, Little Fires Everywhere demonstrates how gut-wrenching and emotionally gripping being a mother really is. I particularly loved one scene where Reese’s character explains how it feels to watch your child grow up: “It was like training yourself to live on the smell of an apple alone, when what you really wanted was to devour it, to sink your teeth into it and consume it, seeds, core, and all.” I’m not a mother, I’m only 22, but that quote struck me deeply. That line by Celeste Ng is iconic to me. It’s the most accurate, poetic representation of the way parents come to adore the human beings they bring into the world. As a child, it gave me a whole new understanding of how it must feel.
Lastly, The Morning Show is not a true story, however, it has notes of the Matt Lauer scandal lingering throughout the plot line. The Morning Show touches on topics of corporate hierarchy, sexual misconduct, power struggles and the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, sexism women face within those dynamics. The storyline often illuminates males abusing of power, and how women are often the ones who’s circumstances are complicated as a result. It engages with hypothetical complexities of moral reasoning, selfishness, and alliance that reveals suppressed truths in corporate structure. I found Reese’s character incredibly unique, because the focus of her behavior is to uncover that truth. She defiant and bold, yet empathic and receptive. The show demonstrates how true colors come to light when people are threatened by the truth. The whole ecosystem of employees in the show demonizes her to a degree. The Morning Show, like all of Reese’s recent projects, demonstrates that things that were once tolerated in our world, won’t be anymore. Her character inspired me to always stay true to my values, to viciously fight for what I know is right. If people don’t like you for it, get over it and move on.
Legally Blonde is literally the oracle. However, Reese’s recent productions are creating a legacy and giving the human experience of women resonance, instead of idealism. Reese Witherspoon’s initiatives are pioneering a narrative that women can actually relate to. She is bringing emotional trajectories of women that exist in situations that film never has before. She is portraying the grey areas of womanhood, and letting us understand ourselves in a rich, authentic way. So thank you, Reese Witherspoon, for your iconic storytelling. Thank you for showing women they can be “difficult.” Women, daughters and generations ahead will thank you.