Ageism Against Comediennes over 35
Colette Burson, co-creator of HBO’s new series, “Hung”, gave a recent interview to The New York Times Magazine. In it, she was praising actress Anne Heche, who stars in the show, while simultaneously insulting other women in the talent pool. “We auditioned a lot of people,” Burson said. “It is incredibly difficult to find beautiful, talented, funny women over 35.” [1]
Co-Creator of HBO's "Hung", Colette Burson
Burson, who is 40, would do well to note the many beautiful post-35 comediennes who have made a name for themselves. Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jane Krakowski, Ellen DeGeneres, Sarah Silverman, Mary-Louise Parker, Christina Applegate, Sandra Bullock, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus all come to mind – a very abridged list, at that. The Office’s Jenna Fischer and Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig both just turned 35 this year. They’re soon to be followed by Confessions of a Shopaholic’s Isla Fisher, 33, then Anna Faris and Jaime Pressley, both 32.
In response to Burson’s ageist mentality, Mother Jones magazine reminds us of the reality for actresses over 40: they account for only 9% of all movie roles. Actors over 40, on the other hand, account for 30%. [2]
When they do get roles, these women rarely act their age. Anna Faris has played a college student several times, even though it’s been 10 years since that was age-appropriate. Conversely, Hope Davis was recently offered a part as Johnny Depp’s mother in an undisclosed film. Offended, she turned down the role because Depp is, in fact, older than her. [3]
The Hollywood Reporter held a roundtable interview of some notable comediennes, who speak candidly about their experiences with ageism in Hollywood:
Categorizing women as unattractive, untalented or unfunny because of their age is discriminatory, but apparently commonplace in Hollywood. If everyone viewed women the way executives like Colette Burson seem to, then we’d be missing out on a lot of great entertainers. Then again, maybe we already are.
Sources:
[1] “Anne Heche is Playing it Normal Now.” (Alex Witchel) The New York Times Magazine. July 31, 2009
[2] “HBO’s Self-Hating Ageism.” (Clara Jeffery) Mother Jones Magazine. August 2, 2009
[4] “Amy Poehler, We Love You Too.” (Stephanie Volkoff Green) Mother Jones Magazine. July 23, 2009
Thank you very much for that splendid article
That last post was from a spambot.
It was very nice to see a candid conversational style round table! This would be better than “The View”, at least for me!
Burson knows she stepped in a shitpile here and I believe she did it unintentionally and she did not mean to be ageist or sexist.
She went on the record to clarify her remarks here: http://womenandhollywood.com/2009/08/04/colette-burson-clarifies-remark-from-ny-times-magazine/
Hmm, her clarification just seems like anxious back-peddling. She doesn’t really redeem herself, just puts that same opinion in different words.
Sarah Silverman would’ve been 13 if she gave birth to Jonah Hill. Ridiculous. Besides she looks so much younger than 39, wouldn’t even pass for an older mom-type!
I love them all, tehy all look great. And hey, very nice blog!!
I hope I look that hot in my 30s and 40s!!