There’s this great show on Netflix called Late Night with Emma Thompson. Katherine Newbury, the character Thompson plays, might easily be labeled a “Karen.” She’s white, middle-aged, entitled, assertive and snooty. Like every other human, she’s flawed. But her character is also likeable because she’s smart, funny, brave, honest, and vulnerable. And, in the end, she has the ability to look at herself and change.
In the movie Thompson plays a late night talk show host. And, as I watched this movie, it occured to me that, in reality, there aren’t actually ANY middle-aged white female late-night talk show hosts, are there? There aren’t any middle-aged white women representing middle-aged white women. There’s no opportunity for middle-aged white women to make fun of THEMSELVES because the late-night airwaves are controlled by middle-aged white men, doing that for them. And so we have these men – most of whom I actually like and respect most of the time – but men, nonethess – entitled and privileged men – who smugly joke about “Karens” and belittle the struggles of those dealing with alopecia, and deride strong women who have the guts to talk to the manager (and that’s another thing – most managers are MEN, right?!!!).
My favorite scene in Late Night is where Mindy Kaling’s character, just hired as a writer for the show, tells Katherine Newbury that she’s “a little too old and a little too white.” And they set about using that to do a recurring bit where Katherine Newbury plays “The White Savior.” I love that. I can relate to it. That scene in the movie gave me an opportunity to laugh at myself. And there’s a world of difference in being given the opportunity to laugh at yourself, and being used as a target of ridicule by others, you know?
There’s no balance in late night comedy right now. There are no middle-aged female late-night talk show hosts who can keep the privileged middle-aged white male talk show hosts on their toes. We’ve got a Jimmy and another Jimmy, a Bill, a Stephen and a Seth – and thank goodness we have a Trevor! – but we don’t have a Katherine or a Susan, a Debbie, a Jenny, or a Karen. And there SHOULD be! Dammit. There should be someone representing the laughable AND the admirable in the White Women of Middle Age.
We need another Erma Bombeck.
humoristianity 