Women & Hollywood: Betty White Effect

Talk TV World is excited to welcome Melissa Silverstein as a featured blogger.  Silverstein's blog Women & Hollywood has become a respected site for issues related to feminism and pop culture. 

In 2008, it was named by More Magazine as one of the "blog to watch," and in 2009, it was named "Best Hollywood blog" by totalfilm.com. Featured posts from Silverstein's blogs will appear here on TalkTVWorld.com. Visit WomenandHollywood.com for more from Silverstein.

Everyone who watched Saturday Night Live this past weekend knew that something special was happening from the moment Betty White took the stage. She made fun of the Facebook group that pushed for her to host SNL, appeared in every sketch and was so fin funny that I actually laughed out loud — something that I haven’t done in a long time watching that show.

The show was ranchier than usual. Maybe it was because so many of the great female talents were back (honestly SNL get your s together and hire some funny women. One of the saddest parts of the episode was how inexperienced the current female talent is on the show now — not counting Kristen Wiig.)

Maybe the cast and writers felt freer because they had an older woman on the set, but the sketches were timely and funny and addressed issues that the show usually skirts like female sexuality. It’s funny because movies make fun of women who have sex when they hit 40 and here was a woman double that age way raunchier than anything we ever see on the big screen.

Seriously, how funny was the muffin sketch? Or the Gingey sketch? Or the digital short? I even laughed at the Magruber sketches (the producers of that film should kiss Betty’s ass cause I bet more people will see it now. Maybe they can edit her in?)

But most of all, for me, what I loved best was the fact that an 88-year-old woman is having a career renaissance (she is also in an upcoming sitcom) and was able to score the highest ratings for the show in 18 months. Hopefully her success will open up people’s minds for older women onscreen in the future.

To post a comment, you must register and login.