Amy Schumer thinks critics of ‘I Feel Pretty’ are just ‘projecting’ & missing the point
April 18, 2018
Here are some photos from the big LA premiere of I Feel Pretty. I’m including photos of the lead actress, Amy Schumer, and Emily Ratajkowski, who has a supporting role. Emily’s dress is Michael Kors and it is… odd. But at least she doesn’t have her t-ts out, so small mercies. I don’t know who designed Amy’s ensemble, but I like it and it’s pretty flattering on her. She also has that just-married glow about her.
Anyway, I’ve managed to get this far without discussing the “backlash” to this particular movie. The movie is about a woman – played by Amy Schumer – who struggles with low self-esteem and how the world sees her as not model-beautiful or whatever. One day, she gets a concussion and suddenly she sees herself as beautiful and she has all the confidence in the world. Here’s the trailer:
When I first watched this a few months ago, I thought it looked cute. But the criticism was still there, on many corners of the internet: why was an attractive blonde white woman chosen for the lead, why does it feel so patronizing to women, etc. While I think those are important conversations to have, doesn’t it seem like the message of this film is that “having confidence” is the best beauty/career/romantic advice you can get? Like, your whole world changes and people treat you differently if you have confidence in yourself. Amy addressed the would-be controversy this week, telling Vulture:
“There’s been a lot of projection. I heard a lot of, “She doesn’t have a right to feel bad about herself because she looks however she looks.” But first off, it’s not about an ugly troll becoming beautiful, it’s about a woman who has low self-esteem finding some. Everyone’s got a right to feel that feeling, regardless of their appearance. We all struggle with self-esteem. I certainly have. Your friends who you think are so beautiful, they could be struggling too. You want them to see themselves the way you see them, but it’s not our place to say who should be allowed to have low self-esteem…. But this projection, yeah: I heard the comment, “Why does she have to think of herself as skinny?” a lot. But you never see how I see myself! That’s a guess, that Renee thinks of herself as skinny. In the scene after the head injury, the assumption is that the woman I see when I look in the mirror is skinny, but I’m just seeing my same self and perceiving my body as beautiful. She doesn’t say, “I’m so thin!” She just says that she’s amazed by her jawline, and her boobs, and her ass. If anything, that sounds like a more voluptuous woman to me.
I think she’s right? God help me, I’ve become an Amy Schumer defender, but I think she’s right about this. And why would it be an issue if her character was suddenly like “OMG, I’m skinny!” Let me tell you, as someone whose weight has fluctuated over the years, people treat you like you’re garbage when you’re chubby. I’ve never been Emily Ratajkowski-thin and I would love to know what they feels like for a week. And that’s the fantasy that this film plays into: would you actually have to be as thin as Emily Ratajkowski, or would you just like to know what it feels like to walk around with the confidence of a beautiful woman?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
