Every week is just another 167 hours until the next Gentleman Jack
I can’t stop thinking about how groundbreaking it is in ways beyond just the more obvious fact of it being a period drama centered around two lesbians. I am in no way trying to be dismissive of how important that alone is…but I just need to gush about how incredible a protagonist Anne in so many ways.
I struggle to think of many woman protagonists on TV that have felt this real and this human to me. We are so often given women characters and told they are strong, are told are smart. If they possess a “flaw” it’s often something ultimately non-threatening like, idk, being “stubborn.” Moral conflict often revolves around whether she will “go crazy” and become violent over some injustice to herself or loved ones.
Courage, integrity, realistic inner struggles…these are still mostly the realm of the male protagonist. “Men do, women are” still holds sway. We hear the word “inspiring” a lot in relation to women characters. But why do I so rarely feel actually inspired?
…a do-er through and through. So driven to be absolutely true and faithful to her own, authentic self, no matter the cost. Her unshakeable conviction that she is not a mistake, and SHAME on anyone who says otherwise, even if she must shame the whole of humanity.
This is strength. It’s not only that she dresses how she wants, sleeps with who she wants, talks to men how she wants. It’s the way that despite 41 years of setbacks, heartbreak, exclusion, she maintains this ineffable optimism about life. I am…inspired.
She’s a genuine intellectual. We don’t have to be told she’s “smart.” We see it and hear it every time she’s on screen, in her eloquence, her enthusiasm for learning and for sharing her knowledge with others, her persistence in acquiring an education for herself when society said no, her rooms full of books and specimens and scientific illustrations on the walls.
And she’s allowed to be exquisitely human. Her pride and ego sometimes get the better of her. To others, she’s “always alright”…but the waves of emotion that pass over her face as she struggles to maintain composure in the face of disappointment or frustration tell a whole story in a few seconds.
…then in private we see her wrestle with demons: burn the letter, rip the wedding invitation, throw the candlestick, vomit from fear and anxiety of rejection, loss, abandonment – threatening God…
…but she doesn’t rip out her diary pages. She won’t shy away from the reality of her own story. She pushes forward. Every single one of these scenes wrenched my heart and made me feel oddly seen. I’m not sure I’ve seen relationship anxiety, fear of being alone, portrayed so realistically before.
Anne has integrity. While she is extremely suave, and Ann Walker starts out as a bit of a rebound…Anne is the first person in Ann’s life to just simply accept Ann at her word, never rush her into anything, take her feelings seriously, place Ann’s comfort above her own. She’s not playing a game when she does these things, she just innately understands respect.
I just…am continually amazed this show even exists. It sets the bar so high. I have already watched all 4 episodes twice, and I never do that. I am SO ready to watch her put Ainsworth in his place tonight!!!
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
titsay
amandla
