I also found these quotes from Ms. Fox:
“I don’t want to have to go on talk shows and pull out every single S.A.T. word I’ve ever learned, to prove, like, ‘Take me seriously, I am intelligent, I can speak.’ I don’t want to have to do that. I resent having to prove that I’m not a retard.”
And…
“Women are expected to be conformist automatons in L.A. but in Britain you can be more yourself and people will take you on face value.”
Far be it from me to point out that the base audience for “Transformers” is young males in Middle America, the same men that Fox condemns to a robot apocalypse. I doubt the bi-coastal elites from Beverly Hills to the Upper West Side will be waiting in line for the midnight showing of Michael Bay’s latest opus.
Alienating your core audience is never a good idea. Perhaps Ms. Fox holds an associate’s degree from the Timothy Geithner School of Business Management.
Fox asserts that she is “not a retard” and that she bucks the system by not being a “conformist.” Is it bad for me to call foul on both points?
I learned something a long time ago. Back in my fraternity days at USC (oops, man, did I just give the Huffington Post ammo?… A USC FRAT BOY!!!!!! No wonder…) I noticed how the guys who constantly bragged about their sexual prowess really didn’t do too well. The guys who were discrete, never bragged, never felt the need to prove anything, had a steady stream of attractive dates and girlfriends. The braggarts would spend their weekends regaling in tales of three ways and sex with strippers while drinking forty-ouncers and challenging each other to games of “Street Fighter” on the Super NES.
The same goes for intelligence. When you feel compelled to tell the world how smart you are, how intellectual your positions are, how deep your education runs, the sad truth is that you probably aren’t that bright.
Megan Fox is a panderer. She trashes Middle America to the British Press. She wears “Star Wars” T-shirts to make Fan Boys drool, then calls those Fan Boys “retards” to the hipsters in Silver Lake. She talks up her intelligence and non-conformity…. by making stupid, conformist statements.
Lauren Bacall made this observation about Hollywood: “When I first went into pictures, women absolutely ran the show. Bette Davis practically owned Warner Brothers.” Bacall doesn’t know many of the stars of today. “They’re all too self-involved, y’know? And they’re so unaware of what goes on anywhere else.”
Hmmmm…is there any way that we can draw a parallel between the rise of “correct” thought in Hollywood as evidenced by self-absorbed automatons like Megan Fox and the observation that Hollywood used to be BETTER for women? Is it, perhaps, that whiny divas who parrot talking points to look cool, who lack independent thought and rely on their good looks instead of honing their craft, have made Hollywood WORSE for women? That may be a stretch. Maybe I need some self-professed smart person to help me make that argument.
As a reformed frat guy I can tell you…these women had “balls!”
I have a friend. An actress. The one pictured at right that you might not recognize. Her resume is similar to Fox’s, before her lucky break in “Transformers.” This actress is not an automaton. Her politics are a unique blend of feminism, social liberalism, libertarianism, and hawkish neo-conservatism. She has a business degree from BYU, although she’s never mentioned it to anyone to further her “smart” credentials. When she walks into a party she doesn’t instantly turn the conversation into a discourse on her sexual habits a la Ms. Fox, nor does she sit by and let a comment about that “fascist George Bush” go by without a rebuttal.
Yet while Megan Fox was busy being pampered on the set of “Transformers,” this actress worked with me on the direct to video knock-off movie “Transmorphers.” While Megan Fox sat in her trailer waiting for make-up, this actress did her own make-up, then stood outside in the freezing rain for 12 hours in an old junkyard near Topanga. While Megan Fox pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars, this actress got paid $50 a day. No complaints. No crying. Just smiles and hard work.
Yes, Megan Fox, women in Hollywood still face issues and obstacles. But not in the way that you think. While you are gaming the system, being part of the problem and not the solution, others are advancing the cause despite you.
I know a couple of other actresses like my friend. They feel alienated, blacklisted, and closed off. Not because they are as attractive as Megan Fox and people can’t get past their looks. Not solely because of the male stranglehold on Hollywood. They feel out of place because they have “balls.”
And the last thing you want to be in the tolerant world of Hollywood is a woman with “balls.”
Megan Fox is clearly lacking a pair.
Originally published June 10 on Andrew Breitbart's Big Hollywood blog.
