I was reading The Change when I passed by a library storefront and saw this book in the window. I haven’t read a book like that in many years. I was hoping they weren’t necessary anymore as things have gotten better. In fact, the preface dealt with just that issue. But alas, it is still relevant.
Anna Bogutskaya is well aware of what has changed. I feared reading the book would make me angry (the angry woman being one of the unlikeables) or maybe just too depressed. Neither happened.
What did happen was that things that still needed work were highlighted, but knowing that the work was worth doing because we did have positive results. I read the book at a time when women’s basketball, pro, and college were outselling the men’s game. People were starting to realize that the women’s game was better, even though teams with 7-foot centers could beat the best women’s team, that didn’t mean it played better basketball. Yea. At the same time, The Supreme Court had destroyed Roe V Wade, putting millions of women’s lives at risk not to mention taking away their bodily autonomy, with worse things on the drawing board.
It’s a perfect time to read this book. Yes, it’s about TV and movies, but we can often learn a lot from popular culture. I recommend this book.
Bogutskaya gives us a comprehensive group of unlikeable female characters that is comprehensive, although you might think of another one. The Bitch, The Mean Girl, The Angry Woman, The Slut, The Trainwreck, The Crazy Woman, The Psycho, The Shrew, The Weirdo. The Change is unusual because all three characters qualify under one category, The Angry Woman. I would love to see her discuss this book
The one that hit me the most was “The Shrew.” Her main example was Skylar White in Breaking Bad. Skylar was married to a chemistry teacher turned Meth dealer/murderer. First, she didn’t know what he was doing but tried to keep the family together. When she found out what he was doing she tried to talk him out of it, and when he wouldn’t stop, she helped him to save her family. From this emerged a virtual cottage industry of “we hate Shylar and she should be killed” groups and memes and everything else. It got so bad that the actor who played the part, Anna Gunn (she won awards for this) began getting her own hate network. In the meantime, her husband, the guy who murdered and sold meth to children, was vaunted as a hero. She was a Shrew and should be punished.
I find this galling, but what makes it more important to me is that this is why Donald Trump was president instead of Hillary Clinton. There are way too many examples in our actual lives from the presidency to the lady boss everyone hates.
Someday, these kinds of books will be unnecessary. But until then, this book does a great job pointing out where we were and what is still problematic.
Book Club and Study Groups
- Which category was the most meaningful to you and why?
- How does this work in your life?
- What other movies or TV shows would you place in this category?