Jodie Foster really annoys me
Don’t get me wrong: I greatly admire her as an actress, as a director, and as a strong woman in a male-dominated industry who continues to navigate what can only be described as an individualistic career that bucks the trends.
And it doesn’t look too bad in a soft close-up, either. But that’s another completely different thought.
My gripe with Jodie is her insistence on living a closeted life when, as an intelligent, thoughtful woman who seems to understand prejudice and bigotry, she should appreciate the value of lesbian visibility.
Jodie’s question is no longer whether she is a lesbian or not. Rather, it’s why doesn’t she go out?
In the past, Hollywood lesbians who have toyed with the closet door have done so in large part because they have had to overcome very real fears about how coming out would affect their careers.
Think of Portia de Rossi, who, by her own admission, stayed in the closet for a long time because she knew her career would suffer if she came out.
Think of Ellen DeGeneres, who practically kicked her closet door in, only to find her career suffered so dramatically that she probably should have tried tiptoeing out.
But also think of Melissa Etheridge, whose big announcement was met with indifference. Not because women everywhere didn’t care, but because they knew anyway, and because her career was so well established, largely due to her gay appeal, that it made no difference one way or the other. .
Instead of Portia or Ellen, Jodie falls into the category of Melissa.
Ask yourself: what would a candid Yes I Am interview on The Advocate do for your career?
Answer: Probably not much.
It’s not like their romantic lead roles suddenly ended. When was the last time she saw Jodie in a straight kiss? Maverick, of course, doesn’t count, for the simple reason that everyone involved seemed so awkward as to make the whole movie decidedly asexual.
Ditto Contact, where the only sex scene was nothing more than a superfluous nod to a strange improbability in the original script.
Jodie has been left without a man in her most memorable and, more importantly, most commercially successful films: The Silence of the Lambs, Panic Room, Flight Plan.
It’s also safe to say that Jodie probably won’t be doing slushy rom-coms or romantic dramas anytime soon: she’s just not going to be reading for Jessica Simpson/Kirsten Dunst roles, nor are any dollar-minded directors. she’s going to cast her for those roles.
So what is the problem?
Jodie is fiercely private and obviously has great concerns about causing a media frenzy that could affect her children.
That seems fine to me. But by not going out, what are you teaching your children about honesty and integrity and being true to yourself, not to mention the responsibility of a life lived in public? As much as Jodie insists on a private life, her livelihood comes from her accessibility on screen; her invitation to people to bring her into her life and even into her home.
He’s already a role model whether he likes it or not. But that kind of role model?
By refusing to acknowledge the truths of your life, you are turning your back on a power few people have: the power to break stereotypes, the power to promote tolerance of diversity, and perhaps most importantly, the power to honor the honesty and truth. .