A tribute to 2 fearless women and a kind of representation that resonates
Thru the eyes of our TV/Film lens, let's consider the case of a country crooner and an Avengers Witch.
March is Women’s History Month. Likely, if you follow Hulu or Apple TV+, you’ve seen an emphasis on programming from those providers that celebrates women in cinema. Here at the Lisogorsky household, in addition to being just a little partial to cinema and ones that feature strong female protagonists, we love our folksy/country music (well, most any genre really) and our female avengers which is why it feels very fitting to have a tribute post to Dolly Parton and Wanda Maximoff.
One is a real person (duh, Dolly) and the other a fictional character (Wanda) but both Dolly and Wanda exhibit superhuman qualities in their ability to persist thru struggle and reinvent themselves, digging into a lot of discomfort, to keep themselves relevant and thriving.
I’m starting with Dolly because she’s Dolly.
Dolly Parton: Original, effervescent, abundantly talented, and a chameleon in her dynamic ability to shift from singer to writer to Country to Pop to Actress to Bluegrass to COVID-19 vaccine funder. And let’s not forget the business mind on this woman. She could have sold the publishing rights to “I will always love you” early in her career for quick cash and Elvis to sing her song and bring her additional fame, but saw the value in owning her work. I don’t need to tell you how smart that decision was.
Witness, Exhibit A: Soundtrack to The Bodyguard. (see below Whitney belting the song). Oh yea, and for those of you, like me who are dying to know just how much Dolly made off royalties in the 90s alone from that song based on Whitney’s revival, it was in the ballpark of $10 Million. I can’t tell you which version is better - Dolly’s or Whitney’s. They are so drastically different, but one thing’s for sure, these women are so unbelievably talented and it’s such a joy to hear either the 70s or 90s version of this great tune.
So I’ll be honest. As a child in the 80s, Dolly presented as a bit of a caricature of herself. With her over-the-top high hair, painted face, insanely thin waist and made up costumes and get-up, she was unlike anyone I’d ever seen or as an introverted, nerdy kid, would feel connected to. She demanded that we look at her and acknowledge her for all that she was. She didn’t live in the shadows and she still doesn’t (Dollywood anyone?). She also didn’t put on a pretense of being anyone else or fitting in. As an adult and with Dolly’s resurgence, a whole new generation of kids (my daughter, included) are falling in love with her and I admit, me too.
Here I Am, a retrospective of Dolly Parton’s life, now on Netflix came out 2 years ago. I likely would never have watched it if my 9-year-old singer of a daughter, Aya, hadn’t started watching it and demanded we keep watching it. I’m glad she did.
Aya likes to sing “Jolene,” “I will always love you,” and now “9 to 5” She likes that Dolly does her own thing and never accepts less than what she wants. As a mom, I like that she sees that.
The Dolly presented in Here I Am shows a woman who knew at a young age that singing was her destiny, that she would always want to be famous and recognized, and that she wanted to own her narrative and have 100% creative control. I guess you could liken it to some of the YouTube or TikTok stars out there today, but don’t mistake Dolly for overnight success. Hers was a slow build of a career and a persistence that allowed her to keep at it over the course of 70+ years.
One incidental takeaway of the retrospective was a clip of a Barbara Walters and Dolly from 1977 where Barbara seems to be shaming Dolly or at least questioning her need to look a certain way. Dolly had the best response to Barbara’s pecking and I’ve included some outtakes below from that interview for curious parties.
To recap, two times when Dolly proved her immutable savvy and toughness:
The time Elvis did something stupid (well, one of them anyways)
How Barbara Walters looks when she’s just gotten served:
Survey says: Watch Here I Am if you dig retrospectives about the 70s and 80s country music scene and the origin of Dolly’s sound including her Smoky Mountain, humble roots. Stars like Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Kylie Minogue are also interviewed.
Link here.
SPOILERS for WandaVision ahead, but not deep SPOILERS
Wanda Maximoff: Tough, warm, protective, fearless, and smart. That’s our beloved Avenger Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff. Her grief spiral is serious business in WandaVision on Disney+. She’s lost her husband, Vision, a hero in his own right and created a sitcom universe where she’s recreated Vision, brought him back to life so he can live out his days with her and their kids there, but there’s a hitch. Wanda is keeping this universe intact with her telekinesis and telepathic superpowers but it’s a farce. Vision doesn’t remember anything about his life prior to this 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s sitcom-verse he’s in with Wanda. There’s tension and strain between the loved ones.
There’s also the world outside of Wanda’s verse (known as the “The Hex”) in which a trio of good-intentioned heros is looking to understand what is going on inside The Hex, include Captain Monica Rambeau and who are actively thwarting the pesky, nefarious plans Captain Hayward of the S.W.O.R.D. Without giving away too much, there is another witch at the end of this tale and she isn’t the good kind.
Now that the finale for Season 1 has happened, I don’t see a world in which there isn’t a Season 2. Do we get a happy ending at the end of WandaVision? That depends who you ask. It’s enough of a cliffhanger to keep you hooked for the next season.
Wanda, as portrayed by a talented Elizabeth Olsen, will make your heart ache and break for her loss, but also her strength and her inability to go “bad” because of it. She will not be the thing that sets out to destroy her.
Westview, the town that The Hex inhabits, is Wanda’s fantasy, but as Captain Monica Rambeau, aptly relays to her, there’s not much she wouldn’t do to bring back the mother she lost. Who, among us, wouldn’t alter the universe in some way to bring back a loved one even if it meant sacrificing others to achieve it? This is the question we are left with. What defines Wanda as a hero is that the struggle yields to her ultimately doing right by others, not because she wants this but because it’s right.
I’ve plugged this show on Instagram as well. Much love for the overall casting here. It’s such a phenomenal show to watch. Can’t wait for next season, but until then:
Ok, not really…
One last thing: Have kids ages 8-11 who want to talk about their favorite TV shows? Or even better, have friends with kids ages 8-11 who want to talk about their favorite TV shows? Well, in the spirit of the Olsen Twins, check out my class
Till next week, take care.