Ramblings (As Usual) - on Jennifer Lawrence

I ramble a lot. And one of my favourite topics on which to ramble is definitely Jennifer Lawrence. Mostly, my rambling is pretty incoherent, and mainly centers on the "I want to be best friends and hang out with Jennifer Lawrence forever and ever and ever." I'm a big fan. I have been since Hunger Games was announced (yes, I'll admit it, I wasn't entirely familiar with her before Hunger Games, I'M SORRY), and she is Katniss for me, just like Emma Watson is Hermione for me. But I truly fell for her during the multiple interviews of hers that I've watched. (I've really watched a lot. It's almost unhealthy.) She was funny, she said what she was thinking, and she said what I was thinking half the time! I've never been able to relate to an actress in Hollywood in such a deep way. (And then I saw SILVER LININGS and I was done. Brilliant movie, and I might write a blog post about it later talking about how I definitely don't think it's offensive at all, but that's a whole other topic.)

The main focus of these ramblings, tonight, though - I've been seeing a lot of J-Law hate popping up. It's mostly in comments sections of articles about her. It's been about how she doesn't think about what she says, and she says terrible things sometimes. I've just been thinking about that since I saw it and I just wanted to write a ramble about it. (Because I'm not even going to try to pretend that this will be at all in the realm of making sense.)

Yes. I'm a huge fan of Jennifer. I've almost memorised her filmography (that seems to be a thing I do when I'm a fan of someone, for whatever reason), and I watch any interview she's doing and I read any article she's mentioned in. (Well, not any - I prefer to read articles/watch videos of her being her hilarious self or actually talking about great stuff, rather than talking about who she was wearing.) However - just because I am a huge fan, it does not mean I am a fan of absolutely everything that comes out of her mouth. She has said stuff that I definitely do not agree with, and that, yes, has made her look extremely bad. She's usually hilarious, but sometimes, she says stuff that I do not agree with. (The prime example being that whole calling her cat Chaz Bono on Ellen - that was really, really bad and I cringed the entire way through that interview.)

And though I won't defend her for the inappropriate things she's said, I do think that she's said (to reference Silver Linings, in a way, shamelessly) a lot more appropriate things than inappropriate things. She's been funny and just completely humbled by everything. She's also been really smart. If you haven't watched her press conference after winning her Academy Award, you should, because her answer to that first question, where she comments on the stigma of mental illness, is brilliant. Even in describing Katniss, she has mostly been right on target, really great about that character, understanding that character, and commenting on different things she's encountered by playing that character. (Yes, she said that Katniss was essentially a boy hero with a vagina; but in a way, I'm actually interested in that, because isn't she right? Isn't Katniss this supposed person with no real feelings to get in the way, saving the day through violence? That's what she seems to be at first, but she becomes so much more than that, and I think Jennifer's mentioned more on that in other interviews, and taking one comment that wasn't worded in the best way isn't really indicative of how she views that character or strong women in general. Not that I really think Katniss is that strong, either, which is why she's so fascinating and layered to me. See? Rambling.)

I think one of the main problems that people have is that Jennifer does say anything that crosses her mind. (Being her publicist must be absolutely exhausting.) One of my favourite moments with her recently is that the first thing she said to Ryan Seacrest was that she was hungry and did he know if there was food there? Come on, that was GREAT. Everyone else was reserved; Jennifer, I find (and this whole blog post is a personal opinion that you can leave or take), is very much out there, and very relaxed. And I think that's a big part of why she's so looked up to and has captured so many hearts and imaginations. (Meaning people everywhere just want to hang out with her at all times.) She's bumbling, she trips (not even meaning the whole time she fell at the Oscars, she trips all the time anyway), she doesn't speak that well, she gets extremely starstruck and doesn't hide it; in the end, it's like she's a real person. To me, she's more real than any star - I feel like I can get closer to her than any other actress I still look up to. (Obviously, I still don't know her, but it's a nice feeling and it does draw you to anyone, especially celebrities, when you feel like you relate on a deep level to them.)

But one of the main things I find is that she doesn't speak very well on her feet, and I think that's where a lot of her statements that people take offense to come from. Sure, she can be hilarious when she's trying to think on her feet and get something out quickly and coherently - that's where most of her side splitting slip ups have come from - but she can also say something in completely the wrong way. Her filter doesn't seem to be that great, probably stemming from nerves or her brain working too fast - I cannot speak very well on my feet either; people ask me questions, if I don't think them through carefully and speak carefully, I end up with badly worded sentences - and that doesn't help. (Seriously, her poor publicist.) I love her still, but she does say things that do not sound at all good. I'm not trying to say I'm her best friend, of course, and I know she doesn't mean anything she says; she probably does mean what she says. People just aren't used to hearing stuff like that come out of a celebrity's mouth, even though a lot of people (including the one criticizing her) might have said similar things in their life. She's only human and though she can be hilarious, sometimes her words don't come out well, or she says the wrong thing. So the hate that is coming at her (and it's interesting that all this hate is only coming at her now, after she's won an Oscar, and not during all her interviews for Hunger Games or anything - the only backlash I saw was after the Ellen interview) seems quick to judge. She's said some bad things, but I still believe the bad things are far outnumbered by the good things. Maybe you'd say I'm blinded because I'm a fan, and I've got her on a pedestal, but I think she prevents that. She'd fall off a pedestal, just like I would, so if she says something I don't like, I don't pretend I like it. I don't defend her for it. But I don't think it's fair to say she's a horrible person and a horrible role model because she's said a few iffy things, and it's definitely not fair to completely discount the great things she has said, if you'd only look for them.

I mostly felt like just rambling on about her in general, and how I seriously just want to get in my sweatpants and hang out with her and watch movies, but it turned into talking about how she can't speak very well on her feet. What a weird thing. I still love her, and if you don't agree with that, well, that's fine. Lots of people love, say, Seth MacFarlane (although maybe not so many after Sunday; most of those jokes were in pretty poor taste, although not nearly as bad as I was expecting), and I can't stand the man. Everyone's allowed to be a fan of whatever and whoever they want; I just wanted to talk about how I felt about the hate I'm seeing for Jennifer lately, in terms of what she says.