From Hacks to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Why do fictional female comedians receive the exact same advice to be more "real"?

Slate

"There are enough shows and movies about female comics at this point—Late Night, Hacks, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—that a formula of sorts is becoming apparent," says Lili Loofbourow. "The consensus is that what a fictional female comic needs, almost without exception, is to get more 'real': more autobiographical, more vulnerable, more spontaneous. She should tell painful truths in a funny way, ideally processing her feelings in real time. To do otherwise—to lean on jokes alone, or rely overmuch on a 'perfect 10,' or accept that an act is just a rehearsed performance—is to go stale. Get hacky." Loofbourow adds: "Why does the authenticity fetish keep cropping up as a story solution for comedians—in specific opposition to an 'act that’s been polished and rehearsed? This isn’t limited to fictional women, by the way. Pete Holmes’ character in Crashing goes through a minor version of this when he’s struggling to be a Christian comedian and chafing under the constraints (and again when he opens for John Mulaney, who forbids him from using anything from his act—desperate for material, Holmes narrates his backstage interaction with Mulaney and kills). Even nonbinary characters like And Just Like That’s Che Diaz are afflicted by this consensus that talking about oneself is the same as being funny."