Twitter Account Unearths Screenwriters’ Unironic Female Character Descriptions
Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Studios
Ever wondered where in the storytelling process women go from actual human beings to those terribly sexist and annoyingly cliche female characters we know so well? According to this new twitter account, it unfortunately begins on the page.
Ross Putman, a film producer, cinematographer and writer, has created @femscriptintros, an account dedicated to sharing the very real introductions screenwriters give to their female leads. ALERT: This is not a parody account. We’d like it to be, but it is completely and utterly real. Every tweet comes from a different script that’s somehow made its way into Putman’s professional hands, and they’re the very first things the person reading the script finds out about the character. Note: Most have to do with how shapely the ladies are.
Check out a handful of the character descriptions which are taken from scripts and tweeted out word for word. Five points if you laugh instead of hitting your head repeatedly against a wall. And an additional bonus point each time you can name the terrible trope in use. Personal favorites? The hot scientist (Dr. Christmas Jones?) and bathing beauty.
JANE (late 20s) sits hunched over a microscope. She’s attractive, but too much of a professional to care about her appearance.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016
Behind a steamy shower door is the indistinguishable but sexy silhouette of JANE showering.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016
His wife JANE is making dinner and watching CNN on a small TV. She was model pretty once, but living an actual life has taken its toll.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016
Like draping the Venus De Milo in a burlap dress, Jane’s sensational natural beauty fights through her plain blue Ann Taylor outfit.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016