As a child and teenager, I always enjoyed watching movies from the ‘90s and 2000s. The characters I idolized were always stylish and smart. These inspiring it-girl characters show what people value — and dream of — in their careers.
In many 2000s TV shows and movies, the main female protagonist is a writer or journalist. Whether it’s “Sex and the City,” “Gilmore Girls,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” or “The Devil Wears Prada,” there are a variety of female writers that can be found in media. These women are passionate about writing and often value the topics they write about.
Rory Gilmore writes predominantly intellectual pieces about news and school issues. On the other hand, Carrie Bradshaw and Andie Anderson incorporate anecdotes from their personal lives and love interests to entertain their readers. Andrea Sachs writes about fashion and clothing trends.
Although the topics that are written about vary, they all have something in common: they get paid to write about what they, and their audiences, enjoy.
I always looked up to these characters who could speak their mind and get paid for it, all while having top-tier fashion. I believe that the excess of women who write demonstrates a theme: people, especially women, value creativity in their careers.
In all of these movies, the women tend to work hard, but they also have time for a variety of activities outside work. All of these characters have a great work-life balance. They manage to have both a social life and write about their choice of topics.
Modern Day Careers
In today’s society, creativity is also valued professionally. With the development of social media and the internet, the way information is shared has also developed.
When talking to children, many of them want to become influencers when they grow up. Being an influencer allows more freedom over their daily schedule and possibly making content about the topics they are interested in.
Unlike the writing culture in the 2000s, influencers do not have a boss or someone to whom they have to answer. Most influencers who do not have a massive following are their own editors, leaving it up to them to decide what kind of content they will make. Larger creators may have a team of employees who help edit their content and manage them, but this is not always the case
Being an influencer allows an individual to explore a variety of topics and interests that they enjoy.
We all consume the creations made by the people who are making content, whether on social media, websites or physical media. Without this, discourse about important topics would happen a lot less. There are both positives and negatives to both writers and influencers, but the important thing is that it allows people to communicate and share their opinions, later allowing the input of others.
There will always be a need for creative people, as long as people are interested in consuming information. Both influencers and writers seem to have this romanticized lifestyle. Miraculously, these journalist characters and the influencers we see online appear to have these lavish lifestyles and luxury fashion. In reality, a lot of these depictions are inaccurate.
In reality, it would be very unlikely for Bradshaw to own a rent-controlled apartment in New York City and also own over $40,000 in shoes. This situation reflects itself in influencers today. Oftentimes, the lifestyles shown online are relatively unattainable for everyday influencers.
These idealized people allow us to daydream about a life where we can express ourselves and build our own schedule, all while living a trendy and lavish lifestyle. Both the influencer and the writer show how creativity and intelligence can be intertwined with beauty and fashion. We enjoy watching these movies and scrolling on Instagram because it gives us hope that we too can have freedom over our career while simultaneously living the exact lifestyle we want.