Wait, Zoe actually got that role? I can’t believe I missed this! So I had to re-read my blog entry from last week (which oddly enough, didn’t completely reveal that I misunderstood this whole audition thing), and then I re-watched the Zoe clips from last week. Indeed, I was not in a coma for any part of the episode last week. As I re-watched it I was thinking, “Oh yeah, I DID see Zoe put on those sunglasses and call everyone around her a bunch of losers.” That lame “Zoe Rivas is back, baby” rang familiar in my ears.
The thing is, when I watched her say it the first time, I guess I was focusing less on the fact that she actually got the role, and more on how mean and undeserving she was. It’s like I re-wrote the episode in my mind to get her rejected from the role, because the way it happened was so unrealistic and distasteful. It’s like, you know how some people black out certain traumatic events from their past? I think I blacked out the second half of Zoe’s plotline because it would have been too mentally disturbing for me to recognize that she was receiving the world on a silver platter yet again.
Well, this time I couldn’t ignore the fact that Zoe got the role, as it was such a prominent part of the plot. The recognition caused me to feel shock, disgust, and anger. I just… don’t like Zoe. In case you haven’t figured that out. Actually, that’s not quit it. I would love to see Zoe develop more, but right now I feel like she’s more or less a stock character. She’s the way everyone imagines a typical Hollywood diva (a self-centered, shallow clone), and it makes me angry that the writer’s are not really making her any less shallow or petty, but are at the same time trying to get us to feel all this sympathy for her. It’s like they want to make her character more relatable and likeable and unique, but they’re going about it by putting her through something traumatic and managing to keep her out-of-control ego intact, rather than just giving her a chill pill.
I would like Zoe a lot more if she revealed that all the money and fame was still leaving her feeling empty inside. Or if she admitted that sometimes she lacks confidence on an audition. Or if we got some back-story into her “getting famous” story, in which she had to live on Ramen while her single mother tried saving enough money for the gas to get her to her next audition before she finally landed an embarrassing role on Barney (nod to Selena Gomez). I’d like her better if there was an episode or two about how much she hates having to hide when she goes to the grocery store because the Paparazzi is always after her, and the thing she wants most is just to be normal. There are so many things you could do with a famous character that would make the person interesting and likeable. But heck, I would even like Zoe if she was just humbled from being kicked off West Drive and bragged a little less, or said a couple nice things to the nerds in the hallway. So, I want to see more of this character and I want to see her grow. It’s not so much that I hate Zoe, but more that I hate what the writers are doing with her. If that makes sense.
I will admit though, I thought it was pretty decent of Zoe to stand up to her mom about choosing her own gigs. I respected her for standing by her morals and working to ensure that girls receive messages of empowerment, rather than defeat, through the media. I think it’s good that she’s taking more ownership of her own career but is also willing to risk that career if it means sacrificing her values. That whole entire situation reflected really well upon Zoe as a character, but it was one situation. If the writer’s want Zoe to grow on me, she needs to do more stuff like that. More stuff like thinking of other girls and how she can empower them, more stuff like thinking about her values before trying to grab the spotlight. She’s going to have to do a whole lot less of the putting-on-sunglasses-while-ditching-people-and-calling-them-nerds crap and also a little less of the expecting-to-have-everything-she-wants-without-making-any-sacrifices bit.
I’m just worried that Zoe came across as “willing to risk that career if it means sacrificing her values” accidentally. She actually never claimed to understand that taking a stand for her morals might mean making a sacrifice in her career. Nor did she thank her mom for doing some PR control, or offer to help her mom with clean-up. It’s entirely possible she was just taking it for granted that her mom would clean up her messes and that she would be a shoe-in for the next spotlight. I’m not saying Zoe deserves to have her career suffer for the decision that she made. If life were fair she would actually receive more opportunities for being morally upright. But then, Lady Gaga and Snookie are everyone’s idols, so “morally upright” doesn’t seem to be the highest of values in American pop culture. Life’s a bitch, Zoe, and so are you. You gon learn today. I hope.
Wow. I can’t. Even. I’ll tell you more about Miles and Zig later, because 1) I just exhausted myself talking about Zoe and it’s past my bedtime and 2) I’ve experienced enough gun violence this week (well my students have). I don’t really need more fictional gun violence in my life right now, even if it’s the make-believe fictional kind. Also if I can save a few jokes about Clare and Drew and their Days of our Lives romance, that will give me something to laugh about later. Peace out.
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