Girlboss ain’t so #Boss
We watched Netflix’s new show Girlboss and, like many others on the internet, were conflicted and a touch confused over the main character. It’s fair to say that when it comes to movies and TV shows, we’re often exposed to characters who we view as role models and people we aspire to be like, but the protagonist in Girlboss, Sophia Marlowe, is someone who is flawed and at times, slightly unbearable.
In recent days, the character Sophia has been criticized for being extremely unlikable – “rude,” “entitled,” “a whining, walking selfie,” and “the epitome of everything people hate about millennials.” Yikes!
But actress Britt Robertson (who plays Sophia) told Bustle her character isn’t meant to be likable and that “it’s sort of the point of the show, to be honest with you. She’s not a traditional female heroine. But, you know, I think it’s all fair. You can feel however you want to feel about the character.”
The negative reviews have also been acknowledged by Kay Cannon, the show’s creator, who also wrote all three Pitch Perfect movies. When talking to Hollywood Reporter about creating the character Sophia she explained, “I had to put to the side is this concern about her being likable. She wouldn’t feel real if I was concerned about making sure people were head-over-heels in love with her. The whole point of her is to give young women the permission to be real and not say, ‘I’m this good little girl that listens to whatever a guy tells me to do.’ It was about trying to unravel this idea of what a woman should be.”
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At the end of the day, the show is about empowering women and celebrating their success. As long as girls support each other and acknowledge that everyone has different opinions, we can all be successful in our own #girlboss way, don’t you think? In the words of Sophia Marlowe, “girls are great.”
