Carrie Fisher, 59, covers the January edition of Good Housekeeping UK. They put her in this fabulous white cape/wrap with black leather trim. I need to own that but it’s surely way beyond my price range. Carrie, as usual, gives zero f*cks. I’ve noticed that my mom is like this somewhat. The older she gets, the more smack she talks and the less she cares about what people think about her. I look forward to that phase of my life and I already feel like I’m headed there.
In GH, Carrie explains that she was told to lose weight as preparation for revising her role as Leia and that it was hard, essentially, but that she did it. She went on to excoriate her industry for their emphasis on appearance above all else, which she says is typical for Los Angeles in general:
She reveals she was pressured to lose more than 35lb for the new film
‘They don’t want to hire all of me – only about three-quarters! Nothing changes, it’s an appearance-driven thing. I’m in a business where the only thing that matters is weight and appearance. That is so messed up. They might as well say get younger, because that’s how easy it is.’… And talks about how she lost it
‘I did it the same way everybody has to – don’t eat and exercise more! There is no other way to do it. I have a harder time eating properly than I do exercising. It’s easier for me to add an activity than to deny myself something. When I do lose the weight I don’t like that it makes me feel good about myself. It’s not who I am. My problem is they talk to me like an actress but I hear them like a writer.’She talks candidly about Hollywood’s obsession with appearance
‘We treat beauty like an accomplishment and that is insane. Everyone in LA says, “Oh you look good,” and you listen for them to say you’ve lost weight. It’s never “How are you?” or “You seem happy!”’What was it like to grow up as showbiz royalty?
‘I looked at my mother and said, “Wow, she is gorgeous and I don’t look like her, therefore I’m not pretty. And my father doesn’t visit – I mustn’t be pretty because he likes pretty women.” You think, I’ll go into show business because then I’ll get enough love and they will put make-up on me properly and then my life will work.’Will she ever get married again?
‘I’d like to in theory, but it’s very hard for women in show business. I don’t want to make someone Mr Fisher. The most important things in my life now are my mother, my daughter, my friends and my dog, Gary. He travels everywhere with me! I love that saying: Make me become the person my animal thinks I am. If I am who Gary thinks I am, I’m fantastic!’
I love what she said about how she wants to be the person her dog thinks she is. That’s such a sweet sentiment and I’ve heard it before but it’s nice to remember. As for her comments on weight, she’s yo-yoed a lot so I understand why she’s frustrated. The last time Carrie lost weight prior to now was on Jenny Craig in 2011, when she lost 50 lbs. I can relate to what she said about having a harder time with eating well than with exercising. Sometimes I’ll exercise twice in a day just so I can eat more, which I know makes no sense. I’m trying to stop doing that, but I’m a little addicted to exercise.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out on December 18th! I’m excited to see Carrie, Harrison Ford and the new characters especially Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. Carrie had some words of advice for Daisy, she told her “You should fight for your outfit. Don’t be a slave like I was.” The iconic gold bikini is something else, but when you consider that we never got to see Harrison Ford or Mark Hamill shirtless, it kind of puts it in perspective.
Here are some great pictures of Carrie and her mom, Debbie Reynolds, at the SAG Awards.
photo credit: WENN.com and Getty Images
she may have lost the weight, but now she clearly looks much older….
how ironic is this comment, after her interview is all about how shallow the industry is. she looks her age, btw.
I mean men are asked to lose weight for roles all the time too. Was she held at gunpoint and told to do the role or else? If she were giving this interview after having turned down the role I’d have a little more respect for what she was saying. Idk, she has always bad mouthed this franchise yet she continues to participate in it. If its so soul-sucking and detrimental why not just stop doing it?
she doesn’t badmouth the franchise, she badmouths hollywood’s (and the franchise) sexism, which is very different. also, men aren’t asked to lose weight as much as women are.
Well why not make a real statement and not participate in it then? Instead of just complaining and complying? This is the problem I have with her. Men are definitely asked to lose weight and get in shape for roles all the time. Unless you think most men are naturally blessed with big muscles and 6 packs 😉
@SnarkySnarkers
I don’t feel one way or the other about Fisher but I agree with you. Why wait until after you have finished filming to come forward and complain (about the weight). It doesn’t make you look bold or if you don’t give a -uck when you talk crap after you’re done filming. Why not give an interview about being forced to lose weight once you got offered the part? That’s the way you show you don’t give a -uck. Though she probably wouldn’t do that out of fear of the studio firing her.
And men are definitely asked to lose weight or get in shape. Chris Evans, RDJ, Chris Hemsworth, Ben Affleck, Sabastian Stan, Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale, The entire cast of Magic Mike, Vin Diesel, Bruce Willis, Jake G. Chris Pratt and Tom Cruise are just a few of the male actors that had to get in shape to play roles.
She’s almost 60, I think she looks great. My uncle and my mother were both overweight (not obese) and did not look their age. He told her once at dinner, “If we keep gaining weight, we’ll never get wrinkles!” And a part of that is true.
I think Christie Brinkley looks fantastic (I know she’s had work done), but her body looks great too for someone who is 60. However, she has never let herself go and she’s very strict with her eating.
I think it’s weird they asked her to lose weight given her age. Not that I think 25 year olds should be asked to lose weight or anything, but I think the request seems less odd to give to people in that age range than to a 60 year old. Maybe Tom Cruise will still be trying to lose weight at 60 since he seems driven internally that way to maintain a certain image, but I think it would be weird if he was asked to lose weight at that age too. From her comments, she didn’t seem to isolate her experience to gender — she just seemed to confirm that the industry really is that shallow for everybody when it comes to achieving appearance.
She might have returned to the franchise to please the fans.
I have no idea if she loves acting as an art form, but it seems like she’s admitting in this interview that she entered the industry for some kind of validation. And perhaps she’s warning people of looking for that kind of validation, and how that might not fill the void.
I was also under the impression that she’s bi-polar and takes meds for that. I think it would be harder to lose weight if she’s on medication. But she didn’t mention anything about that so maybe I’m getting her confused with someone else?
So she’s not allowed to tell anybody about the requirement to lose a considerable amount of weight after she’s done the film? What exactly are you expecting from her? She’s telling her experience. It doesn’t mean she didn’t want to do the film. It was just kind of a bizarre demand. Why not talk about it after the fact? She has no obligation to turn down a role because you want her to “make a statement” by walking away from it. And she has no obligation to shut up about the conditions they set for her getting the role.
Thank you! Who gives a rats how old Carrie Fischer looks? Read her books, the woman is smart, funny and very, very insightful. Yapping on about how her weight loss has made her look older is missing the point in a very big way.
@cleveland girl, Agree. She looks older. I think Candace Bergen said that at a certain age you have decide if you want to keep your face and ass.
In a way LA is right, Being thin is an accomplisment after a certain age. It is constant work and is rarely about health.
Some women can’t be thin after 60 it makes them look 60. Horribly very few women want to look 60 even if they are 80.
I think it was a French actress who said it first? Candace just took the face part and admits she is likes to eat and gained weight. lol
@Hadley. Catherine Deneuve, maybe? I think I read it in one of her decades ago interviews. Although, I also seem to remember Zsa Zsa saying it.
Yes, it was Catherine Deneuve who said it – then unfortunately she went and messed up her face anyway.
ZaZa Gabor said it first: “After 30, a woman has to choose between the size of her ass, or her face. I choose my face.”
might be the perma-duckface she’s got going on. I love her, but that doesn’t look good.
I clicked just to say that: wtf is up with the duck face? Did she get work done and it stayed like that? Or does she think it’s cute to make that face? Perplexed … Other than that, she actually looks pretty good and it sounds like she’s generally content (except for being told to lose weight).
This is my question as well. How Bieber-esque of her.
Maybe she doesn’t like the way her teeth look? My mom hates her teeth and tends to smile with her mouth closed which often looks…odd. I don’t know why either because my momz has a beautiful smile…
Yes! Every picture! What’s up with that?
Wondered about that myself. Weird.
Yes the duck face is what’s been bothering me. I think she got lip fillers and something done to her cheeks. She looks way different!
At first, I thought the intro pic was of Madonna. I had to read the post heading again to realize that it was Carrie Fisher. She looks good in my opinion. A little tweaked…but well done I guess.
I love how honest she is. I also love her mom I’d love to have a meal with those two keep my mouth shut and just listen to the gossip.
Yes! Let’s see if we can make that happen, if you don’t mind me horning in. 😉
Her mother looks amazing and like she’d be a great gossip!
Debbie stars in my all time feel good favorite movie, SITR, so I am very glad that their relationship is now so loving. Debbie is a hard working dynamo and Carrie is smart as a whip and it’s nice to see both of them in the news. And I agree with Carrie about living up to your dog’s expectations.
I like what she said about who is important to her and the animal comment. Her mother seems like a nice, interesting lady, so it’s good she appreciates her. They seem like they’re great fun.
I adore the public personas of mother and daughter. If they are like that in private, i’d want to move in forever. Granddaughter has started her showbusiness career…. a very long shadow cast by her mother and grandmother.
I think she is pretty cool generally because she appeared on QI in the UK last year and was funny and a really good sport about doing Star Wars poses with everyone else using bits of props as lightsabres. I watched it thinking how much fun she seemed to be
I think she looks great and I love the cape. Go General Leia.
That cape is lovely on her but I don’t get that facial expression. Not her best.
I was just going to comment/ask if anybody else noticed her duck-face in EVERY single shot, including that magazine cover!
I had to go back and look at the photos, she got the pursed lips look, still love her honesty and humor.
i do love her, and love she’s outspoken about sexism. i wish more actresses were that honest about it, because there’s no way to make it different if no one talks about it.
I love how she 1) doesnt give an eff! And 2) how she punctuates her honesty with humor. Not even the grumpiest MRA can resist Carrie. Like this time she was asked to honor George Lucas and Steven Spielberg at some stuffy shirt ceremony. She starts by calling them sadists for putting her character in a metal bikini and chaining her to “a dying slug” and finishes by complaining that George Lucas wouldnt let her wear a bra because apparently “theres no underwear in space!” She killed that room….and hopefully made some people think.
Let Queen Carrie ease you into your day https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ97s396kb0
Fan. Tastic.
brilliant.
Right bash the people who hired you and complain about the industry yet stay in it your whole career….I’m sure she wasn’t complaining when she got her hefty pay check
Relax Jessica. That room was filled with industry bigwigs, including Lucas and Spielberg, and they were ALL tickled by her speech. Nobody else got as big an applause that evening, not even the guest of honor (Lucas)
Jessica must be tons of fun at parties.
She roasted Lucas. Carrie is well known for her very acerbic humor – does no one remember Postcards From The Edge?
Postcards From the Edge was GREAT. Including some favorite quotes: “you smell like Catalina” and “it’s the endolphins”! One of the perks of getting to that age is not giving a rat’s A#@. It’s very freeing. And why be so picky about weight with a character actress, which is basically what she is?
59? Sorry, but she looks older.
It’s good to see her again, her post Star Wars years have been difficult.
Really? I think she looks her age. She looks good and I like that she hasn’t gone the way of extreme plastic surgery and botox. She looks pretty and the outfit is fabulous.
Really? She has writing credits on some amazing movies. She has published best selling hooks, gad a sold out comedy show, is renowned as a script doctor in HW. And now she is back at the top of the game in freaking SW. Yes she had a public battle with addiction. Lots of stars have that issue – can anyone say RDJ?
She had some substance abuse issues early on but she parlayed that experience into a successful semi autobiographical novel that was then turned into a great film starring Meryl Streep and Shirley Maclean. She was only 29 by that point, fyi. This lady has done extraordinarily well for herself if you bother to google her.
She had bad time with addiction, it’s what I speak about.
It doesn’t undermine what she did after, but she didn’t have the career she could have as an actress post Star Wars.
This. And I think she looks fantastic, but I’m confused by her lips.
Carrie was diagnosed as bipolar decades ago. She’s always been very matter of fact about the issues that can come with it.
I love her quote about it: if my life wasn’t funny it would just be real and that is unacceptable. Also the medication you take for bipolar makes you put on a TON of weight and it’s hard to lise it and then keep it off
What’s with the duck face in every photo?
I was wondering the same thing. It’s obviously not a spontaneous smirk but could bad plastic surgery really make that duck pout semi-permanent?
She looks more tweaked than I expected considering the narrative. Her lip is especially strange.
She looks wonderful and looks her age (same age as my mom, looks similar). She doesn’t look like she has had a bunch of work done, – I think our vision of what a 59 year old looks like has been squewed by plastic surgery.
Best of all, I love how outspoken and brilliant she is.
I feel she has had plastic surgery, just because it is not that succesfull does not mean it is not there.
Bingo. And definitely fillers in her lips.
“We treat beauty like an accomplishment”
that nails it. beauty privilege is insane and people like David Beckham get awards for being good looking.
also i never got the fuss about the slave costume. it was about building Jabba up as the villain, reducing her to a slave in a bikini for him and then she personally kills him with her own hands.
yeah ok, but it was sexualising and she didn’t like it either. like, you have this amazing woman leading a group of rebels, and you do what… put her in a bikini? it really wasn’t needed.
I agree. That bikini bit was stupid and unnecessary.
but it made sense in the movie and then she personally gets her revenge and kills him herself.
the sexualizing makes sense in the context. modern movies are way worse with that, or music videos but i still think Jabba freezing Han and making her his slave were good things to build Jabba up. And again: She is vulnerable in that situation but then takes it into her own hands. she was a strong character before, a powerful character demeans her and she gets her revenge. i think thats fine. i have a problem if the sexualization is the only thing and thats mostly the case.
also how else would she have been there? it only made sense on his pleasure barge.
Then she should have complained about it at the time they told her to wear it. Why so many years later?
I applaud Hollywood actresses for taking a stand against sexism but I don’t applaud them when they wait until after a project is complete or years later to speak out about it. The real change will come if they take a stand from the start when a situation is presented to them that they deem sexist. Why wait until after you take the paycheck and filming is complete to bitch about it. I think they fear if they complain when first cast they will lose the role to someone else.
Eh. I’ll give her a pass here.
I mean, how do we know that she DIDN’T complain at the time? I don’t know about you but I wasn’t even born when the original Star Wars came out and this was back in the days before social media. Maybe Carrie was vocal at the time but it just didn’t get talked about. Additionally, it was her first major movie trilogy–she was young and surrounded by a set full of men. It wasn’t like she was in a position of power to say “no, I’m not wearing this.”
V4Real- why not talk about it many years later? It’s a different time and people are more ready to discuss it in public than back then. And more able – we didn’t have web sites and Internet forums in those ancient times. I was still using a typewriter for my translation work, communicating with clients by phone and snailmail (no e-mail), and coughing up dust in the library, hunched over the Chemical Abstracts bound volumes, to do my research when the first Star Wars came out.
I really don’t understand the idea that a person isn’t allowed to talk about such things and point out the problems with it because they went along with it at the time. People change, times change. And the person who has lived through it is the best one to raise the issue.
Mmmm…I have mixed feelings about that. Sure, some people are born with a great genetic cocktail that they did nothing to earn so that part is definitely not an accomplishment. However, maintaining a fit body which means regular exercise, and being healthy re your eating habits and the discipline that both excerise and regular diet requires that lead to a maintained beauty and health are definitely acheivements.
We encourage, support, and praise our friends when they stop smoking, lose weight when they needed to, when they start exercising regularly and stick to it, etc. because those are achievements. It’s not different with celebrities. American’s are spoiled and tend to over indulge. I see nothing wrong with giving credit where credit is due – for those who have proven their commitment not to over indulge.
I think people who are fit have accomplished something. But I’m not sure of how many actresses are fit in the way an athlete like Steffi Graf or Michelle Kwan might be, which I would consider more impressive. Megan Fox could be fit, but I don’t know if that’s the first thing that comes to mind when I look at her.
Yup, this. We admire people for being born with a particular look that has nothing to do with what kind of human being they are. It’s twisted. I know, it’s human nature, we are programmed to trust people with symmetrical features, etc., etc., but one would think we might have moved past that a bit?? I bet that half of the actresses in Hollywood are either anorexic or bulimic. It is just ridiculously to stay a size 0 or 2 eating normally, even if you exercise continually.
She looks great
I met her a couple of years ago (I was her massage therapist) and was so impressed with her relaxed persona. This was possibly due to the several large bongs in her hotel room, that she obviously felt no need to hide. I work on fair amount of celebrities, but never met one as casual and “real” as Ms. Fischer. I saw no apparent plastic surgery, which was surprising. She had me lift her little doggy onto the massage table with her, which was sweet. She was extremely kind and funny. No airs whatsoever.
Cool! She and Jamie Lee Curtis and two celebrities I would love to hang out with.
I thought that pot and bipolar are a very risky combo though….
Neat!
Haha, the large bongs. I love her.
I’m not sure why Carrie is doing the pursed mouth grimace thing in every photo.
That said, she’s right. Hollywood is weird about weight – but it is as it ever was. I hope she enjoyed the resurgence in her career.
Debbie Reynolds is a goddess, full stop.
I KNEW she would come out and say they told her to lose weight (and I knew that Harrison Ford wouldn’t have SH*T to say about what was asked of him to reprise his role)
I find it so sad/ironic that people jumped on the “they let her age gracefully” (And when a colleague remarked this week how wonderful it was to see the new trailer showing the actress with her costar as “an age-appropriate-looking couple,” I couldn’t help recalling that Harrison Ford is fifteen years older than Fisher.) train when we saw her in the trailer, praising JJ and praising the studio and calling it a ‘win for feminism’ in ways…but they really don’t deserve praise for ‘letting’ a 59-year-old actress play a similarly-aged character…by asking her to be thinner.
Also this tidbit:
“And when a colleague remarked this week how wonderful it was to see the new trailer showing the actress with her costar as “an age-appropriate-looking couple,” I couldn’t help recalling that Harrison Ford is fifteen years older than Fisher.”
I just don’t like thinking that people are being told ‘oh things are changing for women and older women in film, like with the new Star Wars’….but it really hasn’t, so we still need to talk and not let the studios tell us what we’re seeing, we have to see it and decide for ourselves if its the change we’re looking for.
Wasn’t the weight loss in the news since she was announced? And Mark Hamil was told to lose weight as well. I recall many fans were displeased how those two looked so the news of the diets and excercises regimens for the two of the were to assume fans that Luke and Leia will be recognisible.
But I feel everyone in the film industry has some preassure to look in a certain way so this was not that suprising.
Yes I agree that a lot of people in the business men and women have pressure on them to look a certain way, lose weight or get in shape. And yes it’s good to see age appropriate actors in films but just because they are age appropriate doesn’t mean that they also have to be overweight. And why are we placing the blame strictly on Hollywood when the movie going audience has a say in this as well. Unfortunately most people want to see good looking fit people on screen. Look at all the people we find hot and attractive on this site. If people such as, Idris Elba, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman, Daniel Craig, Michael B. Jordon. Tom Cruise, Tom Hardy, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt and Tom Hiddleston all suffered Val Kilmer’s fate we would say the same thing about them as people did about Kilmer. Boy he let himself go. He lost all his hotness. Several weeks ago posters on here were poking fun at Vin Diesel because he had packed on a few pounds. The movie going audience doesn’t want to see a fat Riddick. How many of you would still find a John Goodman size Cumberbatch hot and sexy? There are overweight actors out there yet I don’t see anyone calling them hot and sexy on C/B.
Good point, V4.
Actually I liked John Goodman on Roseanne…I thought he was hot and sexy then! I think aging just changes everyone, men and women. I know what you mean.
I guess Hollywood forgets that some people do think personality has a lot to do with attraction. But then they’d have to create actual characters instead of eye candy which is harder.
I think she looks great, but she did before. God forbid a movie show characters 50 years later looking, well, 50 years older. That includes chunk for a lot of us.
Totally off-topic:
I don’t get why every photo I see of her nowadays her mouth is scrunched into that awkward pucker. I’ve seen it too many times now for it to be just a bad angle.
I think that’s just the natural way her mouth sets. It’s just more obvious now because she’s older and her skin is less resilient/ less fat under the skin. Look at her in the movies to see what I mean.
All Hail Queen Leia!!! Great interview.
Love Carrie. Read one of her books. Girl has battled serious issues and came through it with her humour intact. Her father was a complete b@st@rd to her and her brother. As for the duck face she’s had surgery as u can see it in the SW posters to which they’ve tried to Photoshop it out.
My God, Debbie Reynolds looks incredible!!!!!! I’d like to know what her secret is!!!!!!
She’s completely ageless! Wonder if that irks Carrie to no end?
Carrie looks completely unrecognizable now…she’s done much more than just lose weight.
did she actually lose any? lord have mercy a lot of ragging about this subject!
I think she lost a few pounds but apparently gained it all back in her lips. Yikes, what has she done!? Girl looks freaky!
God I wish people would stop with that stupid duck face. It looks horrid no matter who you are.
CAPE! *pants*
Oh how I wish I were half the person my dog thinks I am… and not half as useless as my cats think I am.
Ha!
LOL! No way, J Eyre.
Your cats told my cats that you are a First Class warm lap-provider/food-machine.
LOL!!
I think that what she says about the industry is spot-on. HOWEVER, I disagree with the sentiment that after a certain age, weight gain is inevitable. It is LIKELY, yes, if you do not take a very proactive approach and make a commitment to staying fit, but being overweight has become such a “norm” in our society that we actually now treat it like something that just comes with age, like dementia or heart disease. I would never say that it is easy to take off weight, especially as you get older, but to commit yourself to a mindset that being overweight is “just the way it is” is a fallacy. You have control over this.
thank you. its getting ridiculous in here.
My cats’ old vet always said she liked to see cats have some extra on them as they went into their geriatric phase, as long as they were active and not slowed down by it. I understood why when one who didn’t have a single extra ounce got sick – if she had had some extra padding, she might have survived the illness. (It was one of those “the operation was a success but…” things.) The same is likely true for people – a little extra gives us some needed reserve. Some people are naturally thin all their lives, but we may have unrealistic and unhealthy expectations about proper weight in different phases of life.
I’m happy to see her working and seemingly feeling good about herself. I rooted for her back in the days post Star Wars when she struggled with sobriety and mental illness.
Not trying to start anything, but isn’t it sort of silly for everybody to keep raging on Hollywood for being so shallow regarding looks and appearance, weight, body-type, etc. when making movies the only two things that really matter are their acting talent and how they look on screen? People get all fussed about the sexism and pressure, but would people really watch movies starring obese ugly people? They would not. And even though she didn’t like being told to lose weight because it’s embarrassing and then there’s pressure to actually do it and by a certain deadline, she looks better and more importantly, she said herself she feels better about herself. Sometimes, we get lazy and need a push. If the push is toward a healthier version of yourself, I see nothing wrong with it. It’s not like she was already 120lbs and was asked to get down to 100lbs. She was overweight and she lost some. How is that not a good thing?
“but would people really watch movies starring obese ugly people?”
Well, maybe not ugly or obese but BBC has tons of average-yet-incredibly-talented actors, maintain an international audience and produce some of the best shows out there.
Perhaps the issue is the low standards of American audiences. Personally, I prefer solid acting over a perfect face and body.
I think in an action based movie like the Star Wars, people do expect the leads to look fit. I mean, we are talking about warriors here, both men and women. Part of an actor’s job is to transform themselves into the characters, physically and mentally. If I was going to be paid an ungodly amount of money I would have no problem losing weight and working out all day, and I wouldn’t fuss about it either. At least, not much. 😀
I think audiences like watching charismatic performers. But thinness and beauty aren’t always synonymous with charisma. Most actors and actresses are thin and I guess all of them are beautiful after the styling has been put into effect, but some (not all) are like watching paint dry. Beauty can probably tempt audiences into watching a movie, but once the movie starts and there’s nothing behind the beauty, I think audiences tune out the same way you’d tune out to a beautiful person in real life who turns out to be unfathomably boring.
asking someone to lose weight is NOT the same as telling someone to get younger. Weight is something you can change, aging is not. She needed to do it anyway, regardless of the movie role. Good for her for doing it. Hopefully she can keep the weight off and stick around a little longer
I interpreted her comment as it being much easier to lose weight when you’re younger, which I think is true. When you’re 20, all you have to do is just lay off a few things, and the weight slides off. Sometimes you can lose weight at that age (assuming you have a normal metabolism without any accompanying health problems) without even trying. It takes much more effort at an older age.
I love her. And I can’t wait for the new Star Wars.
I agree with the general points she makes, but in this particular movie she’s playing a military commander, right? Realistically her character would have been incredibly fit, I just don’t see how she would have been believable in the role if obviously overweight.
Real military commanders of that age are not often as thin as they were in their youth. Doesn’t keep them from doing their job.
Leia’s slave bikini has to be considered in the context of the feminist zeitgeist of the times.
Jabba was a villain, he perfectly embodied a science fiction movie version of the “male chauvinist pig” character that was in Western popular culture in the early 80’s.
His reduction of Leia to a slave and sexual object was a representation of how the public understood the feminist struggle at that point in 1983. Leia being sexualised, enslaved and victimised and then being the one to defeat the big bad villain- the villain that had defeated Han and Luke, the male heroes of the series- and Leia killing Jabba with the very chains he’d locked her up in, was an extraordinarily powerful feminist statement.
The slave bikini is meant to be preposterous- that’s one of the things feminism was saying at the time about the fashion based trappings of femininity- that the costumes chauvinist pigs dressed women up in were oppressive and silly.
Leia’s slave bikini represents the oppression of women but also the strength, self liberation and self determination of women.
I hope there’s some people here that understand what I mean when I say I’ve always imagined Leia saying “you’re a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” to Jabba as she strangles him- Leia’s slave experience seems like one of the imaginary “Kill Mr Hart” sequences from 9 to 5.
I remember that time very well, but when I looked around the movie theater – the bikini-clad princess was not really much else than eye candy for the guys….
I don’t remember those years as a golden era for anti-sexism and feminism. Although people were beginning to be more vocal about some things, it was hardly a supportive atmosphere for most of us in fields dominated by men. We had affirmative action, which is probably the only reason the blatantly sexist department chairman even allowed a few women as graduate students (never would have hired a woman for his faculty). It was a time when we still had to keep quiet about sexual harassment which was rampant, and if we complained in front of the guys we would be dismissed as overreacting. When Anita Hill testified about her experiences with Clarence Thomas, I believed every word she said because it matched my own experiences around the same time. She kept quiet for the same reasons I did – the jerks could easily sabotage our careers and there was no real recourse, nobody really to tell about it at the time it was happening, nobody who would believe it. She had tenure by the time she testified and still a senator tried to get her fired.
Anyway, they dressed Carrie and the other women to appeal to the guys in the audience. Sorry. Her instincts were right. That was the way it was.
Oh I have no doubt that you’re right- it was just an opportunity to put Carrie in a bikini. But what it meant for the character of Leia is a different thing, IMO.
And I guess I do remember those times as a feminist golden era, at least and if only in terms of what we were getting in pop culture. “Strong feminist woman” was a very popular trope in mass entertainment in the West back then.
RE: Carrie looking older than her age. She’s got bipolar 1I. I imagine having full blown psychotic breaks ages a person a bit. I have a close relative with it and it’s a devastating illness. I have so much admiration for this woman.
Mark Hamill had to lose weight also btw.
When Return of the Jedi came out I was 15.
I remember seeing the trailer for it, when I went to see another movie.
We see her in the trailer in the gold bikini, (prob for 2-3 seconds) it made such an impact on myself and my 2 friends that we stayed after the movie ended and hung around in the back near the exit until they pass the trailer again.
She’s been my first love of the silver screen.
So, even at 59, 89 or 109 she will always be the sexy princess Leia 🙂
I love her and Debbie.
Hamill was also asked to lose weight, a lot more than Fisher, and given his face is as close as it’s gotten to his Star Wars face in decades, I highly suspect he also went under the knife for the film.
It’s not really a gender thing. Ford aged well, not in the ‘looks young’ sense, but in the ‘is still instantly recognizable as the guy from Star Wars’ way. Fisher and Hamill wouldn’t be remotely recognizable as their characters if we didn’t know who they are (and the younger audience won’t know them as anything other than Star Wars characters).
princess leia turned into jabba the hutt
I love her so, so much. She is honest in a good way, and still a very talented actress. Cant believe she doesnt get more role offers.