Carrie Fisher is More Than Princess Leia - Inspirer · 4/16/2017 Carrie Fisher is More Than...

4/16/2017 Carrie Fisher is More Than Princess Leia - Inspirer

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CARRIE FISHER IS MORE THAN PRINCESSLEIA

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by : CARRIE COUROGEN | 4 MONTHS AGO | 17953 VIEWS

Carrie Fisher arrives at the Governors Awards atthe Dolby Ballroom on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015, inLos Angeles. (Photo by JordanStrauss/Invision/AP)



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Actress and author Carrie Fisher reportedly su�ered a “massive heart

attack” on a �ight from London to Los Angeles Friday afternoon. She was

rushed to a Los Angeles hospital, where her brother, Todd Fisher, told

Variety she is currently out of emergency and in ICU, in stable condition,

though “there’s no good news or bad news.”

News of the episode sparked an outpouring of support on social media

and in the press. A common thread in all the discussion? Star Wars.

Identi�cation of public �gures is an important part of reporting. It makes

sense to note that Fisher is most well-known for her role as Princess Leia

— it gives the general public an iconic, familiar role to put a face to the

name. It makes sense to lead with that, but not to make it the entire focus.

In the nearly 40 years since Fisher became an overnight icon as an

outspoken princess with a memorable hairstyle, her resume has

expanded to cover multiple �elds. She has written four novels, three

memoirs, two plays, and two screenplays, including the screenplay for the

Academy Award-nominated adaptation of her �rst novel, Postcards from

the Edge. She has acted in several other �lms, from Hannah and Her

Sisters to When Harry Met Sally.

In the 1990s, she was considered one of Hollywood’s best script doctors

(a writer brought in to rewrite or polish an already existing script), having

worked on �lms like Hook, Sister Act, and The Wedding Singer. Her

autobiographical one woman show Wishful Drinking was adapted into

both a memoir and an HBO special.



Having su�ered bipolar disorder and addictions to cocaine and

prescription medicines, her activism around mental health and addiction

has been recognized by multiple organizations, most recently Harvard

University.

I shouldn’t have to list the contents of Carrie Fisher’s resume here. I

shouldn’t have to remind people that she has done more in 40 years than

don a pair of cinnamon roll hair buns and a white dress.

If we were talking about her co-star Harrison Ford in this situation, I’m

fairly certain media outlets would not be focusing on his role as Han Solo.

The overwhelming amount of tweets would have more than photos of

Indiana Jones. Fisher doesn’t deserve to be reduced to a single role. She

doesn’t deserve press coverage including a still of her as “slave Leia” — a

degrading out�t she has vocally spoken out against — in their articles.

Women are reduced to singular roles, relationships, and images again and

again and again. Women are constantly identi�ed as someone’s wife or

girlfriend, a single line summarizing their entire career, a former sex

symbol. It isn’t lost on me that this time last year, Fisher was making news

after a New York Post writer wrote a misogynistic opinion piece that if she

was unhappy about people commenting on how she’s aged, she “should

quit acting.”

Fisher is just one recent example. This is not unique; it is not special. It just

shines yet another light on a problem. Women are more than one singular

identity. It’s about time we started acknowledging it.

Carrie Fisher: Even In Space There's A Double Standard For Women



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Carrie Courogen

Carrie is a writer and social media manager for Condé Nast Entertainment in

New York. Her writing has been featured in print and online for publications like

Quartz, Teen Vogue, The Hu�ngton Post, Bustle, and the New York Daily News,

among others. Additionally, she maintains a Tumblr where she muses on things

like millennial issues, music, and, most of all, lady heroes.

TAGS : ACTRESS . AUTHOR . CARRIE FISHER . FEMINISM . HERO . INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN .

LADY HERO . NEWS . POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE . PRINCESS LEIA . STAR WARS . STRONG

WOMEN . WISHFUL DRINKING . WRITER

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