As Her Campus writers, it’s safe to say Freeform’s The Bold Type displays a career path most of us dream of. I realized, after binge watching the first seven episodes, there are very good aspects to the show, but most are drowned out by poor character flaws.
I start with a disclaimer, I have not finished the available season(s). This is based on what I seen so far from Season One Episode One-Seven.
So far, I’ve seen Jane, Kat and Sutton go from being the best of friends to low-key enemies, back to best friends all in the matter of an episode. This doesn’t come as a surprise to me, because a lot of friendships operate this way, but what I do see is a lot of inconsistencies relating to their jobs as well as the ‘type’ of women they are.
For example, Jane is shown to be a country/small town girl who loves everyone and everything. She hopes to be a real journalist and not just write fluff pieces, but also balance her love life with her career.
After a deeper look, Jane is an egotistical privileged American girl who got a break at her dream job, and by gaining that opportunity she’s letting it go to her head.
In S1 E5 “No Feminism in the Champagne Room”, Jane writes a ‘beautiful’ and ‘uplifting’ piece about a Wall Street woman who quit her job to became a stripper. During the episode, Jane speaks about how her article could not have jeopardized the privacy of the dancer because she exposes herself nightly anyway.
Jane constantly belittles the people around her, including her best friends. Her small mindedness to why or how people feel differently than her is beyond help.
Though the majority of the topics touched in this show were very well thought out, it all gets drowned out by her need to be center of attention.
This can also be seen in Kat’s personality, but the difference is Kat is pushing the envelope, not pushing down the people around her.
To me, the show displays amazing feminist ideals, and is constantly shaking the foundation of the patriarchy. I love these aspects of the show, I just don’t like Jane’s hidden agenda.
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