ANDREA PARK
Gargoyle assistant editor
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007
Opinions

NOWADAYS IT SEEMS nearly impossible to find a respectable, realistic female role model on the movie screen or in the magazines. The last time I watched CNN, which I thought was a respectable broadcasting channel, I found that morning news minutes were actually being dedicated to covering Anna Nicole Smith's death.

The combination of our culture's growing obsession with celebrities and the wild habits of our teen starlets makes it inevitable that we will hear about Lindsay Lohan's latest drunken escapade or Paris Hilton's newest sex tape. It's gotten to the point where the painfully thin Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) of “The OC” makes drug and alcohol abuse look chic.

Even supposedly “respectable” actresses like Scarlett Johansson, whose public lives aren't exposed on the front cover of every magazine, seem so beautiful and perfect that they become distant and unreal.

But just when I was about to learn my lesson — “Celebrities aren't role models, duh!” — Betty, Emily, America, and Maggie stepped into my life.

Betty Suarez is the main character on ABC's drama “Ugly Betty.” She is, like the title of the show suggests, not the most physically attractive person out there. Perhaps a little overweight, brace-faced, and four-eyed, Betty's lack of style and bad hair at first glance makes her appear to be a little more than ridiculous, especially in comparison to her beautiful, ultra-thin Mode fashion magazine co-workers.

But ironically Betty is the most beautiful character in “Ugly Betty,” and it's not because she is a hidden saint with a golden heart and a pure moral fiber. She is the fairest one of all because she respects herself enough to get the respect of others.

Betty hasn't crumpled under pressure and undergone a magical transformation from beast to beauty (a direction the show easily could have taken). She has followed the easily said but impossible to believe mantra, “I know I'm hot. I know I'm good enough for myself. I don't have to change.”

The confidence she exudes and the strength she shows in not compromising her inner and outer character, despite hurtful jabs and snickering, make Betty Suarez the first role model I have encountered on the television or movie screen in a long time.

Emily is the second. However, unlike Betty, Emily is not the obvious role model. She's actually a complete mess.

Emily Wang is the widow of an underground rocker who overdosed on heroin in the movie “Clean.” Throughout the movie, Emily is struggling to kick her own heroin addiction as well as trying to start a stable life in Paris so she can see her estranged son again.

Though Emily is stacked up against all odds, she chooses to overcome the barriers and fight her inner demons when it would have been easier and less painful to go back to her life of drug abuse. Her willingness to fight after hitting rock bottom is why I consider her to be a role model.

Though I obviously do not know them personally, the actresses portraying Betty and Emily seem to be equally as impressive as the characters themselves.

America Ferrera, who plays Betty, is also not the skinniest, prettiest star out there. In fact in Hollywood she is probably considered to be morbidly obese. However, she hasn't followed the trend of dropping 60 pounds by taking horse narcotics and only drinking diet Coke, or getting a new nose to “sell” better. That in combination with being comfortable and confident enough to portray a quirky, unglamorous person really says something about her character.

Maggie Cheung, who played Emily, is moving especially as an Asian actress. In American cinema, Asian women are almost always portrayed as exotic, beautiful creatures. Either they are sexy temptresses or innocent nymphets. However, Cheung ventured outside the realm of safety and dared to try something different by portraying Emily, a disheveled, chain-smoking, b**chy, ex-heroin addict. It's radical women like Cheung who challenge stereotypes and dare to tread in uncharted waters that girls need to look up to.

The last question on my mind is, Why are actresses like America and Maggie, and characters like Betty and Emily, not superstars?

Betty, Emily, America, and Maggie, in my mind, are solid women all teenage girls can look up to. However, they are not on Hollywood's A-list, and may never be on it, because in the end “sexy” and “wild” win over confidence, determination, and respectability.

The sad truth is that girls don't want to be as ugly as Betty, and guys don't want to be with an emotional wreck like Emily. Despite all the qualities that make those women superior role models, Jessica Simpson's big boobs, orange tan, and ditsy twang is so much more appealing.

But to those enlightened girls out there who are sick and tired of rail-thin, rehab-frequenting starlets, know that there is something to be learned from Betty's self-respect, Emily's determination, America's confidence, and Maggie's bravery.