I want this to be me and my friends, most of us in our mid-40s, and many of us looking around, now that our kids are tweens, and thinking, Hmmmmm, am I doing what I want? Am I saying what I need to say? The new midlife crisis is a career crisis, not a marital crisis. — Curbed
It is rare for individuals in creative fields to be accurately portrayed in film, especially women. With the release of the film adaptation of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Curbed architecture critic, Alexandra Lange, writes to express her anticipation for the film's portrayal of the lead character, Bernadette Fox. According to Lange, as a mother, wife, architect, and woman, this character is someone many women in the profession can potentially empathize with. In her review, Lange shares what this fictional character provides for her and other female architects as well.
Lange explains, "Bernadette Fox was a wish fulfillment [...] Most women, most people, don't have a cheerleader waiting in the wings for us to get our shit together. We either mentor ourselves or, more often than not, our talent is absorbed by other people and other lives. We never get to be on a first-name basis with the world, the subject of a solo profile."
It's the details that make this film all too relatable to women in architecture. As the quest for equity in practice and the struggle to live a balanced life remain a recurring feat for many female architects, it begs to question: is this film a beacon to highlight the stark realities many women face? Or has this film simply become another snapshot into the life of a working woman, who happens to be an architect?
According to Lange, "it is a fractured fairytale, where women save themselves through work."
The movie was interesting as it dealt with the frustration of not becoming what we initially set out to be, and how we deal with it. It had a redemptive ending, which showed people an imaginative architectural solution to an unusual problem. I liked the daughter character, and felt she carried the movie, particularly toward the end. Whenever Hollywood wants to portray a character as affected, detached from reality, kookie but nice, they make him/her an architect. Fountainhead, Mister Ed, Apple's Way, etc.
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I just started reading this novel the movie is based on over the weekend after managing never to hear about it before (I'm an ignorant workaholic...) and I'm really touched. I realize it's a satire, but there's a very resonant spirit underlying the character.
It's important I think that this actually speaks to the aspirations of all creative individuals, and that is does so through a woman's voice is wonderful. But as a man, I feel as completely sympathetic to the protagonist as to a slightly distorted time-shifted version my self. I don't actually think this is about womanhood; it's a book about creative struggle as an affluent american.
The author must have a personal interest in architecture btw. Her narrative includes an outlook on the profession and off-hand judgements about the city and specific works that are too well developed to be just something she stuck in after researching the experience of an architect. I'm curious to know more about how she prepared that aspect of the story.
midlander, I'm glad you liked the movie and I'm deeply envious of your ability to go into the movie without foreknowledge! If you do't have time to click the links below my first thread included this quote from Maria Semple on how she imagined Bernadette: "I have no architectural training but I went through a long period where I liked to fix up houses. Plus I’m a house snob. Nobody can point out what’s wrong with a house quicker than I. It’s not something I’m proud of, incidentally. But the slight ugliness of the attitude fit perfectly with the character of Bernadette. I knew I’d have something to write to if I made her an architect."
"...slight ugliness of attitude..." is something I think all architects have the ability for...
My friend Lora reviewed the film somewhat similarly to Alexandra, but with a generational twist.
https://twitter.com/L2DesignLL...
And I give a *very* brief review here: https://archinect.com/forum/thread/150152751/anyone-else-working-this-saturday
And, since I've been stanning for this book since it was published, here's the thread I tried to start to get others to read it!
https://archinect.com/forum/thread/83548701/archinect-book-club-where-d-you-go-bernadette
Sadly, it looks like the Lake House will remain the greatest movie about architects. Maybe Sleepless in Seattle second.
What, you didn't like Inception?
or 3 men and a baby? i mean, come ON!
Brady Bunch? Not a movie, but still pretty amazing. Six kids to courier those drawings across that amusement park - Action Thriller.
Say WHAT? The greatest movie about architects, remains, as always; The Belly of An Architect, or Se7en. You pick.
Se7en? lol what
Woops! Forgot one more, Midsummer, another great architect movie.
"She also hates those giant urchin-like Dale Chihuly glass sculptures native to Seattle, five-way intersections, and all the new condominiums in South Lake Union."
I too hate that guy.
Strong disagree. 5 way intersections are awful though.
Yeah, no. The Peter Maxx of glass.
The movie was interesting as it dealt with the frustration of not becoming what we initially set out to be, and how we deal with it. It had a redemptive ending, which showed people an imaginative architectural solution to an unusual problem. I liked the daughter character, and felt she carried the movie, particularly toward the end. Whenever Hollywood wants to portray a character as affected, detached from reality, kookie but nice, they make him/her an architect. Fountainhead, Mister Ed, Apple's Way, etc.
Wow, that Apple's Way reference is an obscure one! But I do recall the dad being an architect. The show, and especially that character, had an exaggeratedly optimistic, happy tone. It's funny how that actor went on to play some pretty nasty villains.
Saw it last night not knowing what it was about... It was the story of the last twenty years of my life. Down to the husband (ex now) who called me crazy and what she said about being in the environment of her projects before she designs, her neighbors attitude towards her and so much more. Her relatable character and the similarities were uncanny. A few differences: my husband wasn't kind and I wasn't famous! Now with my son being a senior in college, I am only happy when I work on my projects. Started my own practice last year and my new website just went live. As I set out to find new projects I wish it were as easy as it was in the movies.
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