Which is more than a little bit embarrassing, since I'm supposed to be an 'enlightened' and 'educated' young woman of means (ish) and I should know better. (Please don't get me started on my favorite musicals.)
The point - I sorta think Waitress is one of the most feminist films I've seen. At least, according to my skewed version of feminism.
Feminism is something that I - to some extent - grew up with. I always knew I had a choice. That I had a certain amount of power and freedom and privilege. Which isn't to say my life was populated by a huge number of strong women (because it wasn't), or that I never felt trapped (because I did), but I never directly felt the crushing weight of patriarchy on my shoulders. The idea at the heart of feminism - the notion that power isn't something to be taken by those who are the strongest, but a right to be given to all - is one that I've always known. Because I've been damn lucky.
Which is why I like Waitress so much. Because the experience of the women in this film is exactly opposite of mine. They haven't had choices, they've had no power, and they know what it means to be utterly confined to a life you can't stand because you have no other options. Waitress is impressive because it doesn't try to dress up Jenna's situation, doesn't make light of the fact that her circumstances are fairly hopeless (and sometimes dangerous), but it still manages to be funny. And charming. And romantic. And even empowering. And it does all this without giving anyone a traditional 'happy ending,' without mocking the people it portrays, and without stepping too far outside of the realm of reality.
