Letter to the Editor in response to “From Jennifer Lawrence to Taylor Swift, it's a great time to be a leading lady”

Dear Editor,

On November 26, 2013, CNN published an article titled “From Jennifer Lawrence to Taylor Swift, it's a great time to be a leading lady” written by Maggie Furlong. I am writing this letter to appreciate how the author gave a balanced report on the film and music industry these days as she suggested that many females are leading the industry.

Nowadays we, the teenagers, are most likely to be exposed to different media such as the film, music and even the news uploaded on different reputable media such as CNN. Despite that, it seems like the entertainment section of the news these days are most likely to feature the bad sides of celebrities.

However, this article written by Maggie Furlong was different. I appreciated her article as she did not only concentrate on the negative side of the media as what most writers would. It seemed to offer me a contrast as I have seen both sides on this article. The example of Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift used as a comparison on how they gain attention and fame was great. I saw the balance between the two.

As a reader, I do know that more bad news about the artists are featured because most of the people are likely to be more interested to read about those. However, I also want to point out that articles such as this can also make a difference in how the people would view the world. If we pay more attention to the publication and the awareness of what we read, wouldn't we live in a better society as the artists would also be motivated to do better?

Also, I was really surprised to know that “only 28.4% of the movie roles are women” despite the fact that we see many female artists in Hollywood such as Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and Sandra Bullock in “Gravity” which are listed under “many moviegoer's must-see lists”. Although women are said to be “leading” the industries these days, studies still show otherwise that they do not really have a solid position in Hollywood.

Thank you for reading and I believe and hope that reputable and influential media such as CNN would update more about the improvements of female's position in Hollywood to encourage the people and the artists to be more aware of the issues. “Now we just need to see more of them” to achieve true equality of women and men not just in Hollywood but our society as a whole.


Sincerely,

Jae Sun Lee
17 years old
High School Student