Joan Rivers Research Paper

Joan Rivers: A Trailblazer As a writer, producer, comedian, and actress, Joan Rivers blazed a trail for other female celebrities. With an interest in show business, she dreamed of becoming a famous actress and worked hard to achieve that reality. As a youngster, she appeared in school plays and when she became a teenager, she was an extra in the movie Mr. Universe. Throughout her career, she met challenges head on to become a star. During a regular surgery, the celebrity died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the age of 81, leaving a legacy that lives on (1). Ms. Rivers background revealed her early interest and progression in entertainment, the effects of her comedic style to different aspects of her life. Joan Rivers, was

She performed in more plays, movies, comedy clubs, and television (T.V.). One of her first national appearances was on the Tonight Show, hosted by Jack Parr. Her tough-talking and straightforward style of satirical humor was both praised and criticized. Women were not favorably seen as comedians ad as a survivor of sexism, she was a victim and a rebel. Outspoken and displaying light brisk motions, Ms. Rivers did not care when people thought she should be softer spoken like a “lady.” In 50s, the role of a lady was repressive and constrictive in many ways. Society placed high importance on women being obliging housewives and doting mothers. However, this was not her style, and it was good that she gave another view of a female comedian. In her comedy routines, she joked about some of the controversies that housewives, mothers, and other women faced (3). Rivers’ focused on their vulnerabilities and shortcomings, which she made common

Frequently, she joked about Elizabeth Taylor and Adele’s weight. It has been nearly universal for women and girls to have weight anxieties and negative body images, yet Rivers targeted these issues affecting females. If Ms. Rivers had been overweight, these kind of jokes would have likely been more tolerable because she would have been defacing herself, which was a frequent style among comedians. When criticized for her degrading statements, she did not apologize and responded by saying that her comments were only jokes. Another example of her being over the top was when she made fun of the Holocaust, which was a genocide of over six million European Jews and non-Jewish victims killed by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany , and the World War II collaborators with the Nazis (4). Rivers joked that her husband lost all of his family in the Holocaust. She was again criticized and said it was her way to remind people of that horrible period of history. The Holocaust was such a devastating experience, why would she find any kind of humor in it. Thus, no subject appeared off-limits to her style of satire, even though she lost some of her people to the