Light: Blox

Light: Adaptation

When I read the chapter in Bossypants that focuses on Tina’s stint at the YMCA, I thought that it was perfectly suited for cinema. Tina Fey struggles to find a job and finally gets the position working at the YMCA. There are a few characters introduced that can serve as antagonists: Joe the mail guy, Donna, the office workers from upstairs, and the demanding residents. The dramatic problem is introduced: Tina would prefer to spend her time taking improv classes instead of working at what the “grim” YMCA. The inciting incident is when Tina is fed up with her job due to the following culminating events:

• The blood vessels in her eyes pop because her commute to work at 5:00 am is THAT cold
• Joe, the mail guy with a speech impediment, (who she previously got along with) has spread a rumor that they’re “doing it.” This disgusts her because he’s 60-years old and homeless. She’s also disgusted that by trying to fit in at work and making “friends,” it has been misconstrued into something revolting.
• The demanding residents at the front desk are yelling at her and demanding exceptions to rules
• A homeless man with a short term memory that was previously described in an endearing light has now become hostile and annoying.

When I read this section, I felt hurried as these weights began to pile on top of Tina. We begin to feel the magnitude of “grim” that rests upon her. Then, in a galvanizing moment that definitely lends itself to Calvino’s quality of Lightness, Tina strolls into her interview for the office position wearing jeans and bluntly admitting she’s only applying so she can have more money to pay for her improv classes.

Light: Experience

When I created my first post for Lightness I made a collage of various computer parts. Looking at it reminds me of some of the basics concepts about Calvino’s Lightness. In literature, it is something that can be very complicated but from a different perspective, it is made to appear simple. I am reminded of Perseus, set with the task of beheading Medusa but achieving it by looking at her only through the reflection on his shield.

Thinking about this quality in reference to Tina Fey’s Bossypants, I am reminded of her time working at the YMCA in Illinois. She worked the shift from 5:30 am to 2:00 pm. She was fresh out of college and jobless. It took her a long time to find the job and she was strangely happy working there – for a while. She sometimes enjoyed the antics of the mentally challenged mail man and didn’t mind complaining about work with the other desk assistant (a middle-aged woman named Donna). However, after Fey started taking improv classes the job began to really wear on her. The residents who lived at the YMCA as well as the gym members were often rude or crass to her and she felt constantly fed up. A promotion opened up in the upstairs office. She knew that Donna, the other desk assistant would really love to get the job and that it would mean a lot to her. But Tina decided to apply for the position anyway. She applied for the job and got the position – it was easy. She wore jeans to the interview and told the interviewer that she only wanted the job so that she could pay for her improv classes.

To me, this shows the quality of Lightness because although the situation seems muddled and complicated, this was an easy decision for Fey to make. She obviously didn’t fit in with anyone she met at the YMCA and was not meant to sit behind a desk as an assistant.