Blake Lively: A Toddler or a My Little Pony?
Reading the profile of Blake Lively in this Sunday’s Times, it occurred to me that she’s often described in the same way you’d describe a child or a pretty, pretty pony. She has shiny hair! She likes to laugh! She loves ice cream! Etc.
Does this mean Lively is a giggling simpleton? Probably not. More likely, she knows that her squeaky clean, all-American image is great for her career, and she’s not about to ruin it by saying or doing anything interesting. You’ll learn the same things about her in every interview: she doesn’t party, she doesn’t talk about her boyfriends, she loves clothes, she loves cooking at home, and she wants a family of her own someday. She’s what everyone wants from a female celebrity: a hot blank slate with hot traditional values.
It’s depressing to think that to escape criticism, an actress has to make herself as innocuous as a toddler or a plastic toy pony, but that’s what Lively’s done.
And to prove it, let’s play a fun guessing game! Guess which of the quotes below come from magazine profiles of Blake Lively, which quotes come from a mommyblogger describing her toddler, and which quotes come from Hasbro’s official description of Pinkie Pie, the pinkest My Little Pony of all.
- “’I want babies. Lots of babies,’ she said.”
- “Her eyes sparkle like blinking Christmas lights.”
- “By far the silliest [woman/girl/pony] around, nothing makes her happier than evoking a giggle and a smile from her friends.”
- “’When I have bad days, I just eat lots of chocolate ice cream and dance to the ‘Lion King’ soundtrack,’ she said.”
- “She’s a living, breathing human being who smiles.”
- “She’s generally just so happy about being alive.”
- “She giggles and squeals when presented with something sparkly.”
- “Giggly, playful and brimming over with energy, it’s not unusual to find her prancing and skipping joyfully through the streets looking for fun.”
- “I dare anyone to spend an hour around her without walking away singing a show tune and skipping like a bow-tied buffoon.”
- “I said: ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a lot of work. How do you find the time?’” (Re: the woman/girl/pony picking out her own clothes)
Answers:
- Blake Lively, from Alluremagazine last year
- Blake Lively, from Nylon magazine last year
- My Little Pony
- Blake Lively, from WWD this weekend
- Blake Lively, from New York Times this weekend
- A toddler
- Blake Lively, New York Times
- My Little Pony
- A toddler
- 10. Blake Lively, New York Times