Tracy flick9/17/2023 ![]() ![]() PERROTTA: That is totally a fair way to describe her. Do you think that's a fair or unfair way to describe her? But this is kind of a sadder version of Tracy, a derailed version of Tracy from her dreams and ambitions. So she still has that confidence, but she does seem to have more self-awareness as an adult. She - at one point, she talks about, I've never been a big fan of vacations, you know? And she refers to - there's no imposter syndrome for me. You know, this is a, I think, slightly more likable version of Tracy, probably for a lot of people, although the old Tracy is still there. And she's a high school administrator, and so she would never look at it that way if a teacher she was responsible for had a relationship like that with a student. Twenty years later, she's reading, just like I'm reading, stories in the newspaper about women a lot like her and some of whom had said, like, oh, it seemed consensual at the time but now, you know, I'm wondering if that's the right way to look at it. PERROTTA: It was part of the plot of "Election." And she was very adamant in the book and the movie that she was not a victim, that she had some agency, that she made a choice to begin the relationship, she made a choice to end it and that she was just moving on with her life. PFEIFFER: This was part of the plot of "Election," yeah - the book and the movie. Tracy had an affair or a illicit relationship or an abusive relationship, depending upon how you want to - what language you want to apply, with a high school teacher in "Election." So that was a little part of it.īut the main part of it, I think, was the #MeToo movement happened, and I was reading a lot of stories about women like Tracy. And it seemed unfair for Tracy to be vilified for her ambition. You know, I think to accomplish anything in life, you have to believe that you can do it. You know, some part of me really sympathized with her drive and her ambition. And I didn't always love that idea of Tracy. And I think she was - became a bit of a stereotype of an unpleasantly ambitious woman who alienated the people around her, primarily the men around her. PFEIFFER: And we should note here, by the way, for people who haven't seen it, she was kind of, in high school, this sort of officious, driven overachiever, supremely self-confident in kind of an off-putting way. One is that Tracy Flick has become a kind of iconic figure in American culture sort of separate from my book, I think because of Reese Witherspoon's wonderful performance in the movie "Election." And so for all these years since I wrote the book and the movie came out, I've been hearing female politicians being compared to Tracy, you know, Hillary Clinton foremost among them. PERROTTA: Well, you know, I think there are a couple reasons. Tom, this book is basically a sequel, but it's coming out about 25 years after you wrote the first book. Tom Perrotta is with us to talk about his latest book. She's back in high school, working as assistant principal. But in Perrotta's new novel, "Tracy Flick Can't Win," we meet Flick in middle age. And whether you met her through the movie starring Reese Witherspoon or the book written by Tom Perrotta, both called "Election," she seemed like she might actually make it to the White House as she headed off to Georgetown University. ![]() She was going to be president of the United States. Tracy Flick had big plans in high school. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |