'The OA' Brit Marling says shows needs more female characters
“The OA” Brit Marling has expressed her hopes that the show will include more empowered, fully developed female roles. According to the actress, these types of female characters are what the pop culture is lacking.
Marling plays the role of Prairie in the new sci-fi mystery series on Netflix. Prairie is an abduction survivor navigating the world, trapped for years in a science experiment. At age 20, she ran away from home to New York in search of her father, showing how headstrong she can be.
Marling's character is rich, strong and complex that blossomed from about four years of work on the series, thanks to co-writer and co-creator Zal Batmanglij.
Speaking to People, Marling shared her thoughts about women’s participation in the industry.
“You sometimes think that we’re farther along than we actually are. When you read that less than 10 percent of directors are women, you realize it can’t be surprising that, in most stories, women characters are constructed as an afterthought; they’re not fully realized, not the ones with agency,” Marling said.
The publication noted that it was that realisation that inspired the actress to also pursue her career in screenwriting.
Marling is an Illinois native. She studied economics at Georgetown University. In 2005, she scored a job offer from Goldman Sachs, an investment banking titan. From there, she realised that she needed a quarter-life career change.
“I thought, ‘I’m setting myself up for a life that I’m not really going to enjoy,’ ” Marling recalls.
She pursued the career change, starting out with Georgetown pals Batmanglij and Mike Cahill. They have come up with indie projects “Sound of My Voice” and “Another Earth.” Eventually, they broke out at Sundance in 2011.
As for her current character, Marling had a very clear focus on what she wanted Prairie to represent.
“She’s not sitting in her victimhood, she’s not passive; she’s actively seeking recovery, actively doing something and sharing her story — and healing herself through sharing her story,” Marling said.
Fans in Australia can catch “The OA” season 1 every Friday, 11:59PM on Netflix.
