Anne Hathaway. My opinion about her: she’s pretty talented. I’m not an enormous Anne Hathaway fan, but I always liked her since I first saw her in The Princess Diaries. Even in the movies which I didn’t think were good, like Bride Wars, I still felt that she was at least committed to any role given to her. In general, she’s a versatile actress: she presents an impressive acting range by playing a multiple variety of characters. In the same year, she played two almost opposite sides of the spectrum: Selena Kyle from The Dark Knight Rises, a strong fighting femme fatale who could change her personality at will to her own advantage, and Fantine from Les Misérables, a weak and fragile woman who takes extreme measures for the safety and care of her daughter, even if it means destroying herself. She can also sing, as seen in her performances in the Oscars and in other films, she can be funny, she can do the splits, and she can even freaking rap (as seen by her Lil Wayne-styled song she wrote called “Paparazzi”. One word: AWESOME.) So yeah, I do like her.
Then I heard this from a friend of mine: not everyone loves Anne Hathaway. Well, yeah. I can understand if a celebrity seems overrated to some people, or if an actor just doesn’t click. It’s like a person telling me that they didn’t like Vertigo or Citizen Kane. I get that a lot, because it’s a matter of taste. But what took me by surprise was that apparently some people practically DESPISED Anne Hathaway. Why? I get it when a celebrity like Madonna seems too controversial that there are going to be haters and lovers, but there was nothing controversial about Anne Hathaway. So what was so wrong about her in particular that people couldn’t tolerate? I became extremely curious.
I decided to do some online research. I searched left and right, high and low, over and under, forwards and backwards (is that even possible?) and based on everything I’ve read and everything I researched… there’s no real reason to hate her.
Most of the comments I searched for came up with “she’s not pretty” or “she looks stupid”, “she’s boring”, “she’s trying too hard”, “she’s annoying”, “she wants too much attention”, etc. Most of these are just whining about pointless stuff, and all of these comments combined aren’t enough to truly dislike her or have anything against her. If you don’t find someone attractive, then FINE, but that doesn’t mean that this person sucks! There’s also this complaint I read that I found so ridiculous: “her wedding veil looked stupid”… That’s a STUPID reason to hate her. Who cares about her wedding veil? It’s her wedding! She can wear anything she wants, so what the heck? It’s like saying that you hate a person because they wore a stupid pink skirt!
The only time I can think of when people really complained was when she hosted the Oscars with James Franco. I didn’t see her in the Oscars (in fact, for a film chick I never watch the Oscars… the nominations can be really unfair sometimes) so I don’t know how she did, but apparently she was being annoying or “trying too hard as a host” or whatever, and that seemed to get on people’s nerves. Other than that, no real reason to dislike her.
I don’t have anything against anyone. I’m trying to make the argument to why I think this hatred is ridiculous and pointless. There’s no one who truly hates her for doing something horrible or hating her work. So to that extent you could argue that people are complaining about Anne Hathaway only because no one else is.
But… what does that say in the end? About others? About ourselves? Does that mean everyone else who complains is stupid? No, not really. I asked someone what might be the reason for people disliking Anne Hathaway so much, and he said that the complaints were all a matter of one thing: jealousy. Well… yeah. It’s as simple as that. What I think people constantly have in their minds is the phrase “maybe she’s too perfect.” And we’ve all been through this. In my experience I have disliked people for seeming too perfect. I ended up becoming jealous, either because he/she was too popular or because he/she was so likeable it annoyed the heck outta me. So if anything, it could be jealousy. This is a very human aspect about ourselves.
So that could be it. But that’s really no excuse to keep using the word “hate” on a person you don’t know. I’m not a person who likes to spread hate. There are things I dislike, but I don’t think it’s good to rant about things to hate all the time. You’ll end up having nothing better to do in life except to whine and rant. I think “hate” is a really strong word, and I try to use it less casually than most people tend to do. But why is there so much hate spreading around celebrities? And another point that they say about Anne Hathaway is that it’s either “she’s NOT talented” or “she’s TOO talented.” Why isn’t anything fair? Why can’t people ever be pleased or satisfied? Dude, there’s just no alternative: if you’re too good, then you’re a show-off, but if you’re too bad, then you suck. People complain about everything.
And if they mean to say that if Anne Hathaway trying too hard, what should she do about it? You want her to STOP trying? NOT work hard? STOP working in films all together? That wouldn’t be fair for anyone. People shouldn’t just stop being good at something just to make others feel better.
To everyone out there, if you want to give out criticism, fine. But it should be constructive or analytical, and NOT to harm any person or to make yourself feel better. When I criticise films, I do my best as to not hurt anyone and be as objective as possible in my criticisms; I want to explain why the film did or didn’t work, and NOT to make fun of any actor or filmmaker. If I don’t think an actor is very good, let’s say Kristen Stewart, I will say it. But I won’t conclude that she’s a horrible human being for acting poorly or for being in Twilight (besides, I think her acting is improving, based on what I saw in On the Road). I don’t really know that person. We think we know these people, but frankly we don’t. We only know the image they’re trying to sell or what publicity tells you. In reality, they’re like everyone else. We make this hatred personal when it never is. So if you comment negatively around a person, make it into constructive criticism and not a personal vendetta. Better yet, talk about celebrities and/or people you do like and admire… even yourself. The best way to prevent jealousy is if you stop comparing yourself to others and realise the great things about yourself. Sometimes celebrities will make you feel better, because they act like a role model. That’s the idea of a celebrity. No, you shouldn’t copy the celebrity lifestyle (unless it’s your own choice), and try not to act like a snob/show-off either, but you should recognise what you’re capable of doing and what you can achieve in life. If you constantly rant about people you don’t know, then you aren’t going anywhere. It’s all pointless. Stop spreading hatred and pessimism and instead spread love and optimism. That’s the first step to a great future.
… So where was I? Ah yes: Anne Hathaway did nothing wrong. Stop being so harsh.
