As the list of favorite celebrity talent seems to grow even as 2016 comes to an end, I thought it would be good to share this video, created by the website, The MarySue.
Carrie Fisher, one of the latest stars to have passed (just today, at this writing), is usually thought of for her iconic role as Princess/General Leia Organa in the Star Wars movies. But while I enjoyed her in those roles, I think I appreciated her more as herself. She wasn’t only an actress who appeared in other roles than the Star Wars movies, but I was always impressed by her success as a writer. I admit that I haven’t read her books (but I think I need to look into them now), but I saw the movie based on one of her books, Postcards from the Edge. I always enjoyed watching interviews with her, especially in recent years. I know she was very open about talking about her battles with substance abuse and mental illness. She made it okay for people to realize that you can “have it all” and still have some serious issues, and come out of it in one piece. She helped to de-stigmatize mental illness and show that there can still be a smart, witty person attached to that mental illness who can contribute to society. And for that–I am grateful she made her mark.
The video below also showed a related talent that used her writing skills, specifically as a script doctor. Now doesn’t that sound like a cool job? What struck me in this video was what she’s quoted as saying in the end of why she stopped doing it. It was something that as a technical writer/communicator, has happened to me, and I think happens to a lot of technical communicators these days. We contribute ideas and work for what we do, and don’t get the fair credit or compensation for it. How many times have I done “tests” for companies only to not get the job or hear back from them? Yeah, unfortunately it seems, based on Carrie Fisher’s comments, that it’s not only for technical writers, but script writers as well.
Carrie Fisher was incredibly human–she wasn’t afraid to show her vulnerabilities, and we loved her for it. She definitely knew, by the end of her life, that she had a lot of worth as a person of many talents, and she used them. She will definitely be missed by this geek mom.
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