New Jersey Stage Issue 59 | Page 108

ing staff, Patel battles to have her voice heard and save the ailing show. Late Night is essentially a mes- sage movie on the theme of workplace inclusion, but it’s so inconsistent and contradictory in how it delivers that message that it ultimately gives ammunition to opponents of diversity. For a start, there’s the elephant in the room that is Newbury. In America, fe- male late night talk show hosts are as common as flying unicorns, yet the film presents Newbury NJ STAGE - ISSUE 59 as part of a unimpeachable sys- tem of privilege. Making a female late night talk show host, which isn’t a real thing, an avatar of the status quo is a truly baffling de- cision. We’re told Newbury has been hosting the show since 1991 (yeah, right), which means she would have had to battle through the same systemic sexism Patel faces in the writers’ room, yet the film - which seems to think simply being white, regardless of your gender, automatically opens un- limited doors - never acknowledg- INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 108