Rating: 3/5
Favorite Quote:
"Women always take bad behavior by men and twist it to make it so it’s somehow our fault, not theirs. It makes more sense to us that we’re somehow wrong than the possibility that a man is being rude."
Quick and Witty!!!
Satisfying end to this short series of essays. :)
"Big Shot" is the last one of the six-part Nothing Like I Imagined collection of autobiographical short comedy essays by Mindy Kaling available through Amazon Originals.
Mindy shares her story about loving to spend money on celebrities when they go out to eat. However, one celebrity did not thank her for spending money on them and Mindy was very frustrated. This book shares her journey from spoiling celebrities to donating her money to charities instead.
"Is almost $1,800 a lot to drop on someone else’s dinner, just to be a big shot? Hell yeah! But what if nobody notices that you—one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in the world—picked up the tab?
In this meditation on celebrity, power, and a simple thank-you, Mindy Kaling takes the next charmed step in her path from Conan intern to mogul: picking up the entire tab for a famous A-lister. It’s an investment, right? He’ll be blown away by her class. They’ll be best friends forever. Forty thankless seconds later, who wouldn’t spiral into self-doubt, second-guessing, over-rationalizing, and anxious obsession?"
In which Kaling learns the difference between appearing generous and being generous. Kaling is one hundred percent right that most people getting labelled as big shots are white men so it's awesome that she's getting out there and shattering expectations that a woman of color can't be a big shot, too.
I love how she describes the act of treating people as a "voyeuristic experience" which she gained a lot of pleasure from. To me it sounded a lot like networking in Hollywood, which it pretty much is because Mindy herself called it "investing" (strategic move indeed). She also writes that by being a big shot she is shaking up the image that people have of big spenders (usually older white male). I liked how she ended this essay with a moral: it's about giving freely and not expecting anything in return. I didn’t like much the “bonus material” at the end of the essay about a day in the life of Mindy Kaling.
As always, Mindy's directness and humor shines through the anecdotes.
"I would rather be lonely than be friends with non-friends. Losing friends is hard, but losing fake friends, as it turns out, is pretty damn easy."
Shi'tare
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