Fannie Flagg Influence

Patricia Neal, an up-and-coming actress, once faced a dilemma. There was already a well-known actress named Patricia Neal in Hollywood. Patricia ultimately chose the eccentric “Fannie Flagg”, which greatly reflects her jocular personality and novels. She works include Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, I Still Dream about You, and The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion. Flagg’s background in theater, progressive stances on political issues, and tragic childhood greatly impacted her to create her kind-hearted, important novels. A large portion of Fannie Flagg’s life before writing was spent on stage; she was an actress, comedian, and producer (Contemporary). She got her start at a young age by volunteering to work a spotlight in a local show (Blog). Flagg spent many years acting in movies, television, and Broadway (Contemporary). Bystanders may have believed she had an affinity for theater, but this was not the case. Surprisingly Flagg stated in an interview that she “was never comfortable being an actress or being in the spotlight” and dreamed of being a writer (Blog). Although she

She is an ardent feminist and racial equalist, and is in support of legislation such as the Equal Rights Amendment (Novels). Feminism is a topic that Flagg incorporates into many of her novels including her best-seller, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, where the entire story is predominantly surrounds females. For example, there are two sets of female-female relationships in the novel (Media Difference). More importantly, one of these relationships, between Ruth and Idgie, although not directly stated in the book, is romantic (Media Difference). In a time where same sex relationships were not widely accepted (the book is set in the 1920s), this is quite progressive. Feminism is a major theme throughout Flagg’s works; however, friendship is also a dominant