Author Helen Fielding has revealed that Bridget Jones has become popular with a new audience, Gen Z. With more significant issues than women experienced 30 years ago, younger people today are finding comfort in Bridget’s trials and tribulations.
Fielding spoke at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, where she stated that it’s good there is a new audience for Bridget. She added that she is happy when younger readers approach her with their books because it is comforting to them to laugh at their own problems.
Bridget Jones became famous in the 1990s and became a best-seller in 1996, spawning three more books and three movie adaptations, with a fourth film releasing next year. Some argue that the flawed and floundering heroine, who is fixated with her weight and relationship status, is not the best role model.
Fielding, who is 66 years old, noted that there are similarities between her lead character and some of the friends of her 18-year-old daughter. She explained that they are the first generation that experienced the world falling apart due to the pandemic, making them quite fragile, and they’re open about their emotions, as seen in TikTok videos.
The question that Fielding poses is why people identify with Bridget and her struggles. Overall, she thinks that it is not that Bridget is influencing the people but that people respond to an emotional truth in the character.
Bridget’s calorie counting stemmed from the food diaries Fielding wrote while at university, but now, the character wouldn’t be possible since all the men in the office would be sacked as per the current office culture. However, harassment is still there, and many don’t talk about it
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