Stunt Double.

The Certified Writer’s Files #14

Some guy from a Teen show on Netflix was using his stunt double on a lot of his scenes with his “romantic partner”… I’ve seen people alleging that he was using his stunt double for scenes that required too much emotion, or scenes that he really didn’t want to do and:

1. That’s weird because… he’s an actor

2. I wonder why exactly wouldn’t he do the scenes…?

But that’s not my point.

I wanted to bring this *crucial* piece of information (irony) to you guys because it made me go on a little spiral, and as the mother of emotionally confused women who have a blog/newsletter, Carrie Bradshaw (!!!!!!) would say…

It made me wonder:

What would I do if I had a stunt double for a day? If I had another Amanda, who looked exactly like me, who literally lives my life and was prepared to take risks for me… What would I tell her to do? Here’s what I eventually came up with:

Amanda’s Stunt Double Chores: Take #1

I’d tell her to go to the beach and not feel self conscious about her own body and not feel scared of people’s judgement

I’d tell her to finally ask that boy’s number at the karaoke bar she always goes to

I’d tell her to say FUCK YOU to some people

I’d tell her to go find a better part time job

I’d tell her to go get a new picture frame to put a picture of Bob in (tiny yorkshire, 12 years old, loves his blanket, hates most humans, hates Rocky- his golden retriever enemy)

I’d tell her to dye her hair blonde again

I’d make her get that one tattoo

I’d make her tell more single moms at the subway that they’re doing a good job

I’d make her call her dad more often, instead of crying while watching ‘Aftersun’ a million times

I’d make her sing the ‘Wicked’ soundtrack louder at the karaoke bar (karaoke bar mentioned x2)

I’d make her wear that one pair of low rise jeans that is currently hidden on her closet

I’d make her go to the movie theater alone

I’d make her finally book that NYC trip

I’d make her take those free trial spin class

I’d make her take all free trial classes for a bunch of shit

And…CUT.

And as I was typing this, I realized that I was just.. making my stunt double live. Like, actually live. These things I listed weren’t bungee jumping, or getting out of a moving car. This is my life. Or would be my life, if only I had a little bit of courage.

I think that, as a Gen Zer, I get more fulfillment from seeing people on the internet actually doing the things I always wanted to do than I get from doing them myself.

As an example, to buy the new Coca Cola that tastes like AI or something, I’d have to see someone trying it first in order to decide on whether I should or shouldn’t. I currently miss most of my days working to pay rent. I miss most of my days deciding on which side job to pick. I miss most of my days missing my mom.

Things are harder for us. People are walking dichotomies, they have to pick one side in order to belong to something. And it’s always the dumbest shit that they choose to defend like it’s their honor. Are you Stanley cup or are you Owala? Blue or Red? Guns or.. Reproductive rights…?

How much do you pay for rent in Chicago? Are you on sorority tok? What the fuck is a bluesky? (stole that from my friend Sudana).

And as much as Adventure time, or the fucking news (the real news) tried to tell me before, I’d never, ever believe that we were about to be living in such an utopian world as we do right now.

I believe now.

If I asked the average American teenager which flavors are the Crumbl Cookies of the week, they’d tell me right away. Ask them about the conflicts happening in Gaza. Ask them about the ways in which the result of the recent election will affect them in the future. Ask them to point any other country on a map.

My conclusion from my tiny list was that Influencers are our stunt doubles, and we live through them. They may not necessarily look like us, although they all basically look the same, but they’re doing everything we want to do. They’re living the life we all want to live. And we eat it up, every time.

We want to consume things that deviate us from thinking almost 24/7. Because if we start reflecting on our own lives, we’ll see that most of it was spent trying to make a living out of unstable jobs, trying to have relationships with unstable people, trying to manage an overall unstable life.

I end up feeling more and more like the one Teen actor who refuses to do scenes that require an emotional weight. Leave the thrill of life to my stunt doubles, thousands of them, all on the internet. That’s why I honestly laugh when I see teenagers on Substack mirroring me, or mirroring the way I do things.

We’re all holding mirrors to each other, no one wants to look at their own lives and say “That’s the way I am and the way I do things. I lace my shoes differently. I apply lipstick differently. This is me. I don’t wish to be anyone else at the moment.” Of course no one wants to do that.

Everyone wants to be Alix Earle wearing Hervé Léger at the cfda. Well, duh.

Everyone wants to leave things for the stunt doubles. Myself included.

I feel like most people are aware of how excruciatingly painful being authentic to yourself is. How you’d have to be aware of the consequences that would inevitably occur when you look in the mirror and see no one but yourself. People look at you differently. Some food will taste differently - it was only good because someone on TikTok said “YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS NEW-“.

So, I’d have to say that I was pretty shocked with myself after seeing that most of the things I would make my stunt double do are actually things that I can do myself. Not could do it, I can do them. And they’re things that would make me feel more connected to my core, to my true self. This is who I am.

That’s why I’m so happy that one old lady at the ATM who dyes her hair green. That’s why I’m so happy when I see people celebrating Substack milestones with cupcakes, it doesn’t have to be thousands, it just has to make them happy. That’s beautiful to me. That’s what being true to yourself is.

People who are currently living their lives without their stunt doubles are the ones I admire the most. They’re proud of who they are, they’re proud of their culture, they’re proud of how beautiful their hair looks naturally. They tie their shoes differently. They’re feeling alive in a utopian world, full of brain rotted people.

I’ll end this by saying that I just signed up for that free trial spin class. I’ll tell you all about it later, don’t worry.

Stay safe and stay true to yourself. You’re doing yourself a huge favor.

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Here’s my Buy Me A Coffee (If you liked this piece and you want to support me in some way) and some resources for you to check it out (especially for reproductive rights).

- REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

https://aidaccess.org/

https://plancpills.org/

https://ineedana.com/

https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/

https://heyjane.com/

- LGBTQ+ RESOURCES

https://translifeline.org/

https://glaad.org/

https://pflag.org/

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

- CREDIBLE AND SAFE WAYS TO SUPPORT PALESTINE:

https://www.pcrf.net/ - Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund

https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/helping-gazas-children-cope-trauma - UNICEF

https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/secure/give-monthly-double-your-impact-search-onetime-reverse-mobile?ms=ADD2301U3U49&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BRAND.DWB_CKMSF-BRAND.DWB-GS-GS-ALL-DWBBrand.E-BO-ALL-RSA-RSARefresh.1-MONTHLY&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6PGxBhCVARIsAIumnWZpQAMikxPIRiPMfAjYsJZ-eHiRQV2pw7tu2Jlo6YL8Gk_uaTSwH0MaAtFGEALw_wc - Doctors Without Borders

https://wck.org/ - World Central Kitchen

https://www.who.int/ - World Health Organization

https://www.headcount.org/ - Headcount

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Plus, I just read this piece by

ayan artan

that I absolutely loved. You should check it out.

BTS, and other victims of the english language.