I craft features, TV and shorts; women-centric comedies with depth. Let's connect and create uniquely HUMAN things together.
Author: Mara Sullivan
The Algorithm vs. the ancestor
So I saw Sinners. Then I saw it again. Next I’m gonna see it in IMAX. I’m constantly talking about it and watching YouTube videos of director Ryan Coogler discussing it. I can’t get it out of my mind, ya’ll. …
Raw Truth vs. Cooked Drama
I’ve been watching “Happy Face” on Paramount Plus and it got me thinking about the dilemma: when telling a true story, do you go documentary or scripted feature? The series brilliantly adapts the disturbing true story of the Happy Face …
Crazy Stupid Titles
Ever fallen in love with a movie that you would have seen YEARS earlier if the title had been less…misleading? That’s how I feel about “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” This 2011 gem written by Dan Fogelman and starring Steve Carell, Ryan …
Body Neutrality: How to Authentically Love Your Body
Is feeling good better than looking good? To be clear, I personally would love both. But only one can be my absolute priority, and focusing on how I feel is better for my mental health. Do you remember the show …
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Don’t Beat Up Your Friends
You may have noticed there is a lot of intensity, even aggression, on social media lately. Between the pandemic and the urgent demand for racial justice that has erupted since the murder of George Floyd, the ground is shifting beneath …
White Privileged Like Me
It took the murder of George Floyd to wake me up. I’ve been called a “bleeding heart liberal” throughout my life. I debated for gun control in elementary school, I make donations to help animals, I canvass for Democrats, I …
Blood and Mother’s Milk: Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ as Sweet Song of Sorrowful Loss
In honor of Toni Morrison’s passing, I am reposting an essay I wrote for a class about her Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Beloved. I’ll never be the same after reading it. My intention here was to connect themes of attachment …
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Don’t Give Up Hope: Using Acceptance & Enthusiasm to Heal Our Troubled World
I’m sure people from every generation have felt this way, but I’m worried. From my perspective, the state of the world is troubled. It feels worse to me than any other point I can remember. Even setting aside the menace …
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The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Could Save Lives
Rebecca Bunch, the endearingly narcissistic protagonist of the CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, is a singing/dancing, self-sabotaging feminist hero. But did you know that in addition to provoking laughter, entertainment and intellectual stimulation, the writers of this show are also providing …
Dear Lin…
Stunned by your virtuosity and humanity, Alexander Hamilton’s genius, the music, the lyrics, the actors’ brilliance, the game-changing style and casting, the zeal with which my fellow citizens love the show…all of this SHOT open new pathways of joy in …
Maurvelous Life Creative 