Susan Skoog (1965- ), American filmmaker, is best known for her
low-budget but highly acclaimed debut film Whatever (1998). Asked why
she felt the desire to make the film, Skoog explained to IndieWIRE: "I
felt like I hadn’t seen in film what I saw when I was a teenager.
And especially from a female perspective. I felt like there hadn’t
been a film that really nailed what it was like to be a suburban girl
growing up in this country." Skoog has expressed repeatedly that the
female experience/perspective, particularly that of girls, has
historically been underrepresented in the film industry (e.g., "Boys
tend to blame their circumstances and the world outside them, whereas
girls tend to blame themselves and quit. Girls quit much quicker and
easier, and I think that hadn’t been dealt with in film yet."), but
she believes that is changing by way of a "natural progression" toward
sex equality.Skoog was raised in the town of Red Bank, New Jersey,
and graduated from NYU in 1987 with a degree in theatre and film. She
has cited Mike Leigh and Eric Rohmer as influences on her work.
low-budget but highly acclaimed debut film Whatever (1998). Asked why
she felt the desire to make the film, Skoog explained to IndieWIRE: "I
felt like I hadn’t seen in film what I saw when I was a teenager.
And especially from a female perspective. I felt like there hadn’t
been a film that really nailed what it was like to be a suburban girl
growing up in this country." Skoog has expressed repeatedly that the
female experience/perspective, particularly that of girls, has
historically been underrepresented in the film industry (e.g., "Boys
tend to blame their circumstances and the world outside them, whereas
girls tend to blame themselves and quit. Girls quit much quicker and
easier, and I think that hadn’t been dealt with in film yet."), but
she believes that is changing by way of a "natural progression" toward
sex equality.Skoog was raised in the town of Red Bank, New Jersey,
and graduated from NYU in 1987 with a degree in theatre and film. She
has cited Mike Leigh and Eric Rohmer as influences on her work.
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