Cristofle

I bet she was nervous. Obviously The OC fanbase has not always been kind to her. It seems like she enjoyed herself and fans enjoyed meeting her, which is good.

stlavin95

Yes it is

Junk_Yard_Slut

Yes, it was really wonderful to see the positive response to her and I hope she enjoyed how fondly she is remembered - and missed - by the OC fans. Marissa easily makes up of the discussions on forums / reddit about the show.

Cristofle

Marissa probably remains among the most memorable and iconic parts of The OC. Her scenes are always talked about.

stlavin95

She certainly does

Junk_Yard_Slut

I think all of the show's most memorable scenes really involve her? Otherwise I can only think of the Spiderman kiss and nothing else, lol.

Cristofle

Yeah, tbh, Spider-Man kiss is what else is springing to mind. I think fans certainly remember the Ryan/Seth dynamic fondly as a good part of the show, but particular scenes? Eh. When they met, I guess? LOL.

stlavin95

Pretty much all I can think of

Heda_Khaleesi

this

Cristofle

I swear the pool scene is more iconic than anything Ryan ever did soio, lol.

stlavin95

It kinda is, lol

KrisR1

Mischa's Harper's Bazaar essay was horrific to read, and it has to be the bravest piece of writing that I have ever read. Very few people like Mischa, and myself, who were bullied long-term and suffered painful, and lasting damage to our self-esteem, have ever explained how it feels and what it does to you long-term, like she has in this article. It is a very important piece of writing.

Her comments about how she was sexualised from her days as a child actress are also very revealing.

Her sexualisation as a child actress began with Pups (1999), where her character, Rocky, spends the entire film in a miniskirt, vest-top and knee boots, making her look older than her years at that point in her life. At one point near the beginning of the film, there is even a brief shot where the camera almost gets an up-skirt view of her. It was probably accidental, as it forms part of a longer shot where the 2 child characters lie down side-by-side on a suburban street. Seeing it now, after Mischa's essay, it is very creepy that it is even in the finished film. Really, it should have re-shot from a different angle.

But the real turning point, where her on-screen sexualisation became much more obvious, was the Disney Channel Original Movie A Ring of Endless Light (2002). Throughout this film, made when she was 16, only a year before she was cast in The OC, Mischa's character, Vicki Austin, is seen in a succession of sleeveless tops, shorts, tank tops (one of which is backless), bra tops and crop tops. Her slender, often bare-limbed figure is clearly on view in these, and she is written as a prospective love interest for 2 male characters (one of whom is an ex-boyfriend from a previous holiday). It is almost like watching an early version of Marissa Cooper, a year before Mischa was seen in that role.

Given how young she was, and the fact that she was probably less-experienced in real life than she was being asked to portray on screen, the appropriateness of such a decision, which was likely made by the Production Designer, Costume Department or Director (or even the Director, Producer(s), and the Casting Agent, if Mischa's appearance was a factor in her being offered the part, a possibility which in itself is creepy) to try and use Mischa's physique as an asset in the film, now has to be seriously questioned. Was she OK with appearing like that in a film at that age, and also, were her family OK with it?

Fastlane, where she guested as the rebellious Simone Collins, took it even further. In this, she is seen scantily clad, making a pass at a mature man, played by Peter Facinelli. Her costuming in this also takes full advantage of her slender appearance, portraying her as a spoilt, rebellious, sexually provocative teenager, which from what she says, was not what she was during The OC, which she joined soon after Fastlane.

Her wardrobe in The OC, in which she is heavily sexualised right from her first appearance as Marissa, clearly builds on that from those 2 previous roles. Revealing outfits, which take full advantage of her slender, then Size-0 figure, dominate her character's fashion choices. As McG wanted her for Marissa due to seeing her in Fastlane, which he also produced, her physical appearance must have been a key reason why. So he cast a 17 year-old girl in a lead role in a major primetime TV show, to play a character whose sexual attractiveness was a key element in her impact on other characters, especially her on-screen love interest, who was to be played by an adult male 8 years her senior......... Yet, from what she has now said, she was not comfortable with this, (Ben Mackenzie seemingly wasn't either, from things that he has said since), but had no option but to do it.

Now, I think, Sean McGinty (McG), has to take some of the blame for what happened to Mischa while she was on The OC, as he was responsible for her being there in the first place.

That such decisions are actually being made when casting young actresses in such roles as these, especially if they are still minors, is very queasy, and could be called exploitation. Where is the boundary where that line is crossed? The impact of such decision-making on the future health and wellbeing of young actresses, like Mischa was 20 years ago, does not seem to be important to these people, who are likely to be male, at least in the majority.

Something has to change, and permanently.

Cristofle

Mischa grew up in what felt like two months - it really is around A Ring of Endless Light/Fastlane time (She is a love interest in Once and Again, but thankfully they didn't overly sexualize her). And as soon as it happened, the exploitation started getting extra gross. Although Pups was...a lot.

I want Mischa - if she ever feels comfortable - to name names and spill the tea on whoever pressured her to lose her virginity and sexually exploited her. That man does not deserve to remain anonymous.

stlavin95

Hopefully she feels comfortable enough to share it one day, if she wants too of course.

Junk_Yard_Slut

I was listening to a podcast with Penn Badgley, and he started off as a child actor also. He talks about his experience growing up in the industry and as a teenager going for auditions, having strangers critique every part of you (and often to your face). It sounds like a soul-crushing experience and one no child should have to be subjected to ever, let alone regularly. He states that a child can't really understand what they are getting themselves into when joining the industry and that it really isn't in their best interests. He touches on parental exploitation as well and I often think of Mischa when he speaks about his experiences.

I often wonder how Mischa's mom felt letting her take these roles and what other factors were at play there. Particularly in her essay where she talks about doing press for Lawn Dogs and at that age realising the more mature nature of the film.

ETA: And absolutely agree that she should name names. It sounds like that predator was on set of the show and I wonder if anyone intervened to try and protect Mischa.