For me, Fisher was one of the early female stars to begin speaking smartly and frankly about her own life. Rather than self-absorbed, this seemed to be part of

For me, Fisher was one of the early female stars to begin speaking smartly and frankly about her own life. Rather than self-absorbed, this seemed to be part of her relating to other people and to her/our contemporary world. There's a relatively small subset of stars I consider -- in some semi-unconscious and not thoroughly deliberated fashion, on my part -- to be central to the shift by at least a certain portion or segment of Hollywood et al. towards a more honest and open -- and interesting -- self-perspective and communication. Like Craig Ferguson with his "Late Late Show", speaking to his own addiction and flying his crazy flag. Hollywood's still Hollywood, and its elite still have their privilege. But some of them have started talking in public like real people, and using their celebrity to put the light on real concerns -- concerns they themselves share, rather than some "charity effort" or preachiness from on high -- nor self-absorbed whining. Maybe. Anyway, I always found this part of Fisher -- when I happened to catch a bit of it -- at least as interesting as what she did at 19 and into her early 20's.