title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: Siddiqui's son Ahmed was released from Afghanistan to his aunt in Pakistan following enormous outcry from the Pakistani public and politicians. While Pakistani law would normally give his father custody, his father did not want to fight the passionate public opinion supporting his aunt Fowzia. He now lives with his aunt in Karachi, who has prohibited him from talking to the press. In April 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed a 12-year-old girl found outside a house in Karachi was identified by DNA as Siddiqui's daughter, Mariyam, and that she had been returned to her family. Their father and his parents have not been allowed to see either child.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: For al-Qaeda and Pakistani jihadi groups, Siddiqui's case became a "rallying cry" and they joined in accusing the Pakistani government and military of failing to protect and avenge her.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: According to a video released by Hakimullah Mehsud, head of the TTP (Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan) at the time, the 2009 Camp Chapman attack in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA officers was partly in revenge for Aafia's imprisonment. The 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt occurred one day after Mehsud released another video promising to avenge Siddiqui. The perpetrator of the attempt was Faisal Shahzad, a recently naturalized Pakistan-born citizen who had contacts with Jaish-e-Muhammad and Hakimullah Mehsud.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: According to a February 2010 report in the Pakistani newspaper "The News International", the Taliban threatened to execute US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, whom they had captured on 30 June 2009 in retaliation for Siddiqui's conviction. A Taliban spokesperson claimed that members of Siddiqui's family had requested help from the Taliban to obtain her release from prison in the US. Bergdahl was released on 31 May 2014 in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay detainees.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In September 2010, the Taliban kidnapped Linda Norgrove, a Scottish aid worker in Afghanistan, and Taliban commanders insisted Norgrove would be handed over only in exchange for Siddiqui.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: On 8 October 2010, Norgrove was accidentally killed during a rescue attempt by a grenade thrown by one of her rescuers.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In July 2011, then-deputy of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Waliur Rehman, announced that they wanted to swap Siddiqui for two Swiss citizens abducted in Balochistan. The Swiss couple escaped in March 2012.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In December 2011, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri demanded the release of Siddiqui in exchange for Warren Weinstein, an American aid worker kidnapped in Pakistan on 13 August 2011. Weinstein was accidentally killed in a drone strike in January 2015.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In January 2013, al-Qaeda-linked terrorists involved in the Algerian In Amenas hostage crisis listed the release of Siddiqui as one of their demands.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In June 2013, the captors of two Czech women kidnapped in Pakistan demanded the release of Siddiqui in exchange for the two captives. Both Czech women were released in March 2015, following intense negotiations by a Turkish NGO IHH.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In August 2014, it was reported that the terrorist who claimed responsibility for the beheading of U.S. photojournalist James Foley mentioned Siddiqui in an email to Foley's family. Siddiqui was identified in the email as one of the Muslim "sisters" the Islamic State was purportedly willing to swap as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In February 2015, Paul Gosar said the family of Kayla Mueller had been told plans to swap her for Siddiqui were underway in the months before her death. ISIS had also demanded $6.6 million in exchange for Mueller.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In March 2017, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader Qasim al-Raymi said that his group demanded the release of Siddiqui in exchange for Luke Somers, an American journalist kidnapped in Yemen in September 2013. Somers was killed during a rescue attempt in December 2014.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In January 2022, a man claiming to be Siddiqui's brother took hostages at the Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, near where she is imprisoned, and demanded her release. He was later shot and killed by police, and the hostages were rescued.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: After Siddiqui's conviction, she sent a message through her lawyer, saying that she does not want "violent protests or violent reprisals in Pakistan over this verdict." Thousands of students, political and social activists protested in Pakistan. Some shouted anti-American slogans, while burning the American flag and effigies of President Barack Obama in the streets. Her sister has spoken frequently and passionately on her behalf at rallies. Echoing her family's comments and anti-US sentiment, many believe she was detained in Karachi in 2003, held at the US Bagram Airbase and tortured, and that the charges against her were fabricated.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In August 2009, Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani met with Siddiqui's sister at his residence and assured her that Pakistan would seek Siddiqui's release from the US. The Pakistani government paid $2 million for the services of three lawyers to assist in the defense of Siddiqui during her trial. Many Siddiqui supporters were present during the proceedings, and outside the court dozens of people rallied to demand her release.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: Her conviction was followed with expressions of support by many Pakistanis, who appeared increasingly anti-American, as well as by politicians and the news media, who characterised her as a symbol of victimisation by the United States. Graffiti "Free Dr. Aafia" appeared "even in remote areas" of the country.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: The Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C., expressed its dismay over the verdict, which followed "intense diplomatic and legal efforts on her behalf. [We] will consult the family of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and the team of defence lawyers to determine the future course of action." Prime Minister Gilani described Siddiqui as a "daughter of the nation," and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif promised to push for her release. On 18 February, President Asif Ali Zardari requested of Richard Holbrooke, US Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, that the US consider repatriating Siddiqui to Pakistan under the Pakistan-US Prisoner Exchange Agreement. On 22 February, the Pakistani Senate urged the government to work towards her immediate release. Shireen Mazari, editor of the Pakistani newspaper "The Nation", wrote that the verdict "did not really surprise anyone familiar with the vindictive mindset of the U.S. public post-9/11".


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: In September 2010, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik sent a letter to the United States Attorney General calling for repatriation of Siddiqui to Pakistan. He said that the case of Siddiqui had become a matter of public concern in Pakistan and her repatriation would create goodwill for the US.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: A few Pakistanis questioned the outpouring of support. Her ex-husband said Siddiqui was "reaping the fruit of her own decision. Her family has been portraying Aafia as a victim. We would like the truth to come out." Shakil Chaudhry lamented the "mass hysteria" of supporters. But when one columnist (Mubashir Lucman) raised questions about Asfia's sister Fowzia's account, graffiti "appeared all over Karachi insulting" him.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: US observers noted the Pakistani reaction. Jessica Eve Stern, a terrorism specialist and lecturer at Harvard Law School, observed: "Whatever the truth is, this case is of great political importance because of how people [in Pakistan] view her." "Foreign Policy" reported that unsubstantiated rumours, widely repeated in the Pakistani press, that she had been sexually abused by her captors had "become part of the legend that surrounds her, so much so that they are repeated as established facts by her supporters, who have helped build her iconic status" as a folk hero.


title: Aafia Siddiqui

text: Journalist Scroggins complained about the lack of curiosity and investigation by Pakistani public and press of a number of questions about the case—how Siddiqui's daughter Maryam turned up at her grandmother's house and where she had been, what connection the "Karachi Institute of Technology", and the cleric Abu Lubaba had had with Aafia. She noted that while thousands of Pakistanis had been killed by bomb and assassinations in tribal areas, in contrast to the rage against the US, no rallies were held in protest of jihadi attacks (Scroggins argued) because Pakistanis were fearful of them.


title: Draft Day

text: Draft Day is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The premise revolves around the fictional general manager of the Cleveland Browns (Costner) deciding what to do after his team acquires the number one draft pick in the upcoming National Football League draft.


title: Draft Day

text: The film premiered in Los Angeles on April 7, 2014 and was released in the United States on April 11, 2014. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure grossing only $29 million against its $25 million budget. The film was Reitman's final directorial effort before his death in 2022.


title: Draft Day

text: On the morning of the 2014 NFL Draft, Cleveland Browns general manager Sonny Weaver Jr. must decide how to use the seventh overall pick to improve the team, but he has other problems on his mind. His semi-secret girlfriend Ali Parker, the team's salary cap analyst, is pregnant, and the recent death of Sonny's father causes tension with his mother. Sonny had fired his father, a legendary coach for the Browns which he later admits was for his mother's sake because his father refused to retire even with failing health.


title: Draft Day

text: The Seattle Seahawks hold the first overall draft pick, and general manager Tom Michaels offers to trade it to Sonny; this would allow the Browns to draft highly-rated Wisconsin quarterback prospect Bo Callahan. Sonny initially declines, but under orders from team owner Anthony Molina to "make a splash," reluctantly makes the deal, trading away the Browns' first-round draft picks for the current season plus the next two years. The unexpected opportunity to obtain Callahan excites Browns fans, but splits the team's front office and players.


title: Draft Day

text: The trade goes public after a tweet by Ohio State linebacker Vontae Mack, who had been Sonny's original choice as first pick. Vontae tells Sonny to re-watch college footage of him and Callahan playing against each other, with Mack coming out on top. Sonny begins to have doubts about Callahan's ability under pressure, and the Browns' investigations also bring Callahan's character into question.


title: Draft Day

text: When the draft begins that evening, Sonny agonises over the choice before drafting Vontae Mack at number one. Roger Goodell's announcement of the selection shocks the rest of the league, and disrupts many of their plans for their own picks. Molina is irate and flies back to Cleveland, intent on firing Sonny. Head coach Vince Penn is also incensed and threatens to resign.


title: Draft Day

text: Rumors spread about Callahan as other teams avoid selecting him. However, the Seahawks are still in contention to pick Callahan with the seventh pick, and Sonny senses an opportunity. He convinces the rookie general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars to trade him their pick at six in exchange for the Browns' second-round draft picks for that season plus the next two years. Sonny then calls Michaels; in return for passing on Callahan, Sonny demands his first-round picks back, along with punt returner David Putney. After fraught negotiations, the Seahawks seal the deal and choose Callahan at sixth pick. With his now-restored seventh pick, Sonny appeases Penn and Molina by selecting skilled running back Ray Jennings of Florida State, himself the son of a former Browns player.


title: Draft Day

text: Molina and his team celebrate an outstanding draft for the Browns. After the draft party, Sonny reconciles with his mother over his excellent draft performance and her soon-to-be first grandchild.


title: Draft Day

text: When the idea was first made public, the film was to be centered on the Buffalo Bills, but the studio subsequently changed it to the Cleveland Browns because of cheaper production costs in Ohio.


title: Draft Day

text: Crowd reactions of fans at the actual 2013 NFL Draft, as well as Cleveland Browns fans at local bars, were filmed. Cameos with real-life NFL figures such as league commissioner Roger Goodell and ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman were filmed before and after the draft took place. The rest of the film began filming on May 8, 2013.


title: Draft Day

text: As in the film, the Cleveland Browns made splashes at the draft, trading up to select quarterback Johnny Manziel with the 22nd pick. The team also made several deals, trading away their fourth pick to the Buffalo Bills but for their ninth pick, as well as their 2015 first round pick. They later traded up to the eighth pick to draft Justin Gilbert. Finally, after watching Manziel drop farther than projected, they again traded up for the 22nd pick. Chris Berman, who played himself in the fictionalized draft, commented at the 2014 NFL Draft that the events surrounding the Cleveland Browns were more exciting than the film. Unlike the film, the Browns selected the much-hyped Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, as opposed to passing on Bo Callahan, the fictionalized first pick favorite.


title: Draft Day

text: The film grossed $28.8 million in North America with an additional $604,801 overseas for a worldwide total of $29.5 million, against a budget of $25 million.


title: Draft Day

text: The film grossed $9.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing in fourth place at the box office behind "", "Rio 2", and "Oculus" (the latter two also being new releases).


title: Draft Day

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 60% based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's perfectly pleasant for sports buffs and Costner fans, but overall, "Draft Day" lives down to its title by relying too heavily on the sort of by-the-numbers storytelling that only a statistician could love." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 54 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Draft Day

text: "Chicago Sun-Times" critic Richard Roeper gave the film a "B", stating the film is "a sentimental, predictable, sometimes implausible but thoroughly entertaining, old-fashioned piece."


title: Draft Day

text: On the contrary, Jack Hamilton of "Slate" was harshly critical. "The 'filmmaking' here consists of making sure the camera is pointed at people who are explaining the film's plot to one another, preferably while they are wearing logos and standing in front of more logos," he wrote. He suggested the NFL's involvement had made the film too upbeat. "[It] isn't so much a movie as a movielike infomercial for the kinder, gentler NFL ... In the wake of labor strife, off-field scandals, and the ongoing CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) crisis, the NFL is doubling down on its fantasy of paternalism, and "Draft Day" is that fantasy's porn film."


title: Draft Day

text: Former Green Bay Packers vice president Andrew Brandt criticized "Draft Day" as "lacking any true depiction of how an NFL team operates leading up to and during the draft", and less realistic about the business of sports than "Jerry Maguire" and "Moneyball".


title: Draft Day

text: The screenplay was the number one script on the 2012 Black List survey of unproduced screenplays and WhatCulture listed it as the 10th best script of the 2010s. It was argued that the script "follows one of the central tenets of screenwriting which is, 'thou shalt make things as hard as possible for your protagonist'". However, it was also stated that "[some] of this high-octane drama was lost in the screen translation, which is a shame, since the script is as good as it gets."


title: Tres leches cake

text: A tres leches cake (; , or ), also known as pan tres leches (), is a sponge cake—soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk.


title: Tres leches cake

text: "Tres leches" is a very light cake, with many air bubbles. This distinct texture is why it does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three types of milk.


title: Tres leches cake

text: Tres leches cake is a uniquely traditional Latin American cake. It can be found all across Latin America, especially so in Central American countries such as Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Nicaragua, which all claim an origin to the cake.


title: Tres leches cake

text: Recipes for soaked-cake desserts were seen in Latin America as early as the 19th century, in countries like El Salvador, likely a result of the large cross-cultural transfer which took place between Europe and the Americas. Nicaragua is one of the countries where tres leches cake has become popular. Recipes appeared on Nestlé condensed milk can labels in the 1940s, which may explain the cake's widely disseminated popularity throughout Latin America as the company had created subsidiaries in Argentina, Chile, Panama, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela in the 1930s. The cake is popular in Central and South America, North America, and many parts of the Caribbean, Canary Islands, as well as in Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia, and some other parts of Europe.


title: Tres leches cake

text: In the US, the cake first became popular in the 1980s beginning in Miami due to Latin American immigration. The popularity then spread across the US, possibly from Los Ranchos restaurant in Miami, which featured it on its menu when it opened in 1981. The cake was so popular from Los Ranchos, that it was featured its recipe on fliers, which were pervasively distributed. Cookbook "The Joy of Cooking" included a recipe for tres leches in the 1997 edition.


title: Tres leches cake

text: A variety of "tres leches" known as "trileçe" became popular in the Balkans and Turkey around 2015. One theory is that the popularity of Brazilian soap operas in Albania led local chefs to reverse-engineer the dessert, which then spread to Turkey. The Albanian version is sometimes made literally with three milks: cow's, goat's and water buffalo's, though more commonly a mixture of cow's milk and cream is used.


title: MP 18

text: The MP 18, manufactured by Theodor Bergmann "Abteilung Waffenbau", was arguably the first submachine gun used in combat. It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the primary weapon of the "Sturmtruppen", assault groups specialized in trench combat. Although MP 18 production ended in the 1920s, its design formed the basis of most submachine guns manufactured between 1920 and 1960.


title: MP 18

text: What became known as the "submachine gun" had its genesis in the early 20th century and developed around the concepts of fire and movement and infiltration tactics, specifically for the task of clearing trenches of enemy soldiers, an environment within which engagements were unlikely to occur beyond a range of a few feet.


title: MP 18

text: In 1915, the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench warfare. An attempt to modify existing semi-automatic pistols (specifically the Luger and C96 Mauser) failed, as accurate aimed fire in full automatic mode was impossible due to their light weights and high rates of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute. The commission determined that a completely new kind of weapon was needed. Hugo Schmeisser, working for the "Bergmann Waffenfabrik", was part of a team composed of Theodor Bergmann and a few other technicians. They designed a new type of weapon to fulfill the requirements, which was designated the "Maschinenpistole" 18/I. It is not clear whether the "I" stands for the number "1" or the letter "I", although its successor (the MP28) was designated the "Maschinenpistole" 28/II (suggesting the former).


title: MP 18

text: Full-scale production began in early 1918. Though technically not the world's first submachine gun, being beaten by the double-barreled Italian Villar Perosa of 1915, in modern usage of the term the MP 18 is considered the world's first submachine gun, since the Villar Perosa had been designed to be used as a light machine gun on aircraft before it was adapted to infantry use as a single-barreled shoulder-fired weapon (the Beretta SMG) in late 1918.


title: MP 18

text: The MP 18 served in the final stages of World War I in 1918, especially in the "Kaiserschlacht" offensive. More than 25,000 were produced, until the Treaty of Versailles banned production of military SMGs in 1920.


title: MP 18

text: The MP 18 proved to be an excellent weapon. Its concept was well-proven in trench fighting. The basic design directly influenced later submachine gun designs and showed its superiority over the regular infantry rifle in urban, mobile, and guerrilla warfare. The MP 18 served with German police and paramilitary forces after the end of the war. It was widely used in combat by the "Freikorps Von Epp" against the Spartacus League in Bavaria and by other "Freikorps" in Berlin, where its efficiency in urban combat was demonstrated.


title: MP 18

text: During the failed 1924 coup in Estonia the MP18 was used to defend the Tallin barracks from Communist militants; some of which were armed with Thompson submachineguns. This was possibly the first engagement where submachineguns were used on both sides.


title: MP 18

text: All the limited conflicts between 1920 and 1940 saw an increasing use of this new class of weapons, first in South America during the Chaco War, then in Europe during the Spanish Civil War, and in China during the Warlord Era and the Japanese invasion, where its use by well-trained Chinese troops was costly for the invaders as in the Battle of Shanghai. It was also used during World War II by various partisans and resistance forces.


title: MP 18

text: Since the treaty allowed the Weimar Republic to keep a small quantity of submachine guns for police use, a few hundred MP 18.1s were modified to accept Schmeisser's original 20-round magazine design. This modification, conducted by Haenel Waffenfabrik, required removal of the existing magazine well collar, and replacement with a different one. These weapons were overstamped with the date "1920" on the receiver and magazine well to show they were legitimate weapons owned by the Weimar Republic and not war bringbacks or clandestine weapons.


title: MP 18

text: Bergmann sold the licence of the MP 18. 1 to SIG Switzerland; the Swiss made model was known as the SIG Bergmann 1920. It existed in .30 Luger and 7.63 mm Mauser. The Bergmann MP 18.1 represents a milestone both in terms of armament technology and warfare tactics. It opened the way for a whole new class of weapons and triggered the research for lighter automatic firearms to be used by mobile troops. Its first direct competitors did not see service in World War I, but most of them saw use in all the limited conflicts taking place in the inter-war period.


title: MP 18

text: The French, despite being moderately interested by this class of armament because they had designed and introduced in service many semi-automatic and automatic weapons, immediately launched studies based on captured MP 18s. The design of the STA 1922 was adopted and the "MAS 1924" or "9 mm STA Modèle 1924" entered service and was used in colonial conflicts in Morocco. Around 1,000 were produced and these rifles, as well as ex-German captured MP 18s, saw limited service during World War II.


title: MP 18

text: China produced many copies of the SIG Bergmann at various factories, including the arsenals at Tsing Tao, Dagu, and Hanyang. The production was decentralized, and each factory's version exhibited differences from one another; the guns produced at Tsing Tao and Dagu had a bottom-mounted magazine. Large numbers of the Tsing Tao submachine gun were made, and use by Chinese Republican troops from the mid-1920s to the 1940s.


title: MP 18

text: .During the 1920s Chicago gun dealer Vincent Daniels imported 7.65mm SIG Bergmann submachine guns and installed a two-position fire-selector behind the end cap of the receiver. This arrangement was somewhat similar to the later Lanchester submachine gun. The guns were sold under the name "Daniels Rapid-Fire Carbine" and were bought by members of the Northside Gang and the Chicago Outfit.


title: MP 18

text: The "MP 28" was produced by C. G. Haenel under the supervision of Schmeisser and was produced under license by Etablissements Pieper in Belgium. It was copied by the Second Spanish Republic under the codename "Naranjero". The "Naranjero" was chambered in 9mm Largo.


title: MP 18

text: The Austrian Steyr MP 34 was created by a team of technicians led by Louis Stange who designed a submachine gun for Rheinmetall in 1919 and used Bergmann's MG 15 to design the MG 30. The SIG Bergmann 1920 was used by Finland, Japan, and Estonia and was the inspiration for the Estonian Tallinn 1923, the Japanese Type 100 submachine gun and the Finnish Suomi model 31, which in turn inspired Degtyarev for his PPD 34.


title: MP 18

text: Emil Bergmann, Theodor Bergmann's son, designed the MP 32 that evolved into the MP 34 as adopted by Denmark before receiving the MP35 name when adopted by nascent "Wehrmacht" in 1935. This submachine gun is often mistaken for the "Mitraillette" 34, an MP 28 made in Belgium by Pieper Bayard, former Bergmann licensed manufacturer or with the MP34 made by Steyr. It is easy to identify the Bergmann MP 32/34/35 or its final version 35/1 since the cocking lever works exactly like a rifle bolt.


title: MP 18

text: In 1940, with a pressing need for individual automatic weapons, the British copied the MP 28 and developed the Lanchester submachine gun for the Royal Navy. Solidly built with the use of brass for the magazine well, and a bayonet mount, it entered service in 1940. The magazine and the bolt of the MP 28 could be used in the Lanchester. The British Sten used the side-mounted magazine configuration and a simplified version of the open-bolt firing operating system of the MP 28.


title: MP 18

text: The OVP 1918, an offspring of Revelli's Villar Perosa 1915, inspired Heinrich Vollmer for his telescopic bolt used in the VPM 1930, EMP, MP 38, MP 40 and MP 41. The MP 18 remained in limited service with the German armed forces during the Second World War, specifically with the "Sicherheitsdienst", later eastern foreign divisions of the Waffen SS and also with "Kriegsmarine" coastal artillery units.


title: MP 18

text: The Soviet Union made a similar use of MP 28 design in their PDD-34 sub machine gun in 1934. Further development of the PPD-34 led to the simplified PPD-40 and PPSh-41.


title: MP 18

text: The MP 18 was a heavy weapon, weighing over when fully loaded. The receiver tube was very thick (around 3 mm), compared with later World War II submachine guns with half that thickness or less, such as the Sten gun or MP 40.


title: MP 18

text: Though Schmeisser designed a conventional 20-round-capacity "box" magazine for the weapon, the testing commission, for practical reasons, insisted that the MP 18 be adapted to use the 32-round TM 08 Luger "snail" drum magazine that was widely used with the long-barreled version of the Luger pistol.


title: MP 18

text: Like many other open-bolt designs, the MP 18 was prone to accidental discharge. If the buttstock of a loaded gun was given a hard knock while the bolt was fully forward, the gun could accidentally fire because of the bolt overcoming the action spring resistance and moving rearward enough to pick up a round, chamber it and fire. Soldiers liked to leave the bolt of their firearm in this closed or forward position, so dirt and debris would not enter the barrel and chamber. This "bolt-closure" practice acted as a dust cover for the weapon's chamber, preventing a malfunction from occurring because of the presence of debris, but making accidental discharge more likely.


title: MP 18

text: The German police asked for external safeties on their MP 18s, and universal bolt-locking safeties were added on all the submachine guns used by the police. Later submachine gun designs like the Sten and the MP 40 were modified to allow the cocking handle to be pushed inwards to lock the closed bolt to the tubular receiver casing. This design change prevented accidental discharges when the bolt was left forward and a loaded magazine was inserted.


title: MP 18

text: The MP 18 submachine gun is a simple blowback operated weapon firing from the open bolt. The original MP 18.1 was designed to use the snail drum magazine of the Luger Artillery model pistol. This rotary design type of magazine holds 32 rounds of 9 mm Parabellum, the user having to load the magazine with a proprietary loading tool. A special sleeve was required when the snail drum was used on the MP 18 to stop the snail drum from being inserted too far in the magazine well.


title: MP 18

text: After 1920, the MP 18 was modified to use a straight magazine similar to those used in the later developed MP 40 submachine gun. The MP 18 could only fire in the fully automatic mode. Its successor, the MP 28/2, received a modified mechanism with a selector for single shot or fully automatic fire.


title: Monica Geller

text: Monica E. Geller is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appears on the American sitcom "Friends" (1994–2004). Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and portrayed by actress Courteney Cox, Monica appears in all of the show's 236 episodes, from its premiere in 1994, to its finale in 2004. A chef known for her cleanliness, competitiveness and obsessive-compulsive nature, Monica is the younger sister of Ross Geller and best friend of Rachel Green, the latter of whom she invites to live with her after Rachel forsakes her own wedding. The two characters spend several years living together as roommates until Monica begins a romantic relationship with long-time neighbor and friend Chandler Bing, whom she marries. Unable to conceive children on their own, Chandler and Monica eventually adopt twins Erica and Jack and move out of their apartment into a larger house in the suburbs.


title: Monica Geller

text: The creators' first choice for the role of Monica was comedienne Janeane Garofalo. Cox had originally been offered the role of Rachel but declined in favor of playing the character's best friend Monica because she was drawn to her strong personality. Meanwhile, the role of Rachel went to actress Jennifer Aniston. Before "Friends" aired, Monica's characterization was greatly debated among writers in regards to the character sleeping with someone on their first date during the pilot. Kauffman in particular greatly defended Monica, arguing with NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer over whether or not this would make the character too promiscuous. Ultimately, the episode aired unchanged after the studio surveyed the audience, the results of which returned in favor of Monica's existing storyline. The character's struggles with childhood obesity, challenges with romantic relationships and complicated relationship with her mother would eventually become popular staples of the show.


title: Monica Geller

text: Several months before "Friends" premiered, NBC had conducted a research report, the results of which determined that Monica was the only character to have been remotely well received by test audiences. When "Friends" first aired, critics initially perceived Monica – who was immediately established as the show's "mother hen" – and Cox as the series' main character and star, respectively. Critics have been largely receptive towards both Cox and her character; the "Los Angeles Times" holds Cox's acting responsible for disproving the stigma that attractive women are incapable of delivering comedic performances. Revered as a television icon, Monica famously addressed several topics that were rarely discussed in prime time television at the time, including safe sex, casual sex, and age disparity in relationships. Despite garnering positive reviews for her performance, Cox is the only main cast member never to have been nominated for an Emmy Award during "Friends" ten-year run.


title: Monica Geller

text: A hardworking chef Monica is introduced in the pilot as one of five close-knit friends who live in New York City, including her older brother Ross (David Schwimmer), neighbors Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), and former roommate Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow). When her privileged, inexperienced childhood best friend Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), with whom she had long lost contact, suddenly arrives in her neighborhood unannounced as a runaway bride after abandoning her own wedding, Monica allows her to move in with her while she attempts to reorganize her life, and the two reconnect.


title: Monica Geller

text: Monica begins dating Dr. Richard Burke (Tom Selleck), an older man who is also one of her father's best friends and 21 years her senior, during season 2. However, the couple mutually agree to end their relationship after realizing that Richard does not want children, his own having already grown up (and had children of their own), while Monica aspires to eventually raise a family of her own one day. While in England attending Ross' second wedding, to Emily (Helen Baxendale), Monica sleeps with Chandler. Initially supposed to have been a casual, one-time thing which grew more recurrent, Monica and Chandler eventually develop feelings for each other, but attempt to conceal it from their friends for as long as possible. After finally revealing their relationship to their friends, who are delighted by the news, Monica and Chandler marry. On a couple of occasions since the wedding Phoebe calls Monica by her married name Monica Geller-Bing, though it is later revealed in season 10 that Monica never followed through with changing her married surname from Geller to Geller-Bing.


title: Monica Geller

text: After several failed attempts to conceive a child of their own, Monica and Chandler discover that they are both infertile, and ultimately settle upon adoption as an alternative, deciding to adopt the yet-to-be-born child of expectant single mother Erica (Anna Faris). The couple is very much surprised when Erica gives birth to twins, and name the boy Jack after Monica's father, and the girl Erica after her birth mother.


title: Monica Geller

text: Television writers David Crane and Marta Kauffman originally pitched "Friends" as a show about "that special time in your life when your friends are your family" to then-NBC president Warren Littlefield shortly after their short-lived sitcom "Family Album" was canceled by CBS. Inspired by their own experiences as young adults living in New York City, the writers loosely based the six main characters on some of their own friends and family; Monica is based on Kauffman herself. Observing that each main character was originally written as a "one-note stereotype", Jonathan Bernstein of "The Daily Telegraph" identified Monica as the group's "uptight fun-killer". When "Friends" first aired, the majority of its earliest episodes revolved around Monica, via whom each character appears to be interconnected; "Friends" stars the character's brother, her best friend, her former roommate and her two neighbors socializing in Monica's apartment.


title: Monica Geller

text: In the pilot, Monica is dumped almost immediately after sleeping with her new date Paul on the night of their first date. Monica is tricked into bed with him after Paul lies to her about his sex life, falsely alleging that he has not slept with anyone in the two years since his wife left him. At first, NBC executives worried that audiences would react to Monica's role unfavorably, thus they decided to survey the studio audience and ask them whether or not they thought that having Monica sleep with someone on their first date made her character too promiscuous. Don Ohlmeyer, then-president of NBC's west coast division, was particularly adamant about his stance against Monica's role in the pilot, which he considered "casual sex". Kauffman recalled Ohlmeyer specifically expressing that Monica deserved to be dumped, a statement by which the writer was greatly offended, dismissing Ohlmeyer as a misogynist. Ultimately, the results returned in favor of Monica; audiences liked the character nonetheless, and the episode aired unchanged.


title: Monica Geller

text: Early in the series, Monica's apartment is established as one of the show's two primary locations. In the pilot, the apartment number is 5, which was changed to 20 in subsequent episodes after the writers determined that Monica actually lived on a much higher floor. Season three's "The One Where No One's Ready" takes place entirely in Monica's apartment because the show's budget was not large enough to accommodate additional sets or guest stars at that time. In the series finale, Phoebe certifies that each character shared Monica's apartment at least one point during their lives.


title: Monica Geller

text: Andrew Harrison of "The New Republic" believes that the writers deliberately broke up any main character who was approaching a borderline life-changing relationship because "The ones the Friends were really meant to be with were, after all, the other Friends". Because Monica and Joey were initially conceived as the show's two most sexual characters, Crane and Kauffman had originally intended for them to be the show's main couple, before ultimately replacing them with Ross and Rachel. The idea of Monica and Joey was abandoned once the role of Joey was cast; actor Matt LeBlanc approached his character using much more of a "big brother vibe" in terms of Joey's relationship with Cox's character as opposed to a romantic one, which the writers ultimately preferred. According to Allison Piwowarski of Bustle, Monica and Joey's relationship would have greatly altered the trajectory of the entire series, having life-changing effects on its characters. However, there were incidents on the show referencing a possible intimate relationship between the two, such as Monica's initial attraction to Joey when he moved in and Monica's intent to sleep with Joey in London rather than Chandler. Those events proved only to be humorous, nonetheless. Summarizing the role of Monica in the series, Martin Gitlin wrote in his book "The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time" that while her friends "were ... just out to make the most of their social lives", Monica "sought to keep the others in line" while searching for "Mr. Right", who surprisingly turns out to be close friend Chandler. Several years before Monica and Chandler became romantically involved, Cox once joked in an interview that if her character were to ever have sex with another main character, it would most likely be Chandler. Crane and Kauffman had never intended to pair off Monica and Chandler with each other, and only decided to expand upon the idea of a relationship between the two friends upon realizing that viewers had "fallen in love" with the notion of Monica and Chandler as a couple. According to Robert Bianco of "USA Today", "Their affair came out of the blue and was supposed to quickly return there — but something in the relationship clicked with viewers." The idea of Monica and Chandler's romantic arc originally surfaced much earlier in the series from writers Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan, who first observed the characters' chemistry in the season two episode "The One Where Ross Finds Out", in which an idle and unemployed Monica is temporarily acting as Chandler's personal trainer. However, Silveri's suggestion was initially vetoed by the other writers, who felt that it was simply too soon to introduce another main couple to "Friends" having just recently paired off Ross and Rachel. Following Ross and Rachel's break up in season three, the writers felt that the timing was just about right to officially introduce Monica and Chandler as a couple, deciding that "Friends" "can't simply rest on this one [Ross and Rachel] relationship", while believing that Monica and Chandler's would ultimately provide a fun opportunity for the writers to explore brand new storylines.


title: Monica Geller

text: Silveri and Goldberg-Meehan deliberately intended to keep Monica and Chandler's union "low-key" in order to further differentiate it from Ross and Rachel's, which had been very public. In order to get an idea how audiences would react to Monica and Chandler hooking up at Ross and Emily's wedding in London, the scene in which a clearly nude Monica suddenly emerges from under the sheets of Chandler's hotel bed was filmed in front of three separate test audiences, each of whom responded very enthusiastically to the surprise, several months before the episode was actually taped. Despite the warm reception received from the audience, Silveri and Goldberg-Meehan were at first uncertain as to whether or not they should continue expanding upon their relationship even further, and proceeded with caution by having Monica and Chandler initially keep their relationship hidden from their peers. Protective of their characters, Cox and Perry shared similar hesitations at first, but ultimately grew to accept Monica and Chandler as a couple. The characters' relationship is eventually revealed to their friends in the episode "The One Where Everybody Finds Out". While each character very much approves of their union, Monica's parents initially resent their daughter's feelings for Chandler due to an age-old misunderstanding involving Chandler.


title: Monica Geller

text: Bianco observed that "On most shows, linking two main characters like Monica and Chandler would have been an act of desperation." However, "On "Friends", it was a stroke of genius that made both characters more appealing while providing a needed diversion from the show's central task: Retaining a romantic equilibrium between Ross and Rachel." Monica and Chandler's relationship is the antithesis of Ross and Rachel's because it remained "healthy and strong until the series ended", while the other couple was relentlessly on-and-off. "Encyclopedia of Television" author Horace Newcomb believes that Monica's feelings for Chandler are responsible for curing the latter's fear of commitment. Similarly, "Slate" writer Ruth Graham observed that "Chandler is painted as a self-loathing loser with women, until he finally snags Monica at the end of Season 4." Meanwhile, Silveri believes that "Friends" ultimately ran as long as it did due in part to Monica and Chandler's romance, explaining, "if the center of "Friends" had remained Ross and Rachel, you would've seen a much shorter shelf life for the show"; Monica and Chandler's arc is believed to have extended the series by approximately three years. Crane and Kauffman had always intended to give Monica and Chandler a child. When it finally came time for them to write the finale, the idea of the couple adopting newborn twins was conceived at the last minute simply "for fun". The birth of Monica and Chandler's twins serves as one of the finale's main plots. They were named Jack and Erica – after Monica's father and their birth mother, respectively. The twins are born three minutes and forty-six seconds apart. Although the surprise addition of Monica and Chandler's twins was generally well received, critics questioned the fact that the babies are brought home from the hospital the same day as their delivery


title: Monica Geller

text: Monica is portrayed by American actress Courteney Cox. Crane and Kauffman had originally written the role of Monica with comedienne Janeane Garofalo in mind, because they were drawn to her "edgier and snarkier" voice. However, Garofalo turned down the offer. Actress Jami Gertz was also offered the role but declined, while actress Leah Remini auditioned for Monica prior to guest starring as a pregnant single mother in an early episode. Before being cast as Monica in "Friends", Cox was best known for appearing in singer Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" music video; within the television industry for her recurring role as Lauren Miller, Alex P. Keaton's girlfriend, on the sitcom "Family Ties"; and Melissa Robinson in the comedy film "" (1994), opposite Jim Carrey. After guest starring on the sitcom "Seinfeld" as Meryl, main character Jerry Seinfeld's girlfriend, the producers offered Cox the role of Monica's spoiled best friend Rachel because the actress "had this cheery, upbeat energy", which was significantly different from how they had envisioned Monica at the time. Feeling she was not "quirky" enough to portray Rachel, Cox lobbied in favor of playing Monica instead because she was drawn to the character's "strong" personality, but the producers feared that she was not "tough" enough for the role, which was offered to actress Jennifer Aniston, alongside whom Cox would eventually co-star. Meanwhile, a close competitor for the role was actress Nancy McKeon; Littlefield recalled having greatly enjoyed both actress' auditions equally, and left the final decision up to Crane and Kauffman. Ultimately, Cox won the role over McKeon because the creators noticed "something fresh" in her audition; Kauffman elaborated that Cox ultimately "brought a whole bunch of other colors" to Monica than what they had first envisioned back when they were considering Garofalo for the part. Meanwhile, Aniston ultimately won the role of Rachel.


title: Monica Geller

text: Each main cast member auditioned for "Friends" having had some degree of prior sitcom experience. Before finally being cast in "Friends", Cox's burgeoning success as an actress had heavily relied on her physical appearance. Unlike her previous roles in projects such as "Family Ties" and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective", the "Los Angeles Times" Steve Weinstein believes that Monica was the first major role in which Cox was cast based on her abilities as a comedic actress as opposed to her beauty. Cox believes that she owes winning the role to her brief stint as Gabriella Easden on the short-lived sitcom "The Trouble with Larry", which she considers to be the first time she played a character who "was the funny one", which in turn earned the actress a recommendation for "Friends" following its cancellation. When "Friends" premiered, Cox was the show's most famous main cast member among a cast of young, relatively unknown actors, and was thus initially perceived by critics and audiences as the show's star, despite Crane and Kauffman's efforts to promote "Friends" as an ensemble comedy. According to actress Lisa Kudrow, who portrays Phoebe, Cox is responsible for suggesting that the entire cast work together as a team. As the most experienced cast member at the time, Cox advised her co-stars to remain open to each other's ideas, notes and suggestions, while giving them permission to tell her "If I could do anything funnier". Cox was originally the highest-paid cast member. Preferring to be treated as equals, the entire cast negotiated for universal salaries, demanding that Warner Bros. accommodate their request of $100,000 per episode in season three, increased from their original inaugural season salary of $22,000 per episode. At one point, the actors went as far as threatening to boycott their own show should their demands be denied, temporarily refusing to renew their expired contracts. The studio eventually complied, and by season 10 each actor was being paid $1 million per episode, making Cox and her female co-stars the highest-paid television actresses of all time.


title: Monica Geller

text: Cox was 29 years old at the time she was cast, making her the show's second oldest main cast member, and was 39 by the beginning of "Friends" final season. Additionally, this distinction makes Cox older than her on-screen brother, actor David Schwimmer, who portrays her older brother Ross, who is one year her senior. The actress would deliver Monica's lines emphatically. Although each character is depicted as an avid coffee drinker, spending much of their free time in a coffee house, Cox herself does not drink coffee, and was only pretending to drink it out of mugs on the show. Kauffman believes that Cox's own cleanliness closely resembles her character's; at times the actress would clean her co-stars' dressing rooms. Cox also shares the character's motherly nature. The actress enjoyed portraying Monica as she was able to "bring more of my own personality to her, and I've never really been able to do that before." Starpulse.com observed that "As Monica, Cox never quite enjoyed the sort of watercooler storylines that co-star ... Jennifer Aniston had with David Schwimmer as the on-again, off-again Rachel and Ross." At one point, Cox had begun to regret her decision to accept the role of Monica over Rachel due to the character's lack of strong storylines; she eventually relented once Monica and Chandler became romantically involved, thus her character's storylines gradually began to improve.


title: Monica Geller

text: Cox married actor David Arquette in 1999 while the show was on hiatus between seasons five and six, hence the actress legally changed her full name to Courteney Cox Arquette. The opening credits of the season six premiere "The One After Vegas" features an inside joke in which Cox's new surname "Arquette" is attached to the surnames of each cast and crew member. The episode is dedicated to Cox and Arquette, reading, "For Courteney and David, who did get married." Before marrying Cox, Arquette had guest starred in an episode of "Friends" as Phoebe's love interest. During season 10, Cox got pregnant with her and Arquette's child. At that same time, her character and on-screen husband were going through the process of adopting a child. Like Monica and Chandler, Cox and Arquette had also struggled with conceiving in real life. Although Kudrow's real-life pregnancy had successfully been written into the show, the same could not have been done for Cox because "Friends" had already long-established that Monica is incapable of having children. Therefore, the crew attempted to conceal Cox's pregnancy using a combination of baggy, loose-fitting costumes and props instead. However, at times the actress' growing belly was still detectable by viewers in spite of the crew's best efforts.


title: Monica Geller

text: At the beginning of season one, Monica is 25 years old. Rita Loiacono of SheKnows Media believes Monica was the show's most fully realized character from the beginning of the series because her "quirks were developed to a tee." Like several strong female sitcom characters popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Monica possesses a natural maternal instinct, constantly "vocalising a desire for motherhood." As the group's "unofficial den mother", Monica fulfills the role of their mother hen, and is thus often perceived as the most level-headed member of the sextet, with Ken Parish Perkins of the "Chicago Tribune" identifying Monica as the show's most grounded character. Jill O'Rourke of Crushable described her as "the glue that held the group together." Ken Tucker of "Entertainment Weekly" believes that Monica serves as "the solid center in a circle of wacky pals" due to her "sunny" personality, combined with the fact that she maintains a steady job while appearing to possess the most common sense. Furthermore, Tucker identified Monica as the show's "straight woman". Writing for "The New York Times", John J. O'Connor believes that Monica exhibits "the strongest ties to reality" as the sitcom's most realistically portrayed character. Bustle's James Tison agreed that Monica is the show's most relatable character. Referring to Monica as one-half of the series' "head friends", the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's" Robert Bianco described the character as sensible, explaining that both her and brother Ross represent "the relatively stable centers around which the other friends rotate." Describing her as "ultra-competent", "Natural Living Today"s Emily Nussbaum likened Monica to the fairy tale character Snow White, on whose homemaking skills the five other main characters heavily rely, similar to the relationship between Snow White and the seven dwarfs. Although Monica began "Friends" as the show's straight person, the writers eventually made her funnier by incorporating aspects of Cox's own personality into the character, in addition to writing wittier material for her.


title: Monica Geller

text: Identified by Ayn Bernos of "Thought Catalog" as "the epitome of a ... control freak", Refinery29's Kelsey Miller summarized Monica's personality as funny, uptight, loving, and competitive. A very organized character with a signature Type A personality who enjoys being in charge, Monica is known for being a "neat freak" obsessed with cleanliness – especially when it comes to maintaining the impeccable condition of her apartment – neurotic, extremely obsessive-compulsive, and competitive in nature, personality traits that are exaggerated for humor and comic relief; the writers did not begin to take full comedic advantage of Monica's neuroses until the show's first Thanksgiving episode. The character is also the loudest of her friends. In her book "Writing With Emotion, Tension, and Conflict: Techniques for Crafting an Expressive and Compelling Novel", author Cheryl St. John wrote that Monica exhibits qualities commonly associated with perfectionism and bossiness. James Tison of Bustle wrote that Monica's cleanliness and bossiness often relinquishes her to being "the lame one" among her friends, although "she proved that sometimes rules and responsibility were important". However, the "Los Angeles Times" Steve Weinstein observed that Monica's actions often tend to contradict her "Miss Perfect" image and reputation, explaining that the character frequently "makes a fool of herself" in addition to being "so compulsively neat that just her facial expressions of discomfort at one of her friends' messing things up in her apartment is enough to provoke genuine chuckles." Although several of Monica's personality traits and mannerisms make the character a strong candidate for obsessive-compulsive disorder, they are treated as "quirky and amusing" as opposed to a disability or disease; her friends either ignore or find humor in her peculiarities.


title: Monica Geller

text: As creator and writer, Kauffman confirmed that Monica's extremely organized personality is based on her own, explaining, "I have a lot of Monica in me, in terms of everything having to be a certain way." Writing about the development of Monica's personality in "USA Today", Robert Bianco observed that the character gradually evolves from "the caring, nurturing mother figure ... into a slightly off-the-beam benevolent monarch." By the show's final season, Monica's personality has been "exacerbated for comedy" to the point of which she becomes borderline "cartoonish".


title: Monica Geller

text: Monica has a complicated relationship with her parents Jack (Elliott Gould) and Judy Geller (Christina Pickles), particularly with her "hypercritical" mother. "Entertainment Weekly" called the character's relationship with her parents "esteem-sucking". Judy constantly criticizes her daughter's appearance, career and love life, while acting much kinder towards Ross, whom she favors. Chelsea Mize of "Bustle" observed that Monica and Ross' "wacky quirks become all the more understandable after ... seeing them with their parents." "Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010" author Vincent Terrance believes that Monica's competitive nature originates from having grown up constantly competing with Ross. Kriti Tulsiani of IBNLive described Monica and Ross' relationship as "A blend of love and sibling jealousy with an urge to irritate each other to the deepest core of existence", with Ross often making fun of his sister's weight and Monica teasing him about his several failed marriages in return. In terms of ethnicity, Crane confirmed that both Monica and Ross are half-Jewish, with their father being Jewish and their mother being of non-Jewish European ancestry. However, "Television's Changing Image of American Jews" categorized Monica as a "masked" Jew, explaining that "the smart, funny, and insecure Ross seems more Jewish" than Monica, who the author dismissed as "china-doll like" in appearance and demeanor. In his book "Encyclopedia of American Jewish History, Volume 1", author Stephen Harlan Norwood agrees that, unlike the show's male Jews, Monica's Jewish "markers" have been virtually removed.


title: Monica Geller

text: Although Monica and Rachel have remained best friends since high school, they are very much opposites. While both characters share similar economic backgrounds, they grew up on "different ends of the high school social order", with Rachel being a popular cheerleader and Monica "deal[ing] with body and control issues due to being an overweight child and teen." Sabienna Bowman of This Was TV observed that "Monica's struggles ultimately left her more confident than Rachel, as well as more prepared for adulthood." Among her defining qualities, Monica has had a passion for cooking ever since childhood, stemming from when she received her first Easy-Bake Oven. A chef, the character has had several cooking-related jobs throughout the series, having worked at five different restaurants, a trend that nearly coincides with her constant rotation of boyfriends in an ongoing search for the "perfect match". Michael Hogan of "The Guardian" believes that the character's "competitive, perfectionist, obsessive-compulsive nature made her ideally suited to a career as a chef." However, in an episode where Monica goes through great lengths to impress her neighbors with her candy-making skills, it is revealed that Monica might have originally pursued cooking to get people to like her. In addition, her love of cooking and food is also responsible for her having been extremely overweight as a child, throughout high school and college. The running gag of an overweight Monica is often used as a recurring backstory for the character throughout the series, first explored in the second-season episode "The One With the Prom Video" via flashback. One of the character's childhood nicknames was "Big Fat Goalie" when she played field hockey. While overweight, Monica is depicted as having very low self-esteem, binge eating often, and constantly seeking attention. While in college, Monica is embarrassed into losing weight permanently after overhearing her then-crush Chandler make fun of her appearance. "Media and the Rhetoric of Body Perfection: Cosmetic Surgery, Weight Loss and Beauty in Popular Culture" author Dr. Deborah Harris-Moore believes that Monica's tendency to come off as a control freak originates from her childhood struggles with weight gain, explaining that the character ate excessively in order "to cope with her emotions".


title: Monica Geller

text: Possessing a very strong will, the character tends to exhibit outstanding perseverance when it comes to what she expects out of her relationships, jobs, and life in general, oftentimes refusing to settle for anything less than what satisfies her. Early in the series, Monica develops a reputation for experiencing bad luck and encountering rather unfortunate circumstances when it comes to dating, romantic relationships, and her love life. Nick at Nite joked that the character "likes to keep things tidy in her home and love life, although the latter is a bit more difficult." This motif is frequently explored as a source of comic relief; the character's friends would often "pick apart" her new dates and boyfriends. In his review of the series, David Hiltbrand of "People" referred to the character as "an unlucky-in-love codependent", while the "Chicago Tribune"s Ken Parish Perkins observed that Monica "often misfires when shooting for Mr. Right." According to Mike D'Avria of Splitsider, Monica "never shied away from jumping into the sac with both random guys and people she worked with" – among them a high school senior, an old high school crush, and an alcoholic – prior to dating Chandler, and of the show's six main characters maintains the highest total of serious relationships. Cox described Monica as goofy, angry, and sarcastic, while referring to her as the show's most sexually active character despite her "goody two shoes" image.


title: Monica Geller

text: Out of "Friends"' female characters, Monica's style took the longest to establish. "InStyle" wrote that Monica's combination of short, wavy hair and dark lipstick evoked "a '90s take on '40s style." Ashley Hoffman of "Styleite" believes that her character initially "dressed like a tourist trying to look like a New Yorker", frequently sporting jeans, overalls, and cargo shorts. With a wardrobe comprised almost equally of dresses and pants, Monica's fashion sense, much like Rachel and Phoebe's, "was a little bit normcore, a little bit corporate-casual." "Elle"'s Mahalia Chang observed that Monica did not follow trends of the time as much as Rachel, preferring to boast mom jeans, "boxy" sweaters, sneakers and flannels.


title: Monica Geller

text: Four months before its premiere, "Friends" failed NBC's confidential research report, which cited the unlikeability of its six main characters as a possible factor. Although the report acknowledged Monica as the only character with whom test audiences identified somewhat positively, NBC admitted that reception towards the character was "well below desirable levels for a lead" nonetheless. In retrospect, "The New Republic's" Andrew Harrison believes that although Monica and her friends "were superficial, self-absorbed and at first difficult to like ... in their solipsism and neurosis they reflected and sent up the world emerging around them ... far more accurately than any conventional gooey-hearted family sitcom", ultimately "creat[ing] a coffee-scented cocoon that millions wanted to enter". Reviews gradually improved; an early critical evaluation of "Friends", which had pegged Cox as the show's star, read, "As Monica, [Cox] came across as charming, attractive, confident, and motivated – the leader of the group". While men found the actress attractive, women appreciated her sense of humor.


title: Monica Geller

text: When "Friends" premiered in September 1994, critics initially perceived Monica as the show's main character; "Entertainment Weekly's" Ken Tucker attributes this to the fact that Cox was the show's most famous cast member at the time. The actress has garnered largely positive reviews for her performance, with Tucker concluding that Cox "plays straight woman ... with alluring modesty". Tony Scott of "Variety" commended the entire cast for "appear[ing] resourceful and display[ing] sharp sitcom skills ... especially Cox", while "The Baltimore Sun's" David Zurawik described her acting as "terrific". John Kiesewetter of "The Cincinnati Enquirer" praised Cox's ability to "deliver both verbal and physical comedy". Contactmusic.com's Sophie Miskiw commended Cox for portraying Monica with "endearing neurosis". As a character, Lifetime described Monica as "neurotic yet lovable". "Bustle"'s Emma Lord wrote, "I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to be Monica Geller", describing her as a "smart" and "savvy" character. Despite admitting that Monica is "probably not our favourite character", TalkTalk conceded that she is "wonderfully neurotic", while Nick at Nite reviewed her as "just as lovable as she is neurotic", despite her overbearing personality. Howard Rosenberg of the "Los Angeles Times" was receptive towards the entire cast, especially Cox and her character, who he described as "strong" and "likable and funny". Also writing for the "Los Angeles Times", Glenn Whipp lauded Cox's tenure on "Friends", enthusing that the actress successfully "took a character loaded with obsessive-compulsive quirks and a goofy, overly competitive nature and fashioned a flesh-and-blood woman". Describing the actress' comic timing as "impeccable", Whipp went on to write that Cox "brought out Monica's insecurities in a way that turned self-deprecation into an art form". Jenna Mullins of E! dubbed Cox "a fantastic comedic actress". Alec Harvey of "The Birmingham News" described Monica as a "very, very funny" character. Kayla Upadhyaya of "The Michigan Daily" appreciated the fact that "Cox brought moments of sincerity and severity to Monica". However, "The Washington Post" panned Cox's performance as "degrading", while Mike Ryan of ScreenCrush dismissed Monica as a "fairly normal, but boring" character.


title: Monica Geller

text: In 1999, Cox was nominated for an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a TV Series. Although continuously praised for her performance, Cox never received an Emmy Award nomination for her role on "Friends" during its entire run, although each of her five co-stars did. Both female castmates Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston remain the show's only main cast members to have won the award, whose multiple nominations Cox especially "had a hard time not taking ... personally", admitting to having been "hurt" by the snub. A number of media outlets cite Cox among several successful television actors whom they believe deserve but are yet to win an Emmy Award. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' failure to acknowledge Cox prompted Jenna Mullins of E! to ask "if Hollywood has something against honoring a fantastic comedic actress like Cox." In 2014, SheKnows Media published an article explaining five reasons author Rita Loiacono believes Monica is "the best character on "Friends"", citing her cleanliness, bluntness and role as "the heart of the group", among others. Loiacono enthused that Monica "didn't just have one defining aspect; she had many, and they were all equally hilarious. Not to mention, her ambition and vulnerability resulted in some of the show's most touching and heartbreaking moments". Additionally, Loiacono dismissed the fact that Cox has never received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Monica as "downright criminal". In 2015, HitFix wrote a similar article entitled "5 Reasons Monica Geller is the Best "Friends" Friend", published in tandem with Cox's 51 birthday. An article in "The Birmingham News" cited "The One Where it All Began", "The One With Two Parts: Part 2", "The One with the Prom Video", "The One with Chandler in a Box", "The One with the Embryos", "The One with All the Thanksgivings", "The One Where Everybody Finds Out", "The One On the Last Night", "The One with the Proposal", "The One with Monica and Chandler's Wedding" and "The Last One" among Monica's best episodes; Cox herself acknowledged "The One with the Embryos" as her personal favorite. Meanwhile, BDCwire ranked "The One with the Routine", "The One with the Cheap Wedding Dress", "The One with Monica's Boots", "The One with the Jellyfish" and "The One Where Monica Sings" among the character's best.


title: Monica Geller

text: Despite consistently warm reception towards Cox and her character, some aspects of Monica's characterization have been criticized. The second season episode "The One Where Dr. Ramoray Dies" sparked controversy due to one of its storylines revolving around Monica and Rachel arguing over which roommate will win the last remaining condom in their apartment in order to have sex with their respective boyfriends, Richard and Ross. In her book "Narratives, Health, and Healing: Communication Theory, Research, and Practice", author Lynn M. Harter defended the storyline, arguing that it promotes safe sex. Rachel eventually wins the condom in a game of rock, paper, scissors, forcing Monica to abstain for the night. Monica's overweight alter-ego "Fat Monica" has often been accused of being an offensive stereotype of overweight women exploited for laughs. While identifying a formerly overweight character as "a standard TV trope", the "New Statesman's" Bim Adewunmi wrote that Fat Monica "always struck a weird note" with the writer despite the show's efforts "to pinpoint a solid and satisfying back-story for the character". Megan Kirby of xoJane questioned the negative effect the show's fat jokes would have on its overweight viewers, writing, "What does this mean for the girls like me who never become thin? Are we relegated to side roles and stereotypes in our own lives? Of course, this isn't true. But I think it sometimes, dark and secret: The fat girl doesn't get to be the protagonist." Emma Tarver of Feminspire reflected that Fat Monica "made me think as a child that I was unworthy of love, was going to be mocked relentlessly by my friends and family for my weight, and should never bother flirting because I would just disgust every man I looked at." Contrarily, Kelsey Miller of Refinery29 received Fat Monica positively as "proof I could overcome my disgusting plumpness and be seen as lovable, too". In spite of these complaints, Fat Monica proved so popular among audiences that the writers would resurrect the character for a total of four flashback episodes, each of which aired featuring Cox dressed as Fat Monica and eating a doughnut while dancing after the show had finished taping much to the amusement of the studio audience. Although she only appears physically in four, Fat Monica is referenced in approximately half of the show's episodes, and has since proven popular enough to be adapted into an internet meme.


title: Monica Geller

text: According to "Elle", the combined popularity of Monica and Cox established them both as television icons during the 1990s. Additionally, baby name books commonly associate the name "Monica" with the character. As the role in which Cox "found fame", Monica remains the actress' most iconic performance to-date, as well as the role for which she is best known. "Us Weekly" believes that Cox "made television history during her 10 year stint playing Monica". Meanwhile, Steve Weinstein of the "Los Angeles Times" credits Cox's comedic performance with helping dispel stereotypes that "Pretty women aren't supposed to be funny". In 1995, one year after "Friends" premiered, Cox appeared on the cover of "People's" "50 Most Beautiful People" issue. According to "Alabama Biographical Dictionary" author Jan Onofrio, Monica helped "put [Cox] in the television spotlight and provided offers for more desirable roles." The "Daily News" deemed Cox "one of the more successful 'Friends' since the show ended" thanks to her consistent television and film roles. Reed Tucker of the "New York Post" believes that "Cox has diversified perhaps more than her former co-stars" by founding her own production company Coquette Productions and directing, as well as obtaining a real estate license. However, the actress has also been criticized for failing to explore roles that differ in characterization from Monica. By both starring in and producing the sitcom "Cougar Town", which has been reviewed as her "best gig since" ... Friends"", Cox became the series' first main cast member to achieve long-term television success post-"Friends".


title: Monica Geller

text: According to a "Hollywood Reporter" poll, industry professionals – actors, writers and directors – voted Monica the 47th best fictional female character. ChaCha collectively ranked Phoebe, Rachel and Monica the 11th, 12th and 13th best female television characters of all time. Maria Tallarico of "Cosmopolitan" observed that a number of Monica's storylines, including one in which she unintentionally has sex with a high school senior, "probably wouldn't fly on TV today". Writing for Mic.com, Samantha Allen believes that Monica helped "set the standard for how sitcoms could and would talk about sex" by both engaging in casual sex and dating a much older man. According to Dustin Levy of "The Diamondback", Monica inspired "any ensemble cast in a sitcom with a female character who is bossy or neurotic", citing "Scrubs" Elliot Reid and "Happy Endings" Jane Kerkovich-Williams as examples of Monica's influence. Additionally, Levy identified Claire Dunphy from the sitcom "Modern Family" as Monica's modern-day successor, explaining that the character "acts like Monica plus children". In spring 2015, "TV Guide" published an article entitled "22 Spring Cleaning Tips From Monica Geller" in tribute to the character's cleanliness. In her article "5 Signs You're A Real-Life Monica Geller", Ayn Bernos of "Thought Catalog" identified the character's personality as the reason "all perfectionist fans of this iconic TV show have asked themselves this question at least once in their life: 'Oh my god, am I a Monica Geller?!'" Emma Lord of "Bustle" expounded in her article "13 Signs You Are The Monica Of Your Friend Group" "that isn't to say life is easy for the Real Life Monicas of the world. First, there's all the name calling: 'neat freak' and 'sore loser', to name a few. Second, all of your elaborate, carefully-laid plans inevitably go haywire when people around you don't respect the obvious beauty and rightness of them." According to Patricia Murphy of the "Irish Independent", Monica "is most definitely one of the most famous fictional telly chefs", expounding, "her OCD combined with her continuous strive for perfection making her a thoroughly enjoyable watch." "The Guardian" ranked Monica fifth on the newspaper's list of "The 10 best fictional chefs", while "People" ranked the character eighth, with author Grace Gavilanes writing, "She's the best kind of chef – neurotic in the most entertaining/productive way, and "always" cleans up the mess in her kitchen."


title: Monica Geller

text: "USA Today"'s Robert Bianco credits Monica and Chandler's relationship and their wedding in the episode "The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding" with saving "Friends". Prior to the episode, the show had "appeared to be in serious danger of out-staying its welcome." Although admitting that the overall episode "is not one of "Friends"' best", Bianco explained that "The wedding changed all that, and in remarkable fashion." While BuzzFeed ranked Monica and Chandler the 23rd best television couple, E! placed the couple second on its ranking of the greatest "Friends" couples, with author Sydney Bucksbaum writing, "It's hard to imagine a time when Monica and Chandler weren't together, but it took them four seasons to actually get together. From then on, it was clear that they were meant to be." Tim Gerstenberger of TV Overmind echoed this sentiment by ranking Chandler Monica's best boyfriend, awarding him an 'A' grade. Gerstenberger penned, "I would not be able to face myself every day if I did not rank Chandler the best of Monica's boyfriends from "Friends." The two ended up getting married, which just goes to show that some one night stands are meant to last." Monica and Ross' relationship was also influential. According to Kriti Tulsiani of IBNLive, the characters "provide a perfect exception to the myth that one cannot find a best friend in their sibling particularly when they are of opposite sex ... they have broken all the conventional boundaries of a brother-sister relationship." PopSugar ranked Monica and Ross fifth on the website's list of "The 9 Best Sibling Relationships From '90s TV"


title: Monica Geller

text: Immediately established as one of the show's primary settings, Monica's large Greenwich Village apartment has since become one of the most famous and iconic television sets in history. Steffani Cameron of BuildDirect wrote that Monica's "apartment was unlike anything else on TV. It was full of color, clutter, and personality. It was a space cobbled together of kitsch and class, and it was just magic", citing its windows, color and openness among her favourite things about the apartment. "Harper's Bazaar" magazine ranked it among the "12 Best Apartments on TV". Chloe Daley of Refinery29 joked that the apartment serves as both "a lesson in how to decorate with purple" and "a lesson in how "not" to". Based on its total number of bedrooms, open kitchen concept, large living space and balcony, real estate agent Sydney Blumstein estimates that the apartment would be worth approximately 2.3 million in 2015. In terms of its size and affordability, the apartment has frequently been the subject of scrutiny; critics constantly question how Monica, a chef, and Rachel, a waitress, were able to afford such a luxurious home based on their relatively low incomes, often dismissing the show's explanation that this is due to an illegal sublet courtesy of Monica's grandmother who moved to Florida. Hollywood.com's Abbey Stone ranked it television's 10th "most ridiculous" apartment, while "The Village Voice" placed it at number four in a similar article.


title: Monica Geller

text: "Friends" female characters had a profound influence on women's fashion during the 1990s, becoming fashion icons in addition and household names, in addition to inspiring a generation of women. According to Desiree Tolentino of "Verge Campus", "Rachel and Monica were THE fashion icons back in the day", writing, "Monica Geller's vivacious style and sex appeal inspires every girl to care just a little bit more about what they wear". TheTalko contributor Taylor Hodgkins agreed that both Rachel "and Monica ... became cultural icons ... due to the fact the characters became fashion icons ... For those of us who thought of ourselves to be fashion mavens, we loved to tune into Friends to see what Monica and Rachel had in their closets week after week." Describing Monica's wardrobe as "classic and elegant", "Stylist" observed that the character's first season bob cut was imitated by several woman, although its popularity paled in comparison to that of Aniston's iconic "Rachel" haircut, the widespread success of which Cox was jealous. However, "Cosmopolitan" identified Monica's hairstyle as "Iconic in its own right", including in its list of "20 iconic Friends hairstyles". Monica also became well known for accessorizing sweaters using scarves; on Cox's 51st birthday in 2015, "Cosmopolitan" published an article celebrating her character's best sweaters. BuzzFeed ranked Monica's wedding dress seventh on the website's list of the "28 TV Show Wedding Dresses You'll Always Envy", while "Brides" ranked it the ninth greatest wedding dress in television history. "Us Weekly" included it on their list of "Celebrity Wedding Dresses: TV & Movies". Lauren Bravo of "Grazia" wrote that although "It's hard for us to process some of Monica's early outfits ... there's a lot of great stuff to be pilfered from Monica's pleasingly preppy wardrobe", despite its heavy tailoring. Meanwhile, "The Daily Telegraph" cited several of Monica's outfits and hairstyles among the newspaper's list of "Friends best fashion moments".


title: Monica Geller

text: In recent years, fans' appreciation for Monica's wardrobe has grown following the series' availability on Netflix, with "The Guardian" journalist Jess Cartner-Morley observing that audiences "were all too busy admiring Rachel's hair and Chandler's jokes first time around to notice Monica Geller's love of mom jeans and hair barrettes. But the world has finally caught up with the poster girl for 90s normcore", to the point at which it rivals Rachel's. Crowning her the "unlikely style icon" of summer 2019, Cartner-Morley observed the characters' influence on the outfits of several celebrities, namely Bella Hadid and Harry Styles. The writer also coined this revival "The Monaissance" due to the character "unexpectedly [finding] a breakout role as a style icon", and citing the character parting her hair to the side using a barrette, ribbed vests, high-waisted mom jeans, pale denim straight-fit jeans and white trainers among fashion trends that have been adopted by modern-day viewers. The newspaper credits Monica's popularity to audience's revived interest in cooking shows. While comparing Styles' fashion choices to Monica's wardrobe, Ben Boskovich of "Esquire" named the character the "most stylish" of "Friends"' main characters and "a menswear icon ahead of her time". In 2019, "Business Insider" compiled a list of Monica's 16 most iconic outfits, with author Paige Bennett writing "As a professional chef, Monica had to adhere to a strict dress code at work but when the apron came off, Monica donned a sleek yet down-to-earth wardrobe that can still be appreciated today." "Elle" named Monica "The Best-Dressed Character On 'Friends'" in what Mahalia Chang called a controversial, "potentially-unpopular opinion" as most fans give this designation to Rachel. "Odyssey" contributor Gabrielle Faletto agreed that Monica's clothes won her attention over Rachel's when she started watching the show on Netflix, despite the latter being the established style icon, in her article ranking "10 Monica Geller Outfits That Made Us Fall In Love With 90s Fashion". The writer commended the "simple, yet classy [way] her outfits were or the fact that she can rock a t-shirt and jeans, no matter what the occasion is", coinciding with a revival in 1990s fashion trends.


title: Material Girl

text: "Material Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her second studio album, "Like a Virgin" (1984). It was released on November 30, 1984, by the Sire label as the second single from "Like a Virgin". It also appears slightly remixed on the 1990 greatest hits compilation, "The Immaculate Collection", and in its original form on the 2009 greatest hits compilation, "Celebration". The song was written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans, while Nile Rodgers produced the track. Madonna explained that the concept of the song was indicative of her life at that time, and she liked it because she felt it was provocative.


title: Material Girl

text: "Material Girl" consists of synth arrangements with a robotic-sounding voice chant repeating the hook, "living in a material world". The lyrics identify with materialism, with Madonna asking for a rich and affluent life, and only wanting to date men who can offer her this. Contemporary critics have frequently identified "Material Girl" along with "Like a Virgin" as the songs that established Madonna as an icon. "Material Girl" was a commercial success, reaching the top-five in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Japan and United Kingdom. It reached the number two position on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in the United States, becoming her third top-five single there.


title: Material Girl

text: The music video was a mimicry of Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". The mimicked scenes are interspersed with scenes of a Hollywood director trying to win the heart of an actress, played by Madonna herself. Discovering that, contrary to her song, the young woman was not impressed by money and expensive gifts, he pretended to be penniless and succeeded in taking her out on a date. She has performed the song in five of her world tours; most of her performances of the song on tour are mimicries of the song's music video.


title: Material Girl

text: "Material Girl" has been covered by a number of artists, including Britney Spears and Hilary and Haylie Duff. It has appeared in the films "Moulin Rouge!" (2001), "" (2004), "Material Girls" (2006), and "Crazy Rich Asians" (2018), also the Netflix show "Stranger Things 3" (2019). Idina Menzel performed the song in "Cinderella" (2021). An orchestral version was made for the second season of the series "Bridgerton" (2022). It also became a viral hit on TikTok. Madonna has often remarked that she regrets recording "Material Girl" as its title became a nickname for her in the mainstream media. The song has been labeled an empowering influence for women, and was the subject of debates.


title: Material Girl

text: "Material Girl" was written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans, while Nile Rodgers produced the track. In 1986, Madonna told "Company" magazine, that although she did not write or create the song, the lyrical meaning and concept did apply to her situation at that point of time. She elaborated, "I'm very career-oriented. You are attracted to people who are ambitious that way, too, like in the song 'Material Girl'. You are attracted to men who have material things because that's what pays the rents and buys you furs. That's the security. That lasts longer than emotions." During a 2009 interview with "Rolling Stone", Madonna was asked by interviewer Austin Scaggs, regarding her first feelings, after listening to the demos of "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl". Madonna responded by saying, "I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me. I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn't a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be "like a virgin"? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They're so geeky, they're cool."


title: Material Girl

text: "Material Girl" consists of synth arrangements, with a strong backbeat supporting it. A robotic-sounding male voice, sung by Frank Simms, repeats the hook "Living in a material world". According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. It is set in the key of C major, with Madonna's voice spanning from the tonal nodes of C to C. The song has a basic chord progression of F–G–Em–Am-F-G-C in the chorus, while the verses are based on the C mixolydian mode, giving a hip, swing-like mood. The bassline in the song with the post-disco origins is reminiscent of the Jacksons' "Can You Feel It", which appeared on their 1980 album "Triumph". Furthermore, the strophes remind of the refrain from Melissa Manchester's hit "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" (1982).


title: Material Girl

text: The lyrics explain that Madonna is a "material girl" who will not accept men who cannot provide her with luxuries.


title: Material Girl

text: Following the song's release on November 30, 1984, as the second single from "Like a Virgin", "Material Girl" received mixed reviews from music critics. Author Rikky Rooksby, in his book "The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna", compared the song with those of Cyndi Lauper because of Madonna's shrill voice in the song. He added that the song was a "pungent satire on the Reagan/Thatcher young-guns-go-for-it era. Which just goes to show that pop music and irony don't mix." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said that "Material Girl" was one of the songs that made Madonna an icon, the other being "Like a Virgin" from the same album, both remaining as a definitive statement. He added that both tunes overshadow the rest of the record, "because they are a perfect match of theme and sound." Debby Miller from "Rolling Stone", felt that the song portrayed Madonna as a more practical girl than previous female singers. Dave Karger from "Entertainment Weekly", while reviewing the album in 1995, felt that the song came off a bit repetitious and immature when compared to the present context. Jim Farber from the same publication felt that the song provided then critics a way to criticize Madonna's work. Sal Cinquemani of" Slant Magazine" commented that Madonna had "defined a generation with hits like 'Material Girl'." Alfred Soto from "Stylus Magazine" compared the song with "Everything She Wants" by Wham!. Michael Paoletta from "Billboard" commented that the song sustained a "fevered dance-rock momentum." Nancy Erlick from "Billboard" said that "singer and team conquer once more with their irresistible assembly of new and used pop hooks." "Cashbox" said that the song is "a playful follow-up to 'Like A Virgin'" which "still emphasizes a danceable backbeat, but...has a sense of humor and Madonna doesn't sound quite as squeaky as on past cuts." In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their Top 20 Madonna singles of all time for a special issue of "Q magazine" dedicated to Madonna. "Material Girl" was allocated the 15th spot on the list.


title: Material Girl

text: The song debuted on the "Billboard" Hot 100 during the week of February 9, 1985, at position 43, when "Like a Virgin" was descending out of the top ten. The single climbed the Hot 100 quickly, jumping 13 spots to number five the week of March 9, 1985, and eventually spent two weeks at number two, held off by REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" and Phil Collins' "One More Night". The week when the song slipped to position three, her upcoming single "Crazy for You" reached number four, giving Madonna two simultaneous top-five hits. "Material Girl" reached the top of the Hot Dance Club Songs but was less successful on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, failing to enter the top 40 and peaking at number 49. It was placed at number 58 on the year-end chart for 1985, with Madonna becoming the top pop artist for the year. In Canada, the song debuted on the "RPM" Singles Chart at number 76, on the issue dated February 16, 1985. After five weeks, it reached a peak position of four on the chart and was present on the chart for a total of 21 weeks. It was ranked at number 46 on the "RPM" Year-End chart for 1985.


title: Material Girl

text: In the United Kingdom, "Material Girl" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 24 on March 2, 1985, and reached a peak position of number three. It was present for a total of ten weeks on the chart. The song was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry, for sales and streams exceeding 400,000 units. According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 405,000 copies there. Across Europe, the song reached the top-ten in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, while reaching the top 40 of Germany, Italy and Switzerland.


title: Material Girl

text: In Australia, the single debuted at number 25 on 17 March 1985 and peaked at number four three weeks later. It also reached the Top 5 in New Zealand and Japan.


title: Material Girl

text: The music video was inspired by Madonna's admiration of Marilyn Monroe and mimicked the latter's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". The video was developed to simultaneously be an exegesis and a critique of the lyrics and Madonna herself. It was the first time Madonna was able to showcase her acting ability to the public, combining the dance routines of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" with the storyline of a man who impresses Madonna with daisies, rather than diamonds. In a 1987 interview with "New York Daily News", Madonna said:


title: Material Girl

text: Well, my favorite scene in all of Monroe's movies is when she does that dance sequence for 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend'. And when it came time to do the video for the song [Material Girl], I said, I can just redo that whole scene and it will be perfect. [...] Marilyn was made into something not human in a way, and I can relate to that. Her sexuality was something everyone was obsessed with and that I can relate to. And there were certain things about her vulnerability that I'm curious about and attracted to.


title: Material Girl

text: The music video was shot January 10 and 11, 1985, at Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood, California, and was directed by Mary Lambert; Lambert had previously directed the videos for "Borderline" and "Like a Virgin". It was produced by Simon Fields with principal photography by Peter Sinclair, editing by Glenn Morgan and choreography by Kenny Ortega. Much of the jewelry is from the collection of Connie Parente, a popular Hollywood jewelry collector.


title: Material Girl

text: The video featured actor Keith Carradine as Madonna's wealthy love interest. According to Carradine, Madonna had asked for him to appear in the video. Actor Robert Wuhl appeared in the video's opening sequence as George, an employee of Carradine's character. It was on the set of the video that Madonna met actor Sean Penn, whom she began a relationship with and married eight months later.


title: Material Girl

text: The video opens with two men (Carradine) watching a rush in the screening rooms of a Hollywood studio. On the screen, an actress played by Madonna sings and dances to "Material Girl", dressed like Monroe from "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend". One of the men, played by Carradine, is a director or a producer and is immensely rich. He falls in love with the actress and wants to express his passion for her. He tells his employee, played by Wuhl: "She's [Madonna] fantastic. She could become a star." The employee answered: "She could be. She could be great. She could be a major star." The former then concludes by saying: "She "is" a star, George." Madonna is in a pink strapless gown and has her hair in blond locks ala Monroe. The background is a reconstruction of the Monroe video, complete with staircase, chandeliers and a number of tuxedo clad chorus boys. Madonna dances and sings the song, while she is showered with cash, expensive jewelry, furs and is carried by the men over the stairs. At one time, she eludes herself from the men, by dismissing them with her fan. As the producer tries to impress Madonna, he comes to learn she is not impressed by material items, rather preferring simple romance. He pretends to be penniless, and brings her hand-cut flowers while paying a poor man a large amount to borrow (or possibly buy) his dirty truck to take her on a date. His plan seems to work, because the final scene shows him and Madonna kissing in an intimate position.


title: Material Girl

text: It was in the video of "Material Girl" that Madonna began to accept and utilize herself being compared to Monroe. However, she established a safe distance from those comparisons and developed inside the same pastiche. Details like the usage of different gloves or different fans in the video brought forth the connections between these women, but Madonna alluded to herself in subtle ways. The fan in Monroe's hand for the original video was an iconography of the Sudarshana Chakra (wheel) held by the Indian idol Vishnu. Scholar Georges-Claude Guilbert, who wrote "Madonna as postmodern myth: how one star's self-construction rewrites sex", said that the fan symbolized fiery desire aroused by Monroe as well as ritual sacrifice, eerily foreshadowing her untimely death in 1962. Madonna's fan, which appeared at the end of the video, signified that Madonna – while paying her tribute to Monroe – was signaling that she had no intention of being a victim like her, and that she was on the path of becoming a feminist post-modern myth. Author Nicholas Cook commented that the video promoted Madonna's identity as the song suggested, with the purpose of shifting "Madonna's image from that of a disco-bimbo to authentic star." Lisa A. Lewis, author of "Gender, Politics and MTV" said that with the video, Madonna achieved the rare distinction of being accepted as a literature medium by the music authors. "Material Girl" was nominated for best female video at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It". The video was ranked at position 54 on VH1's 100 Greatest Videos. On YouTube, the video became her ninth video to surpass 100 million views.


title: Material Girl

text: "Material Girl" was performed by Madonna on five of her world tours. She ended the Virgin Tour (1985) with a self-parodying performance of the song. She wore a white tube top and a tight white skirt and carried a bunch of notes in her left hand. At the end of the performance she asked the audience "Do you really think I'm a material girl?...I'm not...Take it [Throwing fake money]... I don't need money... I need love." As she began to strip off more clothes, she was apprehended and marched offstage by an extra posing as her father. In Detroit, her father Tony himself did the honors. The performance was included in the VHS release "".


title: Material Girl

text: In the Who's That Girl World Tour of 1987, Madonna performed it as a medley with "Dress You Up" and "Like a Virgin". She wore an elaborate costume, inspired by Dame Edna Everage. It consisted of a hat strewn with fake fruits, flowers and feathers, jeweled batwing spectacles with heavy, black frames, a ruffled skirt, a bodice covered with objects like watches and dolls and fishnets. Author Carol Clrek stated that the dress was more "ludicrous for Madonna, than humorous." Two different performances of the song on this tour can be found on the videos: "Who's That Girl: Live in Japan", filmed in Tokyo, Japan, on June 22, 1987, and "", filmed in Turin, Italy, on September 4, 1987.


title: Material Girl

text: For the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990, Madonna and her supporting dancers Niki Haris and Donna De Lory were dressed as old women in fluffy dressing gowns with dollar signs and curling pins in their hair. Singing the song with a strong mid-western accent, they got up and revealed a frivolish pink dress underneath their gown, in which they danced around. On some dates Madonna replaced the words "experience has made me rich" with "experience has made me a bitch". After singing, she produced dollar bills out of her corsage and threw them up in the air for the audience to catch. Two different performances were taped and released on video, "Blond Ambition: Japan Tour 90", taped in Yokohama, Japan, on April 27, 1990, and "Blond Ambition World Tour Live", taped in Nice, France, on August 5, 1990. During the Re-Invention World Tour of 2004, a general setlist was decided where the show rehearsals would start with "I'm So Stupid" from "American Life", "Dress You Up" and "Material Girl". But "Dress You Up" and "I'm So Stupid" were later dropped from the show. Hence "Material Girl" was transferred as the closing song of the military segment of the show, and was re-arranged as an electric guitar version. Madonna wore military themed clothes and sang the song while standing in front of a microphone and playing an electric guitar. The backdrops displayed mathematical equations along with DNA helixes rushing through the screens.