Break on Through

Albert D. Conton III
005411079
AMST 360
Film Analysis

Break on Through In the 2001 film Legally Blonde many gender stereotypes that have evolved from American popular culture during the last century are portrayed. From the over the top embracement of the girly-girl culture and the expectations of women in America in the 21st century to the time tested typecasting of the males role, this movie covers all the bases. Women and men in America have always had to live up to society’s notions of what they should and should not act like. Mainstream media, authority figures and parents help establish these values in America’s children. From an early age society tells girls and boys what toys are acceptable for them to play with and what roles they will grow up to embrace. Girls are handed Barbie dolls and princess clothing, and are raised to believe that they need to be beautiful stay at home wives taking care of the family unit. Boys on the other hand are taught not to show emotion, to be aggressive and become the bread winners for the household. Some of these gender stereotypes have been handed down from generation to generation while others are being reinforced in the cartoons, television shows and advertisements of the era. In Legally Blonde women are shown as submissive and of lower intelligence than the male counterparts. The main character, Elle Woods, is the quintessential girly-girl. She is the president of her sorority, loves fashion, embraces the pink culture and believes that her life’s meaning is to be the popular boy’s wife. The role that Elle Woods is portraying is not new to American film. There have been countless examples preceding it in film and print. As Peggy Orenstein points out in her book Cinderella Ate my Daughter, children are being taught from a very young age what is being expected from them in regards to their gender. There are many examples in animated movies that reinforce the gender stereotypes that America has come to expect from women. In these movies the female lead character is always being saved by the male character. Whether it is the princess being saved by the prince riding in on horseback or the fact that every main female character has pristine appearance, women are being shown how to look and act. As Orenstein states, women learn from these films that their “ goals are to be saved by a prince, get married and be taken care of for the rest of their lives. Their value derives largely from their appearance” (Orenstein, page 23). Elle Woods is another example of society telling women that they need to be socially successful and beautiful in order to achieve the ideal standard of marrying a successful man that will take care of them. The female gender roles that are portrayed in Legally Blonde can be seen clearly in advertisements in the 1950s. During the post war era women were gaining more social freedoms and at the same time being stereotyped into even more restrictive roles. Advertisers of this era started to realize that the American woman had more and more authority in the family. Everything from maps to clothing were being advertised at woman and giving them the impression that they had the authority to make decisions. Susan Sessions Rugh states in her book Are We There Yet, “decisions were generally made by both husband and wife, with women making the decision more often at the lower end of the economic scale, and men more often for those with the higher incomes” (Rugh, page 24). The advertisements reinforced the role that the men were the breadwinners and women were meant to look good. All of the advertisements of the era showed women as a pristine feminine example and made their point using language that was meant for the female. Often the advertisements used analogies to cooking, raising the children and house work to help the woman feel empowered to make a financial decision. As with Elle Woods, women of the post war era believed that they needed a powerful man in their lives in order to be successful. Gender roles for men are also present in the movie Legally Blonde. The idea that the man has to be handsome and financially stable in order to win the woman is reinforced in the movie. Warner Huntington III, played by actor Matthew Davis, is Elle Woods boyfriend at the start of the movie. He is a successful and handsome young man who is going to be attending Harvard Law School. Since Warner is the classic example of what a male should act and look like it is no surprise that he decides to break up with Elle because she is not serious enough for him. This reference refers to the fact that Elle is too ditzy and does not have the professional polish required to be the wife of a Harvard Law student. This stereotype is telling the male youth of America that if you have the look and money you can have any woman you desire with no regards to your personal conduct towards women. Males are portrayed as being the guiding light, a shoulder to cry on and always ready to give comfort and stability to a woman. These stereotypes have been reinforced in mainstream media throughout the century.

This idea is not new to America media and has been imposed upon the masses in print and film. As with the stereotypes that have been established for women in animated films, men also have been shown that in order to be successful they need to act and behave to a certain standard. These stereotypical ideas of men in animated movies are telling males that they have to be handsome and muscular to be the victor, to get the princess and live happily ever after. The image of the villains as being overweight and not visually appealing tells men that if they do not look perfect than they are bad and will never succeed. We are setting up our masculine youth for failure and disappointment if they believe these things to be true. The marketing campaigns and media that constantly spews gender based products on youth are setting up both sexes for failure. As with Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, she only wants to look the part and ride off into the sunset. This is the ideal situation that is being reinforced with every princess movie, costume and storybook. Girls are growing up believing that prince charming will come and rescue them from the life they currently have. And what are the cartoons and costumes telling the male youth of America? Young boys have at their disposal an array of outfits from athletes, ninjas and army men, but we never encourage them to be the prince. Young boys read and act like the superheroes they have learned to love and not a single super hero has devoted their life to happily-ever-after. Instead their lives are a never ending battle with evil, leaving no time for women or a family. Warner Huntington is a great example of the man looking the part of the prince, handsome and rich, but turns out to be more interested in his own agenda instead of helping create the fairy tale ending. These gender stereotypes are setting up feminine youth for disappointment, by training them to anticipate a prince saving them, while encouraging male youth to be anything but a prince. In the movie, Elle Woods decides to go to Harvard to win back her former boyfriend. Instead of being independent and creating a new and better life for herself, she chases after her prince charming. In this fashion the character is reinforcing the notion that it is the woman’s fault for the relationship ending, and that she was not smart enough for the man so she needs to improve herself to win him back. As Peggy Orenstein explains, girls living in the current culture are facing ever increasing pressures to be perfect. They are expected to get good grades, be excellent athletes, role models for other children and at the same time dress stylishly, be thin and please everybody. Peggy states, “instead of feeling greater latitude and choice in how to be female – which is what one would hope – they now feel they must not only “have it all” but be it all: Cinderella and Supergirl. Aggressive and agreeable. Smart and stunning” (Orenstein, page 17). Girls have been led to believe that need to be all of these things in order to be successful in life. Girls believe that there self worth is derived from outward appearance instead of being generated from their character traits. Woman and men have faced gender stereotypes in American popular culture for many years. With the invention of mainstream media during the 21st century society’s ideals of what a man and woman should act and look like have become ever more present. In the 2001 film Legally Blonde many of these gender stereotypes are portrayed and reinforced. Women are shown embracing the girly-girl culture and choosing to wait for prince charming instead of taking risks for the betterment of their lives. Male characters are portrayed as stereotypical men, tall, strong and handsome, always the breadwinner. Women and men in America have always had to live up to preset notions from society of what they should and should not act like. Mainstream media, authority figures and parents help establish these values in America’s children. From an early age society tells girls and boys what superhero is appropriate for them to embrace and the emotions and actions that are associated with them. Girls are handed Barbie dolls and princess clothing and are raised to believe that they need to be beautiful stay at home wives taking care of the family unit. Boys on the other hand are taught not to show emotion, be aggressive and become the bread winners for the house hold. Each sex is looking for characteristics in the other gender that stereotypes do not provide. Girls are told to be smart and wait for prince charming and boys are told to look for beauty and not be a prince. As a society, we will never be able to break the cycle of these damaging gender stereotypes as long as films like Legally Blonde continue to emphasize and reinforce them. We need to start to recognize and call attention to the ever present gender stereotype.

Bibliography
Rugh, Susan Sessions, Are We There Yet: The Golden Age of American Family Vacations (Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2008)
Orenstein, Peggy, Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girly-Girl culture (New York: HarperCollins, 2011)
Ric Kidney (Producer) & Robert Luketic (Director). (2001). Legally Blonde [ Motion picture]. United States: MGM.

Bibliography: Rugh, Susan Sessions, Are We There Yet: The Golden Age of American Family Vacations (Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2008) Orenstein, Peggy, Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girly-Girl culture (New York: HarperCollins, 2011) Ric Kidney (Producer) & Robert Luketic (Director). (2001). Legally Blonde [ Motion picture]. United States: MGM.