Legally Blonde: A Meditation of Stereotypes
Gender stereotypes are simplistic. Stereotypes do not bother to take account of the thoughts, behaviors, and individual desires of a person, merely taking interest whether or not the person is male, female, or nonbinary. In film franchises, such as Legally Blonde, writers and directors insist on propagating stereotypes despite the ongoing evolvement of archetypes in current society. Although in the final moments of the flick, Elle Woods surpasses such stereotypes and displays aberration, the number of cliches in the movie serves to reinforce negative gender identities.
At a young age, gender stereotypes begin sprouting due to the actions of the parents or guardians of a child, whether it be from …show more content…
The archetype that is the “dumb blonde” who spends hours styling herself to be fully presentable is the main focus throughout the production. According to Holly Devor, “...[Feminine individuals] keep their arms closer to their bodies, their legs closer together, and their torsos and heads less vertical than do masculine individuals” (Devor). During the presentation of Blood in the Water in Legally Blonde the Musical, a song starring Professor Callahan, Elle Woods has perfect posture as she eagerly admires her professor throughout his lecture. The female protagonist energetically scribbles notes into her heart-shaped notebook. Her legs are crossed. Her elbows are tucked in. Her eyes are ample. And the first piece of dialogue she has in the number immediately showcases her ignorance and apparent stupidity, Callahan tossing her out of class. This specific scene is the first interaction Elle has with her fellow peers and teacher. Here the viewers see the writers’ composition of the character that promptly exhibits the “typical blonde female”, connoting a detrimental female …show more content…
The repetitive screen time for Paulette’s Beauty Parlor illustrates the fatuous stereotype that women simply go to beauty salons for gossip and to discuss the opposite sex. It is easily understood that the scenes involving the beauty shop empower women and unite those of different body types, skin tones, class, and archetypes, especially Bend and Snap; however, it is still palpable that the hair salon scenes are purely parts that perpetuate stereotypes.. As reported in Jennifer Scanlon’s editorial, “It was an all-female society--no man would dare enter the place--and here, if nowhere else, women said what they thought about men” (qtd in Scanlon). Although media should extol the empowerment that films and musicals provide for females, the cliched concepts throughout the span of the performances chiefly display negative assumptions about femininity. For example, during the scene revolving around Bend and Snap, the fact that Elle taught Paulette such a move was simply to attract a UPS delivery man named Kyle. When female bonding is used simply in service of a man, ideas such as women are solely supposed to entice men with ethnic movement are presented to audiences who in turn begin to believe women’s actions are simplistic and
Gender stereotypes are simplistic. Stereotypes do not bother to take account of the thoughts, behaviors, and individual desires of a person, merely taking interest whether or not the person is male, female, or nonbinary. In film franchises, such as Legally Blonde, writers and directors insist on propagating stereotypes despite the ongoing evolvement of archetypes in current society. Although in the final moments of the flick, Elle Woods surpasses such stereotypes and displays aberration, the number of cliches in the movie serves to reinforce negative gender identities.
At a young age, gender stereotypes begin sprouting due to the actions of the parents or guardians of a child, whether it be from …show more content…
The archetype that is the “dumb blonde” who spends hours styling herself to be fully presentable is the main focus throughout the production. According to Holly Devor, “...[Feminine individuals] keep their arms closer to their bodies, their legs closer together, and their torsos and heads less vertical than do masculine individuals” (Devor). During the presentation of Blood in the Water in Legally Blonde the Musical, a song starring Professor Callahan, Elle Woods has perfect posture as she eagerly admires her professor throughout his lecture. The female protagonist energetically scribbles notes into her heart-shaped notebook. Her legs are crossed. Her elbows are tucked in. Her eyes are ample. And the first piece of dialogue she has in the number immediately showcases her ignorance and apparent stupidity, Callahan tossing her out of class. This specific scene is the first interaction Elle has with her fellow peers and teacher. Here the viewers see the writers’ composition of the character that promptly exhibits the “typical blonde female”, connoting a detrimental female …show more content…
The repetitive screen time for Paulette’s Beauty Parlor illustrates the fatuous stereotype that women simply go to beauty salons for gossip and to discuss the opposite sex. It is easily understood that the scenes involving the beauty shop empower women and unite those of different body types, skin tones, class, and archetypes, especially Bend and Snap; however, it is still palpable that the hair salon scenes are purely parts that perpetuate stereotypes.. As reported in Jennifer Scanlon’s editorial, “It was an all-female society--no man would dare enter the place--and here, if nowhere else, women said what they thought about men” (qtd in Scanlon). Although media should extol the empowerment that films and musicals provide for females, the cliched concepts throughout the span of the performances chiefly display negative assumptions about femininity. For example, during the scene revolving around Bend and Snap, the fact that Elle taught Paulette such a move was simply to attract a UPS delivery man named Kyle. When female bonding is used simply in service of a man, ideas such as women are solely supposed to entice men with ethnic movement are presented to audiences who in turn begin to believe women’s actions are simplistic and