[ SECRET POST #2957 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2957 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 064 secrets from Secret Submission Post #423.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

10. http://i.imgur.com/nmPoBGj.png

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's woman positive, but I don't think it's femimist since as far as I know the writer didn't identify as one.

But I'm little confused about your reasoning; pro-woman stuff can definitely portray people being sexist without endorsing it.

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, half the time that's exactly what they're doing. Elle is also hit on by her law teacher and it's not a good thing.

[were_lemur]

Death of the author, though? A movie that shows a female character having agency, supporting other women, and not defining herself around her relationship to a man is feminist whether or not the writer chooses to personally identify as one.

Also, there are a lot of women who don't call themselves feminists because it's portrayed as being angry/bitchy/humorless or not shaving, but agree with a lot of the core feminist beliefs.

[(Anonymous)]

Err, her getting in was hardly the point of the movie. It was the set-up. There's no evidence that her weird video got her in, but she did get a good score and it is true that schools will occasionally let more "unconventional" students in just to see if they can come up with any fresh ideas and such. And even if they had, in what way does that affect whether or not this film is feminist?

Plus, her getting ahead directly due to being sexualized is actually addressed in the movie, when her professor hits on her and she realizes that he did not respect her on her own merit. That's when Elle is confronted with this issue, and she overcomes it by rejecting him and winning the case purely using her own inner strengths and knowledge.

I've got to assume you're not serious and this is one of those "discussion!" type secrets.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, a lot of men in real life with the right requirements get into prestigious schools for real reasons that are as stupid as a bikini video. I'm not sure if the movie was going for highlighting that, but it could be seen that way.

[ceebeegee]

They do make the point that Warner was waitlisted until his family made a call.

[solticisekf]

I loved the manicure lady, the one with the jerk ex and a dog.)

It's a feminist movie, btw.

[tabaqui]

YES! Paulette, played by Jennifer Coolidge, who is one of my all-time favorite actors. She is *awesome*.

[(Anonymous)]

I laud this movie as feminist because it says you can be girly, fashionable, a sorority girl and yet also have a kind heart and be a brilliant lawyer. And the sorority sisters are always so supportive of Elle!

Also there's the musical, which is much more explicitly feminist IMO. (I love the movie, but I adore the musical.)

[(Anonymous)]

The musical is SO GOOD. When I first heard they were writing one, I wrote it off as the stupidest thing I'd ever heard until I actually stopped to think about it.

The movie and musical are both definitely feminist. Lots of strong female characters, female relationships, female characters with flaws that they overcome, etc. And Elle is just the best protagonist.

[(Anonymous)]

I was just coming down to comment that I thought the musical was more explicitly feminist! Between Elle's sorority sisters being more diverse, the way they show all the hard work Elle puts in, and my favorite change, that Vivian actually supports Elle at the end instead of just jumping to slut shame her.

Also I think her relationship with Emmet is just better built up in the musical. (I still love the movie too though! Its just a great fun story.)

[(Anonymous)]

I remember the video, but IIRC the admissions board wasn't all that impressed? I think it was her other qualifications. Am I forgetting somethin?

[(Anonymous)]

That's how I remember it, too.

[(Anonymous)]

That's how it went, actually. OP is just grasping at straws.

[(Anonymous)]

It's not feminist because of what the board does, it's feminist because of what Elle (and the other women) do.

It's not feminist because she gets in to Harvard - or why she wants to go in the first place - but because she succeeds in her work there, relies on and reciprocates supportive female friendships, gets over a dude who doesn't value her, and refuses to let anyone tell her she shouldn't value the feminine things she loves, or that jettisoning them is somehow the price of success, and wins respect from her classmates without compromising on that. Also sticks to her principles when that slimeball professor tries to extort sexual favors from her.

My personal biggest peeve with the movie is that she gets her big courtroom success more or less entirely by lucky coincidence - the sorority connection + the perm thing - rather than really showing she also has the pure law chops. But as a 1L she probably shouldn't at that point anyway?? And it comes back to the feminine also being valuable.

Is it perfect, or say everything worth saying about feminism? Of course not. But there's a lot of good stuff in it that is pretty rare to see, especially in funny mainstream popular stuff.

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself, anon.

Especially on the perm thing - sure it's made for Elle, but it's also something no one else in that courtroom would have picked up on. So it's pretty cool that her seemingly frivolous knowledge won the case.

And on the sorority connection with the exercise woman whose name I don't remember — wasn't part of that the fact that Elle was the only on on the legal team who didn't assume she was guilty and was kind to her? It's been a while since I've seen the movie.

[forgottenjester]

1) I don't think you can say something is feminist or not based on one scene. You have to take the movie as a whole.

2) I interpreted that scene completely differently. I thought they were put off by the video and were listing her other qualifications as, "Can we say no when she has all the requirements and such a unique set of skills/whatever? Can we take a risk?"

But hey, I guess it could be taken your way too.

[(Anonymous)]

But the review board was bemused by her application, not titillated, so she didn't get in because of it, in my opinion.

[bio_obscura]

I still marvel at how feminist this movie is whenever I catch it on TV. Not only does she do really well at Harvard -and- retain all her girly interests, she doesn't get her ex back in the end, which was her original reason for applying-- instead, the movie focuses on her self-discovery and her relationships with other women. It's wonderfully bizarre that it slipped by Hollywood execs.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know if it's feminist, but it felt to me like she was herself and owned her own feelings about things and didn't let anybody else control her. She used her sexuality sometimes, but it felt...awesome somehow? And I'm not usually a very sexual person. IDK.

Transcript

[(Anonymous)]

Image: screen cap from Legally Blonde, of Elle Woods in the hot tub wearing the sparkilest bikini in the history of ever

Text: not sure why this movie gets lauded as super feminist

… when the only reason she got in was a bikini video?

yeah she also had the ~requirements~ but it was clearly shown the board was making excuses to get her in…

[(Anonymous)]

I like this movie but what always bugged me was the way she solved the case. Like yes, she was actually quite smart, but what it really came down to was her super coincidental knowledge of perm aftercare.

[pantasma]

This scene has very different portrayals, between the movie and musical. I've never read the movie one as being why they accepted her, though in the musical her pomp and circumstance certainly has a much bigger impact. Both have moments of the acceptance board looking at something and nearly dismissing in out of hand (Movie: the video, Musical: the scented pink paper), but then something else makes them take a moment, and changes their minds. But in both case, the acceptance board decides to take a risk on her, and her more outlandish, creative presentation.

Granted, the shift in the musical isn't *quite* as wholesome as the movie, but it still happens.

This particular scene might not be the most "feminist," but at the same time one could argue she's employing a facet of herself -- her attractiveness and sexuality -- in order to improve her chances in life in general. That's the setup, that was going to be the original life plan, wasn't it? Getting by on her looks? Is it anti-feminist to utilize one's features to the most advantage? Again, huge debate. Personally, I find that she feels confident in herself, and is using all her confidence, in her appearance and intelligence, for her presentation.

Besides, we're so used to seeing attractive women in bikinis, I think the only "problem" with this part is that the shot's just from the tits up, thereby further accentuating said boobs. But that's my read on it. You do you, hon.

[(Anonymous)]

Because it was a clear and obvious commentary on the fact that she was fully qualified but a room of old white men were going to judge her on her looks anyway?

You know, like the real world? Where qualified women are passed over for not having the right look ALL THE TIME?

Feminism in movies isn't about portraying an unrealistic magical land where men are perfect. I think critically examining the actual sexist problems in society is also important.