Although I happen to be an independent, educated
young woman of the 21st century, I cannot deny I love myself a ‘chick
flick’! Though the term itself is degrading, these estrogen filled tearjerkers
have always offered me a glimpse of the perfect life. A heroine, that after
years of hard work and struggle gets the love of her life and the life of her
dreams, all in a perfect little Cinderella package. But what if these 21st century
heroine aren’t really heroine at all? What if even though we appear to be self
sufficient and thriving we are no better off now than we were when we were
being depicted barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen!
•
The Wedding Planner: Jennifer Lopez plays a
beautiful career driven women, who happens to plan weddings, but ironically,
she has no man of her own. In fact, she seems down right jaded from the idea of
finding love, even though her parents had a perfectly healthy marriage. When
does her story pick up? When she meets an already engaged man, accidentally
falls in love and steals him away! What a hero! *sarcasm*
•
The Proposal: IMDB describes
Sandra Bullock’s character as a ‘pushy boss’ who forces her assistant to marry
her in order to stay in the country. At the beginning of her journey she is
cold and distant with everyone, some might even say a bitch. After she gets
goo-goo eyes for her assistant guess what? She’s less bitchy! And dare I say
it… happy… and now the heroine we know and love.
•
ANY MOVIE WITH KATHERINE HEIGL:
She is this generation’s poster women for hard working lovable businesswomen in
need of a man.
•
Pretty Woman: …….Julia Roberts is
a prostitute…. .. saved by a rich white man…… enough said.
•
The Devil Wears Prada: This one I
consider the gem of them all. Meryl Streep’s character is feared for her
success in the fashion industry. Opposite of her, Anne Hathaway as her
assistant, is ignorant to the ways of the industry, however she soon adapts and
becomes successful- the first thing to go? Her relationship… She examines her
new life and realizes that she doesn’t want to end up like Meryl; a bitter
successful old hag going through a divorce. Here you see both sides
of the spectrum- successful and alone, less successful and completely happy.
So what is this saying?
Is it the only way to be happy as
a woman, is to give up success? Or is it the only way to have success as a
woman, is to have a man in your life? In speaking to real life successful
women, this does seem to be the trend, the less you work, the happier you are
in your relationships.
But isn’t that true of both genders? So why is it that
you rarely see movies focused on a man that has to choose between success and a
relationship? Doesn’t everyone have to sacrifice to be happy? I would love to
see a film where the women are just as happy at the end choosing her self! Or
more films where the man quits his six figure salary job and moves half way
around the world for a woman. Of course the target audience for the type of
film I’m advocating for would still be women, but it would be great to see some
diversity and a truly independent heroine.
So what is this saying?
Is it the only way to be happy as a woman, is to give up success? Or is it the only way to have success as a woman, is to have a man in your life? In speaking to real life successful women, this does seem to be the trend, the less you work, the happier you are in your relationships.
