When reading "The New Girliness" chapter, I definitely thought a lot about the movies she mentions and tried to think about what made me love them so much when I first saw them. The first thing I thought of when she mentions Clueless was "I love!". It was my favorite movie growing up and is still a favorite pass time when I'm just hanging out with the girls. What I learned that I thought was most interesting was the concept of female voice overs which created a new wave of media's reach to teenage girls. "These interior monologues were meant to represent the true, authentic female: what women and girls really thought, really hoped for, really wanted." (Douglas 102)
The idea that the main character, Cher in this case, was talking directly to you was 'like so totally cool'. She demonstrated the same concerns the target audience of the film possessed and so therefore made Cher even more relatable. Now, adolescent girls were feeling heard and like they were not alone in facing their pressing every day problems, characters in film and television had them too.
Another important concept Douglas' chapter delves into, is that the commonality between every young woman is that she is looking for Mr. Right. Whether it is Cher, Ally McBeal, or Bridget Jones, they are all looking to have it all and that means scoring big in the love department. None of these women were content or had a solid ending to their movie until they found their perfect guy, who most of the time was right under their noses the whole time. What effect does this media portrayal have on the women of today's society? Does it hinder girls, by making them think that their main goal in life should be finding a husband or that they will not be completely satisfied with their life until they find that someone special?
I think that answer is yes, at least it's true for me. Since I was in high school it has always been in the back of my mind to have a boyfriend. That that will somehow make me happy and all better if I had any outstanding problems. If asked, I could not tell you why this was the case, where my desire to find a mate stemmed from such an early age, but after reading Douglas, I guess I have my answer. It has been spoon fed to me since I was a little girl (all the way from when I started watching Disney movies) that "The End" did not occur until the girl found her guy.
Unfortunately for us these days there are many obstacles that get in the way of both men and women finding their soul mates. Ally McBeal's former boyfriend solidifies this so nicely as he "points to his crotch and says, 'This makes men stupid' and then points to his heart and said, 'This makes women stupid.'" (Douglas 106) So fine, maybe this once again highlights the fact that men and women are inherently different. But where does the happy medium come in?
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