{"id":260,"date":"2017-12-12T17:45:08","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T22:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/f18-engl117-02\/?p=260"},"modified":"2017-12-12T20:52:27","modified_gmt":"2017-12-13T01:52:27","slug":"chick-flicks-dont-have-to-suck-bridesmaids-and-prescribed-female-roles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/f18-engl117-02\/uncategorized\/chick-flicks-dont-have-to-suck-bridesmaids-and-prescribed-female-roles\/","title":{"rendered":"“Chick Flicks Don’t Have to Suck!”: Bridesmaids and Prescribed Female Roles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cPopular culture is often premised on the confusion of genders. It demonstrates over and over again that gender is not stable. Its stories and representations show gender to be fractured, fragile, or otherwise transgressive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you know that the \u201cfeminist\u201d movie Bridesmaids<\/em> actually elaborately reinforces the sexism and gender roles that radiate throughout our society? For instance, did you know that the theatrical release poster to Bridesmaids <\/em>reads: \u201cChick flicks don\u2019t have to suck!\u201d?[1]<\/a> Did you realize that people who sit down in movie theaters to watch Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy and Rebel Wilson\u2019s antics wonder, \u201cWho knew women could be so funny\u201d?<\/em> Did you know that this movie, which has been called a \u201cbreakthrough for feminism\u201d[2]<\/a>, draws our attention to the infrequency of women in comedic roles? That it pushes the same prescribed gender roles as all other movies? Could it be that films that claim to bend gender stereotypes do no such thing?<\/p>\n

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Movies that have a female-led cast or crew say they are progressive and empowering. They are able to fool some people: Critic Mary Elizabeth Williams calls Bridesmaids<\/em> the \u201cfirst female black president of female-driven comedies\u201d[3]<\/a>, while Helen Warner argues that although the movie\u2019s \u201cnarrative is preoccupied with traditional \u2018feminine\u2019 themes such as female work, friendship, and romance\u2026which often secure the rom-com as a critically maligned genre\u2026Bridesmaids<\/em> escapes such censure.\u201d[4]<\/a> I concede, these critics are not fully incorrect, as Bridesmaids<\/em> and its counterparts do bring new dimensions to femininity. However, what exactly are these new views of women saying? Are they, in fact, simply providing more ways to align us with the societal stereotypes that have always existed? After seeing women in new positions \u2013\u00a0in this case, comedic ones \u2013 we still take with us the same impressions of their gender that we had beforehand. Bridesmaids<\/em> gives women new ways to fill the same stereotypes that have always been attributed to their gender.<\/p>\n

Bridesmaids<\/em> is often referred to as the \u201cThe Hangover<\/em> for women\u201d [5]<\/a>, the chick-flick version of a male comedy that has dominated movie theaters worldwide.\u00a0 I grant, the intention behind this is harmless and even complimentary: the film allows women to embody a sense of humor that is typically reserved for men. Women get to show their wild sides; we see open drunkenness, sexual encounters, cursing, and pure masculine stupidity. We see the bridesmaids all get food poisoning and vomit. We see them drive recklessly and immaturely fight each other in a tennis match.<\/p>\n