This thesis will be an exploration of the images of young women that Clueless, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette provide, to shine a light on what makes them stand out against other films of this type, and why they continue to appeal so intensely to female audiences. To provide the context in which their films were created and to explore their impact, the first part shall give a brief introduction to the backgrounds and styles of both directors. In extension, attention will be paid to the cultural, postfeminist context of the four films as part of a discussion in how far a postfeminist mindset provides new possibilities for female characters, while simultaneously upholding old patriarchal patterns and rules that prevent a true liberation of girls and women, and how Heckerling and Coppola treat this ambiguity in their works. Since the focus lies on female subjectivity and agency of the girlish young woman and how it is portrayed in cinema, most of this thesis is dedicated to an examination of the films’ storytelling and visuals – investigating and comparing the points of view in the films, how they are set up and how the camera work supports that; the use of voiceover narrators, dialogue and silences as means to interrogate the position of the girls within the framework of power dynamics in their respective stories; intertextual references, as well as instances of parody or pastiche and how they create subtext that sometimes amplifies straightforward messages of a film, and sometimes questions it; and, ultimately, costumes, and the role of fashion and clothes in feminine expression, as well as the recovery of female agency against the backdrop of the specularisation of women in cinema. Finally, the last part will pay attention to where the four films by Coppola and Heckerling fit within current discourses of what constitutes feminine aesthetics and feminine cinema, as well as feminist film studies per se, with a special focus on Luce Irigaray as an innovator of the ways how women in cultural texts are read and constructed. Hopefully, by the end it will be shown that Clueless, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette are all coined by a longing for transformation of current cultural conditions, illuminating the figure of the contemporary girl, her pains and pleasures, and allowing her to take shape on screen as a rounded, active character with own desires, powers and ambiguities within.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The worlds of Amy Heckerling and Sofia Coppola
3. The postfeminist context
3.1. Girl culture on the rise
3.2. Postfeminist theory
3.3. Postfeminist heroines
3.3.1. Cher Horowitz
3.3.2. The Lisbon sisters
3.3.3. Charlotte
3.3.4. Marie Antoinette
4. Telling the girl’s story
4.1. Narrators and points of view
4.1.1. Gazing with Cher
4.1.2. Withstanding the boys’ voice
4.1.3. Speaking in silence
4.1.4. Claiming the story back
4.2. Speech and silence
4.2.1. “We’ve got to work on your accent and vocabulary”
4.2.2. Loud silences
4.3. Seen it before: Intertextuality, pastiche and parody
5. Dress to express: Costume, fashion and masquerade
5.1. I am what I wear: Cher
5.2. A masquerade ball of powers
6. Feminine cinema and feminine aesthetics
6.1. Irigaray and female interiority
6.2. Visual pleasure and postfeminist problems
7. Conclusion
8. Sources
8.1. Primary
8.2. Secondary
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This thesis explores the portrayal of young women in the films Clueless, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, and Marie Antoinette to understand how directors Amy Heckerling and Sofia Coppola reclaim "girlishness" as a form of agency and subjectivity. By analyzing narrative authority, visual style, and fashion, the study examines how these filmmakers navigate postfeminist tensions and redefine feminine aesthetics in contemporary cinema.
- Examination of female subjectivity and agency within "girlish" film narratives.
- Analysis of directorial styles and narrative perspectives of Amy Heckerling and Sofia Coppola.
- Investigation of the postfeminist context and its impact on the representation of young women.
- Study of fashion, costume, and masquerade as tools for female expression and power.
- Evaluation of feminine cinema and aesthetics in relation to feminist film theory.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1.2. Withstanding the boys’ voice
The second film with a narrator voiceover, The Virgin Suicides, could not be more different from the bright, funny Clueless. As mentioned earlier, the film is an adaptation of a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, and the construction of the narrator in the film is therefore significantly more difficult and intricate than in Cher’s case. The goal in The Virgin Suicides by both Eugenides and Coppola was to undermine the tale of the collective first-person narrator, but in Coppola’s case, also to explicitly address the subject of the Lisbon sisters’ agency and subjectivity – their side of the story, and not just the flawed nature of the boys’ retelling.
What the director does with the first lines spoken in the film can be viewed as a sample of what she continues to do throughout the entire film. After a brief visual introduction into the setting and mood of the film via a medium shot on Lux Lisbon finishing a popsicle, and several establishing shots of the peaceful, suburban neighbourhood, we hear the narrator – a male voice – say “Cecilia was the first to go.” He pauses as the action unfolds on screen: Cecilia Lisbon, after attempting suicide by cutting her wrists, floats in a bathtub until she gets lifted out of it and carried out of the house by two paramedics, as several boys – who, we come to learn, represent the collective “we” of the voiceover – as well as adult neighbours are ogling the Lisbon house, trying to catch a glimpse of the drama unfolding inside.
The film cuts to the hospital bed of Cecilia, and we hear the doctor say the line: “What are you doing here, honey? You’re not even old enough to know how bad life gets.” To this, Cecilia responds: “Obviously, Doctor, you’ve never been a thirteen-year-old girl.” Coppola establishes the narrator as a source of information removed from the subjects whose story they are trying to tell, capable of merely stating the simplest facts, such as the order of the suicides; the doctor as a representative of the majority of adults in the social environment of the Lisbon sisters who, overall, profoundly misunderstand and inhibit the girls; and Cecilia, as the first suicidal sister, stepping in, claiming her own voice and bluntly pointing at the lack of understanding of people who are not female teenagers for the latter.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Introduces the connotations of "girlishness" and outlines the thesis's focus on Amy Heckerling and Sofia Coppola's cinematic portrayals of young women.
2. The worlds of Amy Heckerling and Sofia Coppola: Examines the directorial origins and stylistic differences between Heckerling's witty comedies and Coppola's atmospheric, feminine-focused films.
3. The postfeminist context: Explores the theoretical framework of postfeminism, girl culture, and how these themes manifest in the selected films and their heroines.
4. Telling the girl’s story: Investigates narrative techniques, including point of view, voiceover, and the use of silence, to analyze how female subjectivity is constructed.
5. Dress to express: Costume, fashion and masquerade: Analyzes the symbolic use of fashion and clothing as a means for self-expression and negotiation of power.
6. Feminine cinema and feminine aesthetics: Discusses the films within the discourse of feminist film theory, specifically referencing Luce Irigaray and the potential for a feminine aesthetic.
7. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings on how these films reclaim girlishness and provide a foundation for feminine agency and identity construction.
8. Sources: Lists the primary films and secondary academic works utilized in the research.
Keywords
Girlishness, Postfeminism, Female Subjectivity, Amy Heckerling, Sofia Coppola, Feminist Film Theory, Girlhood, Masculine Gaze, Feminine Aesthetics, Narrative Authority, Masquerade, Agency, Clueless, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this work?
This thesis examines the depictions of young women in films by Amy Heckerling and Sofia Coppola, specifically focusing on how they reclaim "girlishness" and feminine aesthetics to assert female subjectivity and agency.
What are the central thematic areas?
The key themes include the intersection of girl culture and postfeminism, the role of narrative voice and point of view in film, the function of fashion and masquerade as tools for empowerment, and the development of a feminine cinematic aesthetic.
What is the core research question?
The research explores how Heckerling and Coppola subvert stereotypes surrounding feminine "girlishness" to provide active, rounded, and empowered representations of young women in contemporary American cinema.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The study utilizes a qualitative approach, engaging in close film analysis and contextualizing these readings within existing feminist film theory, cultural studies, and postfeminist discourse.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers a comparative analysis of the directors' styles, an investigation of narrative techniques (voiceover/silence), the critical analysis of costume and fashion, and an exploration of philosophical concepts like Irigaray's "speculum" in relation to feminine cinema.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Core keywords include Girlhood, Postfeminism, Feminine Aesthetics, Agency, Subjectivity, Amy Heckerling, Sofia Coppola, and Cinematic Gaze.
How does the work address the films' perceived "lack of depth"?
The thesis argues that critics often mistake stylistic "girlishness" for shallowness. It posits that significance in these films is found beneath the visual surface, as the directors use aesthetics as a deliberate tool for subverting patriarchal expectations.
What role does the "gaze" play in the films of Sofia Coppola?
The work explains that Coppola often invites the spectator to gaze *with* her protagonists rather than *at* them as objects of desire, thereby using visual pleasure to challenge the traditional male-centric structure of cinema.
How is the "makeover" paradigm interpreted in these films?
The thesis illustrates that while the "makeover" is a standard postfeminist trope, these films—especially Clueless—recontextualize it as a creative act of identity exploration and social navigation, rather than mere conformity to beauty standards.
- Citar trabajo
- Kira Schneider (Autor), 2018, Reclaiming girlishness. Images of young women in contemporary American cinema, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/442728
