No more dashes, only beautiful, beautiful letters basking in the glory of their brothers and sisters, united as one word, one hope for a better tomorrow.
This week's word puzzle, word trivia, word game, word fun, word.. I'm done... solved. Plus part 2 of the 3 part Amy Heckerling film study.
Puzzle 1:
BEAUTIFUL EGYPTIAN ROYALTY
Person: NEFERTITI
Puzzle 2:
- GABLE
- SHARE
- TRACK
- DEPTH
- STARE
- DEFER
- INERT
- TRUST
- ELITE
- GRANT
Answer: GRAPEFRUIT
Gable: the portion of the front or side of a building enclosed by or masking the end of a pitched roof.)
Definition provided by Dictionary.com
The female image is also mocked through the ridiculous eating habits of Cher and her friends. Cher does not want to miss her physical education class because she “feels like such a heifer from two bowls of cereal, three pieces of turkey bacon…five peanut butter M&M’s, and three pieces of licorice.” She says this while looking like a model, clearly undernourished if anything. During lunch, she talks to her friend Dionne about losing weight if she cuts the food at a certain angle. Meanwhile, the food in front of them is all diet or fat-free, ranging from the Coke, yogurt, and salad. The absurdity of the girls’ diets has a distressing tone to it since it is accurate to the mindset of females wanting to impress males. It is only when the girls want to forget about boys that they return to the mall for a “calorie fest” after seeing the newest Christian Slater movie.
However Cher’s intelligence seems to be paradoxical throughout the film. She is not completely unintelligent, considering her strong vocabulary, evident by her report card. But in debate class, Cher uses a dinner party to explain the political situation of Haiti. By far the funniest line which receives the most applause from the class is that, “it does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty.” The paradox of femininity is a major theme of feminine critics, such as Susan White who claims that females are essential in a lose-lose situation because of our patriarchal society.
While Cher might not use the best analogies for politics, she is unquestionably independent and powerful. While walking to class, she explains her superiority over high school boys, comparing them to dogs that must be “cleaned and fed” while they “slobber all over you.” On cue, one such dog throws himself around her, and she quickly pushes him off with a physical strength she clearly does not have. Her power with words also proves valuable because she is able to change her grades every semester. The audience witnesses her explanation to her female physical education teacher, stating “an evil man broke her heart.” Unfortunately, Cher cannot bargain with her debate teacher and her response supports Susan White’s feminist critique of consumerism. Cher exclaims that she feels “impotent and out of control” and must regain strength at the mall. White explains that females are conditioned to shop and accessorize in order to gain happiness and confidence; a theory support wholeheartedly by Cher and her friends.
But perhaps the Cher greatest power is evident through the stylistic use of the voice-over narrative. From the start, Cher leads the audience through her life over voice-over and is able to comment on the events that occur as they take place. Most importantly, it is through her eyes only that the audience views the opposite sex of the film. With the exception of her father, all of the males are characterized through weakness.
Most prominent is Elton, who can be summarized with one word: juvenile. In his three scenes at the high school, he always raises his hand after the teacher asks a question, but requests to leave the room to attend the bathroom, nurse, or to find a CD. Outside of school, Elton professes his love for Cher who explains that her friend Tai is more appropriate for him. This baffles Elton, who would never consider dating Tai because of their financial differences.
Murray, Cher’s friend’s boyfriend, is portrayed as a helpless individual without his girlfriend, Dionne. The audience meets him requesting money from her and later begs for her to not call his mother after shaving his head. Most notably, is seemingly unnecessary moment scene that lasts only seconds in which Murray gets lost while driving to a party. This scene adds nothing except an emphasis on his weakness.
Check out this week's blog for the final part of the analysis.
