She's All That Turns 20 (And Why The Film IS Problematic Today)
Jan 31, 2019 8:57:16 GMT
TheSowIsMine likes this
Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2019 8:57:16 GMT
I would say it's "problematic" in the same way that the somewhat recent "Don't Judge Me Challenge" was problematic. (For those of you that missed that one, that's where teenagers would make themselves look ugly using makeup, act like dorks in front of the camera, and then edit to them looking like preening, plastic models.)
The attempted message is "Don't judge a book by its cover." which is not a bad thing but the message actually sent is "Don't judge a book by its cover because the cover is just covered with dirt and muck and when you wipe all that off, the cover looks damn good." It's a poor way to send a positive message.
She's All That is essentially the same sort of artificial ugly duckling story and it's the blackface equivalent for depicting an unattractive person. It's a complete caricature of reality. But that's Hollywood for you, especially when it comes to teen movies, so it's just something you kind of accept. The big problem I have with stories like this is that while they are attempting to say "Looks don't matter, it's what's inside that counts." what I see and hear is "Don't judge because they might get hot in the future." which is just such a shallow way to view the world and a botched way to tell a story pretending to have some heart.
The attempted message is "Don't judge a book by its cover." which is not a bad thing but the message actually sent is "Don't judge a book by its cover because the cover is just covered with dirt and muck and when you wipe all that off, the cover looks damn good." It's a poor way to send a positive message.
She's All That is essentially the same sort of artificial ugly duckling story and it's the blackface equivalent for depicting an unattractive person. It's a complete caricature of reality. But that's Hollywood for you, especially when it comes to teen movies, so it's just something you kind of accept. The big problem I have with stories like this is that while they are attempting to say "Looks don't matter, it's what's inside that counts." what I see and hear is "Don't judge because they might get hot in the future." which is just such a shallow way to view the world and a botched way to tell a story pretending to have some heart.