Stereotypes In Criminally Blonde

When we think of a lawyer today an older male carrying a briefcase who is wealthy probably comes to mind. And then when we think of a law school student we would think of a younger version of this man who is probably following in his fathers footsteps. There has been a stereotype built around law school students in society today. If you do not fit this specific mold of being insanely smart, needy, or even masculine people assume you do not have what it takes to be a lawyer in the future. The movie Legally Blonde is about a girl named Elle Woods who decides to go to Harvard Law school to try to win back her ex-boyfriend. She is the typical blonde sorority girl and no one thinks she will succeed. Throughout the movie she faces many challenges

I would describe her personality as confident and bubbly. The video Elle submitted to get into Harvard is no different from her personality. For example a clip from the movie shows the video Ellle submitted when applying. The video is funny and she is showing off her body and hobbies. The professor's faces at the end are shocked that she would submit something like this. (0:00-1:05) Despite her video being very original, Elle is able to get into Harvard because she has the grades and test score. The people watching thought it was good she is different. These people who let her into Harvard did not necessarily let her in because they thought she would be a good lawyer, they did it to appeal to diversity. She was still stereotyped by these people but nowhere as close to the stereotyping she received from everyone else on campus. Another example of Elle not being serious like the other students can be shown in this clip from the movie. In this clip of the costume party, Elle is all dressed up and excited. She went all out for her costume while the other students were dressed normally. None of them wanted to have a good time and dress up, she was the only one. They were all serious like their personalities. (1:37-2:00) This shows Elle is trying to make the best out of Law School and have some fun. Elle is taking school seriously but at the same time trying to meet people and

She challenged it and proved she was able to do it. This is being proved in our society today by women becoming lawyers in a male dominated work field. In her speech she says, “It is with great passion, courage of conviction, and strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world, remembering that first impressions are not always correct. You must always have faith in people. And most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself” (Eidenmuller). Elle succeeding gave everyone who said she couldn’t a life lesson. An article on the movie from the Greenville Tech Library talks about the movie overall and what you think after watching. It states, “I think that Elle being portrayed as the dumb blond turned into a lawyer was very interesting. In the early 90's I can't think of any other film out there that portrayed women this way. I think seeing her growth through the film was very interesting to watch, and hasn't been done before” (Carter). This movie gives many lessons but most importantly not to stereotype people about what they can and cannot