You know what annoys me? Well, a lot of things actually.
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But let's stay focused. There's a tradition in pop culture (especially movies and comics) of the nerdy guy or girl who is in love with the popular, good looking cheerleader/quarterback/whatever. Usual this will take place in a high school, sometimes not. It's everywhere. From Taylor Swift to Spider-Man. Especially in the case of the nerdy guy, ms. pedestal will stick up for him when her jock boyfriend makes fun of him. It's twu luv--all the nerd has to do is gain superpowers, be good at football or get a makeover (in some cases, just taking off her glasses). Well I call shenanigans.
Ok, we all know it's a stupid plot. The outcast has to somehow prove his or her worth in some idiotic contest, treating their crush like some sort of prize. Added to that is in the case of the girl outcast the contest is nearly always getting hot (oh hey, look: misogyny!) and for the boy it usually involves sports. While it's a pretty obvious symptom of the status seeking, patriarchal aspects of our culture, it's hardly alone. Most of pop culture is a monument to those things, after all.
No, my particular beef today is with the nerdy outcasts, speaking as one of your own: why do you want mr or ms. pedestal in the first place?
Usually it's because they're really attractive and show a basic level of kindness towards the protagonist. Oh! My heart is skipping beats as we speak.
First off, while finding someone attractive is important if you want to date them, being good looking doesn't make you a good person. That's such a stupidly obvious statement I feel dumber for writing it. But if so why am I constantly surrounded by messages that say the opposite?
Secondly, liking sports and cars also doesn't make you a good person. We all have varying interests--some more out there than others. Liking all the things most people like isn't a plus in fact it can be a bad thing. Those interests define our personalities, which are kind of a big deal. Guess what, that rich, popular girl/guy isn't going to suddenly like the things you do! And radically changing yourself to fit in with them is just a shade above suicide.
Finally, and this was the hardest won lesson so pay attention: someone being nice doesn't mean they're attracted to you. We always assume the opposite sex have these bizarre mating rituals that we'll never be able to decipher. Put two minutes of thought into it and I bet you can come up with some ideas about what a person does when they want to date you.
So let's all take a look down the hall and into the cubicle of that attractive person who always says hi but you've never had a real conversation with. Who talks about getting drunk and shoes/fantasy football while we might prefer Robert Jordan or gardening. Now let's admit we only like them for their looks and this weird idea that we have to be attracted to them because they spent too much money on their car and seem to have lots of friends around the office. Let's (and I'm saying let's because I need to do this to) take a deep breath and realize that someone who we can have an actual conversation with would be a much better match.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that Mean Girls is a good movie.
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