It’s hugely important, with female character arcs, to manifest development without changing the character. Would Elle be the same Elle if she started dressing like Vivian and acting like Enid? Do we really want Elle to abandon her sorority friends and hobnob with the East Coasters? I love dearly that while Elle does take some measures to fit in with her Harvard peers, the conclusion is that it’s simply impossible. Her goal is not to fit in with them, but to achieve comparably to them. She buckles down, devotes her time and brain power, and works hard to be in the same league as her peers. But even when she endeavors to dress like them, she ends up wearing a shimmering smoking jacket and fashion glasses. Ultimately, the film’s message is that Elle only has to be Elle to succeed. When she’s on her date with Warner in the first scenes, she wears a bright pink dress - her power color. And when she walks into the courtroom for her last scenes, she wears a bright pink dress - her power color. Elle hasn’t changed; her power has only shifted.
my favourite movie
Hi there! This is my first shot at writing an editor’s letter, as well as being an “editor” (which I still don’t fully understand- i’m 20 and studying english so one would assume i’d have breezed past the definition long ago.) It’s also why i roped a few of my friends into being editors with me. yay! We can all be editors together and have parties where we drink wine and discuss how powerful and important we are! Except that two of us are straight edge and I don’t trust Stef with alcohol so it’d probably just be Jonno, Sarah and I watching on sadly as Stef spills her most vile and appalling secrets. I shall refrain from throwing parties and instead explain this month’s theme, which is our very first theme and I felt very clever when I thought of it: EMERGING.
I had to go back in our tumblr archives to see whether I’d already spoken about this before, and thankfully, I had not. I have a habit of doing that and I also did rather like using definitions in that first post. It all sounds very official, no? The word “emerging” is multi-faceted in this case, and when I think of the word, I envision a very triumphant, “circus-animal-bursting-through-the-banner” type of moment. That was the type of feeling i got when I started the Zine and a word that captured that seemed perfect! I don’t think I was very good at describing what I meant and carnival analogies might not be appropriate, but hopefully all of you reading this will know what I mean and forgive my inability to describe thingamajigs inside my head.
The other thing that really strikes me about the theme is the idea of FIRSTS! Be that first impressions, the first time you performed on stage, your first kiss, the first movie you watched, the first album….In one instance, one of our writers is taking the theme and using it as an excuse to talk about the movie Alien. This is probably one of the more genius interpretations. EMERGING also means that the stuff we’ll be covering in this issue is going to be focused on self-realisation and acceptance of who you truly are…typical 90s film type stuff. There’ll be plenty of things that touch upon coming into your own as a person, using really obvious films like Rocky Horror, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Stand By Me as inspirations. The first theme is also a perfect time to be proud about openness, new experiences, expressing yourself, and individuality…with just a little bit of spice (girls.)
Elle Woods is a perfect example of someone who feels judged, small, and belittled: but after realising that the dude that she wants to get back together with will actually needed some proper persuading, she gets serious about law school in an attempt to win him back. However, I see legally blonde not as a typical chick flick “win the guy” movie but also it’s about discovering a part of yourself that you were proud of and all-too ready to reveal. In this instance, the character is a sort of blonde playboy bunny so the story may not be relevant to everyone’s lives. (Maybe some of you are pin-up babes? I am not one to say) Nonetheless, she still managed to show everyone that she has the ability to be intelligent, that she is a new, surprising talent, and she’s totally independent aswell. I’m just going to ignore those LB sequels in this intro because the one I saw was pretty bad (I know… it’s bad enough that I watched it in the first place) and also because the ending of legally blonde summarises everything that fits with this month’s theme. Elle Woods stands at the podium of the Harvard, looking chic as hell but also really intelligent and confident in a way that she wasn’t before, and gives a speech about self-discovery and accepting her new fabulous self. It should be mandatory viewing to see this scene.
On a different note, I feel I must address the rumours that I chose many of the contributors for the Zine to the Zine based purely on their attractiveness…that may or may not be a lie. I can say with confidence that I chose them because they all seemed like people who were bursting with something to say, or were coming to their own in their respective fields. Something about a few of the people harkened back to the humour of writers and actors like Tina fey, someone who had established themselves in the last decade in a really positive way, and the attitude of Anais Nin. While I am in no way comparing us to those godlike figures, there was a spark there which was all too ready to ignite. This first theme (which is likely going to Span over more than one month - and I was hoping for a bi-monthly Zine!!) is quite literal in many ways, and though some of them did, many of the artists, writers and future superstars stitching this body together did not theme their pieces as such. However! My intent was merely to show what these guys had to offer and whether or not they consciously tried to keep a theme going was irrelevant….By contributing at all they were showing themselves as emerging talent and kicked some serious butt in their pieces anyway. You’ll see what I mean.
While I have rambled about my choices in a completely unnecessary and narcissistic way, there is something to remember about the idea of “emerging” and that is the idea of humble beginnings. Bowie didn’t just BECOME Ziggy Stardust, yknow, he had a briefly embarrassing career as a comic singer. Hence my decision to use him as the main photo. Also because I love him and want to be nearly as incredible as he is. We all have a period of anonymity, and even if we all don’t become famous, EMERGING as our own separate selves doesn’t happen overnight. Maybe it does to some people, but maybe it’s different for everyone. I’ve said enough. I hope you enjoy the pieces for this issue!!
Much love,
JXR
