"Legally" Amazing!

What’s one thing I learned in the past few days, ladies and gents? There are just tons and tons of college movies out there! I never realized this until I decided to watch a college movie for this last blog assignment. I swear, I became the greatest Google Master out there, searching for the PERFECT movie for this blog. I came across a bunch of titles but nothing really stood out to me you know? It kind of reminded me of a shopping experience. For the ladies out there, I think you know what I mean when I say it was kind of like the feeling when you go out shopping at your favorite store and they have the HUGE rack of sale items. I’m talking about slashed price items, down 50%-75% and you know that you just need to buy at least ONE (or a million) thing/s. However, like the Google Search, it’s overbearingly overwhelming because you see a bunch of great things but not a great dress or pair of shoes that was meant, created, just for YOU.  Well you see, in the end, I found my perfect pair of shoes because I am proud to say that I had a successful Google search! The movie choice that I’ll be talking about today is Legally Blonde.

For anyone who EXTREMELY dislikes Legally Blonde, I…I… I will never understand. I loved this movie when it first came out, the hundreds of time I’ve watched it since then, and I STILL love this movie. Re-watching it this evening made me realize WHY I loved it and I feel like I can better relate to the movie because I have my own two cents to contribute about the college experience. I’m just flabbergasted that it took my half an hour of Google Searching to realize that this was the movie I wanted to reflect on. I’m sure you all know what the basic story line of the movie is but just in case you’ve taken a trip to Mars for the past decade, I’ll fill you in on the major details! The protagonist is Miss Elle Woods and she is a college senior. She plans to marry her long time boyfriend, Warner, who has plans of going to Harvard for Law School. When she believes that he is going to propose to her before the summer, her world actually turns upside down because he instead BREAK UPS with her (</3) because he needs a “Jackie” (a reference to John F. Kennedy’s wife) and not a “Marilyn” (a reference to JFK’s mistress who is known for her bubbly personality, beauty, but not respected in a way that Jackie was). So what is a girl to do you may ask? Elle follows the love of her life all the way to Harvard, becoming a law student as well. She spends the rest of the movie trying to prove to Warner, and everyone else at Harvard, that she is a force to be reckoned with! 

Not only does Legally Blonde take place on a college campus, but also I believe that it reflects many themes and character struggles/experiences that may be extracted from the college experience. So let’s get to it, shall we?

Struggle 1: Keeping a firm handle on your finances!

As we all know (hopefully, if not MOST), Elle Woods is incredibly wealthy. She has tons of fashionable clothes, is in contact with Cameron Diaz somehow so there must be some higher up connection, and she can afford multiple sequined bikinis as we see in her Harvard Video Admissions Essay. However, Elle is not clueless about how to save here and there. In fact, what I found to be interesting is that certain people try to take advantage of Elle by charging her more than what an item is worth. For example, when Elle is trying on different outfits, trying to find the most perfect one for her dinner date with Warner (one in which she believes Warner will propose to her), the sales woman of the store attempts to sell her a dress from last season at original price. BUT because Elle is very knowledgeable about the seasonal timing of the outfits (she knew that the dress was from last season) and that certain types of stitching do not go with certain kinds of fabrics, she was able to call out the sales lady and tell her that she KNEW her intentions. What does this tell us? Elle will not be easily fooled when it comes to money!

Every college student should learn a few things from Elle, especially when it comes to finances. As college students, we’re broke already right? So why not keep a lookout for special deals and discounts? Also, like Elle, we should be as vigilant as possible because let’s be honest, we are easy targets for scams. Many people assume that we do not know what we’re doing because of our lack of experience. But learn, people! Be cautious and know what you’re getting into so if possible, you can avoid the worst of circumstances. So thank you Miss Woods!

Check out this fellow blogger for more tips on how to save money in college:

50 Tips to Save Money as a College Student!

Struggle 2: Dealing with new expectations!

I’m going to discuss a character that I absolutely dislike, that is Warner. But Warner actually demonstrates a struggle really well in the context of college so I suppose I’ll just HAVE to talk about Warner. During the dinner date, Warner attempts to justify his breakup with Elle by saying that Harvard Law School is “going to be different.” Breaking up is “the right thing to do” and that he should stop “digging around.” He goes on to say that there have been five generations of senators in his family, his brother is in the top three of his class at Yale, and that his brother is even engaged to Vanderbilt. He constantly emphasizes that he must think of the future and must take into heavy consideration what his family has to say. I found the parallel between Warner and all college students fascinating. As Warner states that there are new expectations of him, college students can feel the same way! We are reminded every day how different college is from high school. The classes are much more difficult, the professors less understanding, and if you go to Rutgers, you must be very independent and fend for yourself at most times!  In addition, our families and parents expect more from us. Many of the students I know previously attended public school prior to coming to college and now is the first time we’ve ever had to pay (directly anyway) for our education. So now, our family has more expectations for us to do well because there is a money factor. There are more pressures, similar to the ones that Warner expresses, because college is what will eventually lead us down to our careers. So I hate to say it, but yes, I DO (and most of you too!)  share similarities with Warner.

A musical spin on this scene, provided for you by yours truly!

Experience 1: Meeting with advisors!

Another experience that most college students will have, if they have not already, is academic advising with a dean of some sort. In Legally Blonde, Elle goes to her Dean because she has desires to go to Harvard Law School. Though the Dean in the movie seems to be a lot more judgmental and narrow minded (quick to judge Elle because of her outward appearance) she does provide the objective input that many students would find when they schedule appointments with their deans. Elle’s advisor honestly states that Harvard will not be so impressed with a 4.0 GPA in a Fashion Merchandise Major or even an A in the History of Polka Dots. She even goes on to say that to even have a chance at Harvard, Elle must obtain at least a 175 on her LSAT.  When college students have advising sessions with their deans, they should expect to hear the brutal truth. They will hear what they should accomplish, what needs to be done, in order to meet certain criteria. Although this scene was notably humorous, college students should expect a much more serious, though insightful meeting with the dean.

For some extra information on Rutgers Academic Advising, check out: Rutgers Academic Advising!

Experience 2: Study, study, study for those exams!

Poor, poor Elle! Elle had to miss out on the entire week of Fraternity Festivities in order to study for her LSAT. We see Elle struggle to focus while she sees those around her having fun. This is the story of our lives, huh guys? By far the greatest difference between high school and college is the amount of work and time you have to put into your academics in order to do well above and beyond. There are days when you just don’t want to study anymore but you just have to DO IT. Especially now, when the weather is just glorious and you want to be out all day or even inside doing nothing at all. Like Elle, however, college students learn to just push through especially in crunch times like the one we’re approaching soon- the dreaded finals. We must take our studies very seriously and we’ll probably devote so much time inside and to practice exams, review books, and lecture notes. Hopefully, we can be as successful as Elle!

Struggle 3: Finding your niche in college!

This is perhaps the greatest struggle we can all relate to! As we all know, Elle is definitely a west coast girl as she always flaunts her cute pink outfits, her Chihuahua Bruiser that is usually carried in some type of convenient purse, and her need to fulfill shopping and manicure and pedicure impulses. 

So when she comes to Harvard Law School, all the way on the East Coast, with her moving truck full of palm trees, purple couches, and other frilly items, she is teased right away. She just doesn’t fit in- she sticks out like a sore thumb. Even when she maintains her friendly and bubbly personality, people are quick to judge her as “ditzy” and “dumb” and that she doesn’t belong at Harvard. One specific incident was when she made muffins for everyone and wanted to join Warner and Vivian’s group study. They told her no (so mean!) and even went to say that she wasn’t intelligent enough to join them. I mean my goodness, she made MUFFINS for you people! Eventually, Elle learns to earn respect with her top grades and note-worthy remarks in class and ultimately she does find her place among her peers. This just goes to show you that Rutgers is a huge place and it may be hard to find your place too. For any college student really, the battle to find not only who you are, but where you belong and who you belong with are also incredible struggles. Although most situations are not as severe as Elle’s, we can all relate especially since this university is massive. But with time and the eventual ease into college, Elle shows us that if SHE can do it, so can we!