By Megan Hess
Calling someone a "cool girl" doesn't mean what it used to anymore. The phrase "cool girl" used to refer to to the pretty, popular, top-of-the-pyramid, Prom Queen types of young women. Popular onscreen examples include Mean Girls' (Waters 2004) Regina George (Rachel McAdams) and Heather Chandler (Kim Walker) in Heathers (Lehmann 1988). Bring It On's (Reed 2000) Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) and Clueless (Heckerling 1995) heroine Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) could be considered honorary "cool girls," since they have the required WASP-y appearance and social status. Unlike their peers, however, they do not engage in catty behavior, therefore barring them from fully taking on the "cool girl" label.
In 2012, Gillian Flynn changed the definition of "cool girl" when she released her twisty thriller novel "Gone Girl." The New York Times bestseller (and subsequent 2014 Oscar-nominated film adaptation by David Fincher) had many memorable moments, but one stuck out in the collective consciousness: Amy Dunne's vitriolic rant against a new kind of "cool girl." The "cool girls" Amy hates walk the tightrope of gender roles with ease: conventionally feminine and classically beautiful in appearance, but with masculine interests and bearing. They have voracious physical and sexual appetites, and never let anything bother them. Even major annoyances just roll off their backs - refreshing to a man used to "nagging" females. Most importantly, "cool girls" are an elaborate fiction, a persona adopted by desperate women to "catch" men - and it works! Just as Amy calls out the "cool girls" for being fake, she cuts down men for falling for the trick every time.
In reality, Flynn only labeled a concept that existed long before either version of "Gone Girl." Women changing themselves to please men occurs all too often in real life, and it happens on the big screen, too. Tess, Malin Ackerman's character in 27 Dresses (Fletcher 2008) pretends to be a "recent vegetarian" to woo her sister's boss. Mean Girls' Cady Heron (Lindsey Lohan) dumbs down her math skills so her crush, Aaron Samuels (Johnathan Bennett) will tutor her. Even Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) succumbs to the trend.
In 2012, Gillian Flynn changed the definition of "cool girl" when she released her twisty thriller novel "Gone Girl." The New York Times bestseller (and subsequent 2014 Oscar-nominated film adaptation by David Fincher) had many memorable moments, but one stuck out in the collective consciousness: Amy Dunne's vitriolic rant against a new kind of "cool girl." The "cool girls" Amy hates walk the tightrope of gender roles with ease: conventionally feminine and classically beautiful in appearance, but with masculine interests and bearing. They have voracious physical and sexual appetites, and never let anything bother them. Even major annoyances just roll off their backs - refreshing to a man used to "nagging" females. Most importantly, "cool girls" are an elaborate fiction, a persona adopted by desperate women to "catch" men - and it works! Just as Amy calls out the "cool girls" for being fake, she cuts down men for falling for the trick every time.
In reality, Flynn only labeled a concept that existed long before either version of "Gone Girl." Women changing themselves to please men occurs all too often in real life, and it happens on the big screen, too. Tess, Malin Ackerman's character in 27 Dresses (Fletcher 2008) pretends to be a "recent vegetarian" to woo her sister's boss. Mean Girls' Cady Heron (Lindsey Lohan) dumbs down her math skills so her crush, Aaron Samuels (Johnathan Bennett) will tutor her. Even Amy Dunne (Rosamund Pike) succumbs to the trend.
At Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy's (Rosamund Pike) first meeting, she's drinking a beer - the official alcoholic beverage of choice for "cool girls."
Although the general concept of "Cool Girl:" the gorgeous, unruffled woman who loves junk food and video game marathons appears less often in its full form, many cinematic heroines embody concepts of "Cool Girl." Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), aka Black Widow, the token female in the MCU Avengers team before the introduction of Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron (Whedon 2015) has elements of "Cool Girl" in Avengers (Whedon 2012) and Captain America: Winter Soldier (Russo 2014). She starts her first scene in Avengers in a sexy black dress, tied to a chair while being interrogated by a group of older Russian men, and ends the scene by incapacitating all of them, proving she can keep up with the boys and still look hot - a classic "Cool Girl" quality. Romanoff also portrays the emotional laissez-faire of Cool Girls. For example, in Avengers, she hears the news that her best friend and teammate Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) has been compromised, and barely reacts. Her spy training could take credit for her lessened emotional response - she doesn't want to let her feelings get in the way of completing the mission - , but it's also a part of her "Cool Girl" role. Unlike other "Cool Girls," Romanoff does not act that way for romantic reasons, but as a bonding mechanism; for the team to function appropriately, she needs to be "just one of the guys." Thankfully, Avengers: Age of Ultron humanizes Romanoff, and she becomes much less a "Cool Girl" and more a well-rounded female character. (Romanoff is really more of a femme fatale than a "Cool Girl," anyway. )
From her first appearance in "Avengers," Romanoff shows off her most prominent "Cool Girl" personality trait - her ability to stay calm (and look good) under pressure.
In "Is the 'Cool Girl' the New 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl'?" Chris Osterndorf speculates about whether Flynn's "Cool Girl" will rise to cinematic prominence like Nathan Rabin's term for the eccentric beauties who improve the mediocre lives of their mopey male companions in Garden State (Braff 2004), Elizabethtown (Crowe 2005), and other similar films. (For a more in-depth look at the trope: http://www.cinemablography.org/manic-pixie-dream-girl.html) He certainly brings up an interesting question, and only time will tell the result. In the meantime, screenwriters should focus on continuing to portray the wide array of options for women, not only the "Cool Girl."
Works Cited
Osterndorf, Chris. "Is the "Cool Girl" the New "Manic Pixie Dream Girl?" The Daily Dot. 18 July 2014. Web. 17 Feb 2016.
Works Cited
Osterndorf, Chris. "Is the "Cool Girl" the New "Manic Pixie Dream Girl?" The Daily Dot. 18 July 2014. Web. 17 Feb 2016.
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