Toula (Nia Vardalos) and Ian (John Corbett) on their wedding day (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Zwick, 2002)
by Megan Hess
If, it is true, as Jane Austen once said in the opening words of Pride and Prejudice, that “it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1) then it is also true that a single women in possession of a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wedding. With at least 2.5 million weddings each year, generating over 50 billion dollars of revenue, according to Wikipedia, the wedding industry is one of the most lucrative and tradition-rich pieces of American culture, but it is also one of the most normative. The “wedding movie,” an important subgenre of the romance\romantic comedy genres reflects this normativity. Using the framework of Audre Lorde’s “mythical norm,” I will look at examples and counterexamples of normativity in the American wedding movie of the 2000s.
The idea of the “mythical norm” comes from the African-American feminist writer\scholar Audre Lorde. She first introduced it in a paper she presented at Amherst College in April 1980, entitled “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.” According to Lorde, “Somewhere, on the edge of consciousness, there is what I call a mythical norm, which each one of us within our hearts knows "that is not me." In America, this norm is usually defined as white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure. It is with this mythical norm that the trappings of power reside within this society” (2). Lorde’s “mythical norm” deals with the presence and absence of oppression and privilege – the assumption that those whose bodies and social positions adhere closer to the “mythical norm” will be better insulated from certain hardships of life. For the purposes of this article, I will focus more on the privilege aspect of the “mythical norm” than oppression.
The typical protagonist of the American wedding movie fits the mythical norm. She is a young, white, woman with a low body fat percentage and high salary, marrying a man. Let’s look at an example: Jane, Kathrine Heigl’s character from 27 Dresses (Fletcher, 2008)
The idea of the “mythical norm” comes from the African-American feminist writer\scholar Audre Lorde. She first introduced it in a paper she presented at Amherst College in April 1980, entitled “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.” According to Lorde, “Somewhere, on the edge of consciousness, there is what I call a mythical norm, which each one of us within our hearts knows "that is not me." In America, this norm is usually defined as white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure. It is with this mythical norm that the trappings of power reside within this society” (2). Lorde’s “mythical norm” deals with the presence and absence of oppression and privilege – the assumption that those whose bodies and social positions adhere closer to the “mythical norm” will be better insulated from certain hardships of life. For the purposes of this article, I will focus more on the privilege aspect of the “mythical norm” than oppression.
The typical protagonist of the American wedding movie fits the mythical norm. She is a young, white, woman with a low body fat percentage and high salary, marrying a man. Let’s look at an example: Jane, Kathrine Heigl’s character from 27 Dresses (Fletcher, 2008)
With the castoffs from 27 weddings in her closet, Jane exemplifies “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” – but she still has the look of the wedding-movie bride she becomes. She works as a personal assistant to a magazine editor, which might cause the viewer to assume she doesn’t make much money, but her spacious, well-lit apartment says otherwise. Even though the dresses in this scene range from goofy to hideous, she still looks pretty – an intentional choice. The wedding movie protagonist is always pretty in that bland, basic-white-girl way. If she doesn’t always start out with that look, she ends up with it. One example is Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) the protagonist of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and its sequel. At the beginning of the film, she does not feel very happy or excited about her life, and her style reflects that sense of drab hopelessness. The movie codes her as “unattractive” (and, by association, unlovable) through monotone, full-coverage clothing, minimally styled hair, no visible makeup, and glasses.
Toula (Nia Vardalos) pre-makeover (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Zwick, 2002)
Hence, it is no coincidence that, once she invests more time into her personal style, that she finally finds a man worth marrying.
Toula post-makeover (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Zwick, 2002)
The makeover trope is almost omnipresent in movies marketed to women, and the wedding movie is not exempt. While Toula is different from other wedding movie protagonists because she actually has a distinctive ethnic background, it’s telling that she has to transform her physical appearance to match theirs to find love.
The former examples have established the trend of the mythical norm’s presence in the American wedding movie. One question to ask is: why is this so prevalent? Granted, these films were made in a time with less overt awareness of race, class, gender, and sexuality issues, but, even then, women and men who do not fit the mythical norm were falling in love and getting married in the public eye. Why is the only wedding story worth representing belong only to the slim, white, middle-class female? Part of it has to do with marketing. The women of the mythical norm are the target audience of these movies, and, if they can see themselves in the narrative, they will (hopefully) be more successful at the box office. This worked with 27 Dresses, which made back almost all of its $30 thousand budget in its opening weekend, and doubled that figure by the end of its run in theaters (IMDB). When films with the mythical norm as a driving force do well, it only perpetuates the trope. White male producers think this is what women want because this is what society has told them women want. Women working in the mainstream movie industry often don’t correct them because of the power imbalance, the social expectation that it is what they should want, and the money.
From a socio-cultural angle, it is often the most privileged in society – those who totally embody Lorde’s mythical norm – who create culture, especially mass culture. The tradition of men making “women’s films” could be another article entirely. They are reflecting what they know and what they have seen around them: whiteness, and the women of the mythical norm. Even when women are involved in writing, producing, or directing a film, she usually works with men in the other big production roles. (27 Dresses breaks tradition here, with a female scriptwriter and a female director.)
However, often as culture changes, popular culture changes with it. Bridesmaids (Feig, 2011) serves as a counterexample to the mythically normative films mentioned above. While Annie (Kristen Wiig), the protagonist is very much a product of the mythical norm, she does not also get to play the bride role. That goes to her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph).
The former examples have established the trend of the mythical norm’s presence in the American wedding movie. One question to ask is: why is this so prevalent? Granted, these films were made in a time with less overt awareness of race, class, gender, and sexuality issues, but, even then, women and men who do not fit the mythical norm were falling in love and getting married in the public eye. Why is the only wedding story worth representing belong only to the slim, white, middle-class female? Part of it has to do with marketing. The women of the mythical norm are the target audience of these movies, and, if they can see themselves in the narrative, they will (hopefully) be more successful at the box office. This worked with 27 Dresses, which made back almost all of its $30 thousand budget in its opening weekend, and doubled that figure by the end of its run in theaters (IMDB). When films with the mythical norm as a driving force do well, it only perpetuates the trope. White male producers think this is what women want because this is what society has told them women want. Women working in the mainstream movie industry often don’t correct them because of the power imbalance, the social expectation that it is what they should want, and the money.
From a socio-cultural angle, it is often the most privileged in society – those who totally embody Lorde’s mythical norm – who create culture, especially mass culture. The tradition of men making “women’s films” could be another article entirely. They are reflecting what they know and what they have seen around them: whiteness, and the women of the mythical norm. Even when women are involved in writing, producing, or directing a film, she usually works with men in the other big production roles. (27 Dresses breaks tradition here, with a female scriptwriter and a female director.)
However, often as culture changes, popular culture changes with it. Bridesmaids (Feig, 2011) serves as a counterexample to the mythically normative films mentioned above. While Annie (Kristen Wiig), the protagonist is very much a product of the mythical norm, she does not also get to play the bride role. That goes to her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph).
Lillian (Maya Rudolph, second from right) goes dress shopping with her bridesmaids (Bridesmaids, Feig, 2011)
In a typical wedding movie, any of the other bridesmaids (except Melissa McCarthy, unless this were a “makeover” wedding movie like My Big Fat Greek Wedding) would be the protagonist, and Lillian would be the token minority bridesmaid. Bridesmaids inverts the trope by putting Lillian in the coveted role of bride-to-be. They make it seem normal because it is normal. Bridesmaids’ move is not completely groundbreaking – Lillian still fits into many aspects of the mythical norm, even if she cannot totally claim whiteness – but it is one step towards increasing diversity in the American wedding movie.
Cultural scholars can and should critique wedding movies for their role in perpetuating classicism, heteronormativity, and white, thin, and “pretty” privilege, along with feeding women’s drive to have the Pinterest-perfect, cake-topper, wedding. However, lambasting the genre will not make it go away. Weddings are significant cultural and personal events, and should not be excluded from onscreen representation. I believe wedding movies will become even more enjoyable when they reflect our multicultural, diverse, world instead of just the “single white female” experience.
Cultural scholars can and should critique wedding movies for their role in perpetuating classicism, heteronormativity, and white, thin, and “pretty” privilege, along with feeding women’s drive to have the Pinterest-perfect, cake-topper, wedding. However, lambasting the genre will not make it go away. Weddings are significant cultural and personal events, and should not be excluded from onscreen representation. I believe wedding movies will become even more enjoyable when they reflect our multicultural, diverse, world instead of just the “single white female” experience.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice New York: Modern Library, 1995. Print
“Box Office\Business for 27 Dresses” IMD, n.d. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988595/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus Accessed 11\5\17
Lorde, Audre. “Age, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” https://www.colorado.edu/odece/sites/default/files/attached-files/rba09-sb4converted_8.pdf
Accessed 11\5\17
“Wedding Industry in the United States” Wikipedia, n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_industry_in_the_United_States Accessed 11\5\17
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice New York: Modern Library, 1995. Print
“Box Office\Business for 27 Dresses” IMD, n.d. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988595/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus Accessed 11\5\17
Lorde, Audre. “Age, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” https://www.colorado.edu/odece/sites/default/files/attached-files/rba09-sb4converted_8.pdf
Accessed 11\5\17
“Wedding Industry in the United States” Wikipedia, n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_industry_in_the_United_States Accessed 11\5\17
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