5 Things I Learnt From My Favourite Movie

As someone who's studied English literature extensively for the past three years, I've been programmed to break down every piece of art I see to its most basic components and analyse each one for import and meaning.

My favourite novels, TV shows, poems and films are no exception to this rule - especially not my favourite movie of all time, Legally Blonde.

Based on the novel by Amanda Brown, Legally Blonde tells the story of Elle Woods, a woman who gets into Harvard Law School to impress her ex-boyfriend and instead ends up falling in love with the world of law and becoming a top-notch lawyer.

I love this film for a lot of reasons - it's funny, it's happy, parts of it are wonderfully silly ("bend ... and snap!"), it stars a fantastic cast of actors and actresses, it's original and, on top of all that, it's pretty inspiring.
As a kid, Elle's character taught me a lot about what to expect and how to conduct yourself in day-to-day life - and they're still all lessons I find extremely useful to this day.

So without further ado, here's five things I learnt from my favourite movie, Legally Blonde.

1. Always Be Yourself

This is perhaps the most obvious message Legally Blonde conveys, but it's also one of the most important so let's discuss it.

One of the reasons this movie is so unique is because it's an underdog story with an unconventional underdog. Instead of a plain-Jane nerd from a penniless background, Elle Woods is a bubbly fashionista with rich parents who enjoys an active social life and plenty of hair-care products. Therefore, everyone assumes she's a brainless, superficial blonde and nothing more.

Throughout the film, we see plenty of instances of people giving Elle a hard time just for wearing pink and being blonde. At the very start of the movie, Warner breaks up with Elle because she's "more of a Marilyn than a Jackie" and tells her she's not serious enough for him. Later on in the film, he insults who she is again by telling her (in the most condescending way possible) "you're just not smart enough sweetie." Everyone at Harvard immediately turns up their noses at Elle's pink outfits and shuns her from their study groups for not being clever enough.

But what's so uplifting about Elle's character is that everybody's judgement and exclusion doesn't stop her from being who she is. She continues to dress in colourful outfits (even her laptop looks brighter and prettier than everyone else's), go to the salon, hang out with her beautician pal Paulette and write her essays on glorious hot pink paper.

This is why I've always seen Elle as a good role model for young girls (and young boys too of course!) - while not everyone enjoys getting their nails done or dressing in feminine clothes, Elle's experiences as a misfit are universal.
Her excited chattering about Delta Nu is comparable to a geeky kid talking passionately about Star Wars or Pokémon while everyone just glares at them like they're nuts. Harvard students staring capriciously at Elle as she walks around campus in pink is reminscent of a punk, goth or metalhead being frowned at for dressing the way they do.

It's also worth mentioning that Elle Woods is often recognised in the film world as a feminist icon for effeminate girls, proving that you don't have to be dull and austere with your hair scraped into a bun to be a successful, serious and motivated modern woman.

No matter how many times the phrase is repeated, "be yourself" is an incredibly important life lesson to learn and Legally Blonde encapsulates that perfectly.

2. Good Friends Are Important

At one point or another in life, we all come to realize that good friends are hard to come across and they're worth hanging on to when you do.

I've never heard it discussed much but Elle's friends are actually amazing to her.

Elle's two best friends, Margot and Serena, support her 100% in everything she does. From shopping for a proposal outfit to studying for her LSATs, they're always by her side and eager to help. Even though they don't always understand what Elle is doing or why she's doing it, they're constantly on hand to offer her love and encouragement. At the start of the film, they help her to study, grade her papers for her and boost her spirits every step of the way.
Even at the end of the movie, they show up at court to support their friend (enthusiastically urging the jury to "vote for Elle!!!") so although they may not always be familiar (or even comfortable) in Elle's world of law, they always do their best to be there for her.
So to be honest, Elle Woods' friends are the ones we should all aspire to have - and appreciate them when we do.

Furthermore, on the subject of good friends, Elle exhibits just how crucial friendship and trust can be in times of crisis. After she befriends Brooke Taylor-Windham (the woman she is defending in a murder trial and a fellow Delta Nu sister), she keeps the secret of Brooke's alibi in the strictest of confidence, despite the advice and judgment of those around her. Elle's friendship with Brooke means that Brooke trusts her enough to fire Callahan and make Ms Woods her leading lawyer - which ultimately leads to Elle winning the case and Brooke walking free.

It may be worth pointing out that the importance of friendship comes up again in the sequel, Legally Blonde 2 (sometimes known as Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde) when all of Elle's friends band together to orchestrate a huge campaign and pass a law that makes animal testing illegal (on behalf of Bruiser's mom). Yet again, Margot and Serena come to Washington D.C. to show their support for Elle and help their buddy out.

3. Crying Doesn't Make You Weak

Now, I'm what you'd call an angry crier. And a sad crier. And a stressed crier.
Basically, I cry when I'm under pressure, I cry when I'm sad, I cry when other people are sad, confrontation makes me cry, being angry makes me cry and, well, the list goes on.
I cry all the time.
If I haven't cried all week and it comes to Sunday evening, that's how I usually know something is wrong.

But usually in the movies, you don't see a lot of strong, resolute people crying.

Protagonists are often too "tough" or "courageous" to cry and we generally only ever see the weaker, more unimportant characters blubbering onscreen.

However, Legally Blonde doesn't adhere to many stereotypes and (to my delight) it certainly does not stick to the idea that criers are cowardly, ineffectual people.
Elle cries plenty of times - she cries when she finds out Warner is with Vivian, she cries when Callahan hits on her and she full-on wails in public when Warner breaks up with her at the beginning of the film. In the sequel, she cries a notable amount of times too - even having a near-breakdown in the bathroom when she gets fired from her law firm.
Even Emmett, when talking about Professor Stromwell, admits that "she did make me cry once."

But crying doesn't stop any of the main characters from being strong, determined people.
Just because Elle sheds a few tears once in a while does not mean she gives up on her quest to rise to the top. Instead, she is fueled by her own emotion to do better and to be better.

As someone who often gets flack for being sensitive, I really like seeing a character being portrayed as brave and brilliant - while still crying under stress!

4. You Can Do Everything They Say You Can't

It's difficult to do things when you feel no one believes in you or is encouraging you.
Not to get too personal in this post (although I did just divulge the fact that I am a class 1 crier) but I still clearly remember what it was like back in school when I had a teacher who had no faith in me to do well in the subject she was teaching.
She repeatedly told me to drop to Ordinary Level and informed me that I should expect no grade higher than a D. My homework was always wrong no matter how much effort I put into it and she once rang my mom to tell her that she shouldn't get her hopes up that I would even pass the class.
It made me feel pretty lonely to be honest.
She was the only teacher in the school who taught this subject so I had no one else to talk to about my ability in class.

And I can honestly say that this is one of the times Legally Blonde really did motivate me to keep going.

Time and time again throughout the film, Elle does what everyone tells her she can't.
Perhaps most strikingly, she gets into Harvard Law School when Warner believed she wasn't intelligent enough to do it, leading to one of the most awesome dialogue exchanges in the movie...
"You got into Harvard Law?"
"What, like it's hard?"

Even when Callahan reveals to Elle that he only gave her the internship so that he'd have a chance to sleep with her, Vivian turns against her and everybody else (except Emmett) makes it clear that they don't believe in her skill as a lawyer, Elle doesn't give up.
Sure, she takes a moment to feel sad and cry a little but then she strides right back into court - wearing more pink and with more volume in her blonde hair than ever!

Elle's character exhibits that while it's always great to have people who believe in you (such as Margot, Serena, Emmett, Paulette and yes, even Bruiser), the only person you really need to believe in you is you.
If you're your number one advocate, no one can stop you.
And it's just like Elle says in her graduation speech ...

So thanks Elle, I got a C+ in Higher Level in that subject in the end!
That teacher was furious about it, it was great.

5. How To Be A Lady

Although these first four lessons are incredibly important to me, the thing Legally Blonde taught me most about is how to conduct yourself like a lady - and what it actually means to be a lady.

A lady is often thought to be the female equivalent of a gentleman. In other words, a lady is someone who is mannerly, civilized, gracious and holds a certain air of elegance around them.
As Oxford English dictionary puts it, a lady is often seen as "a courteous, decorous, or genteel woman" [source].

And I think Elle Woods is a prime example of all those things.

She's incredibly polite, practices impeccable manners and is kind towards everyone (even those who don't show her kindness in return). She brings muffins to a study meeting in hopes of joining the group but when she is told she's not smart enough, she simply says "oh, I'll just leave then" and makes her quiet, solemn exit.
When accused of calling a lesbian classmate a "dyke," she resolutely tells them that she doesn't "use that word" and that they must have heard it from someone else.
In Legally Blonde 2, Elle thanks Grace for being "generous" enough to offer to bring her to a hearing, even though Grace had just insulted her moments before.
No matter how cruel or unwelcoming others are to Elle, she never loses her dignified, ladylike composure.

Yup, that's right! Even when tricked into attending a casual college party in inappropriate costume, Elle still doesn't let that stop her from being a lady.

She strolls around the shindig in her Playboy bunny outfit, calling out friendly greetings to those around her and saying that she "just felt like dressing up!"

One short scene I absolutely love in Legally Blonde is when Elle comes across Vivian in the corridor.
At this point in the film, Vivian has been nothing but horrible and malicious to Elle. But rather than adding to the tension that exists between them, Elle instead continues acting like the lady she is.
She tells Vivian that she looks "very nice today" and when Vivian awkwardly thanks her, Elle graciously says "you're welcome" and continues going about her day.

Although she doesn't take insults and abuse lightly (usually rolling her eyes or continuing with what she was doing before), she also doesn't start any fights. Instead, Elle maintains a friendly and approachable attitude towards everybody.

Even in Legally Blonde 2 when everyone on Capitol Hill makes it clear that they don't care about Elle or her ideas, she constantly gives those in her office legal advice, attempts to get along with her co-workers and never gives up on the goodness of others.

However, we never get the impression from Elle that is trying to get others to like her - she doesn't grovel, she doesn't suck up, she doesn't beg for acceptance.
In place of that, she simply stays true to the affable, kind-hearted person she is and doesn't let anybody's malice towards her change that.
To put it simply, she remains a lady.

She is a lady who stays true to herself (ladies can wear sparkly blue bikinis too!), who knows she can do anything she puts her mind to, who cries when she needs to, who values her friends and who never lets the cruelty of others stop her from being a nice person.

I'm not ashamed to say that there's been a few times in my life where I've tried to be exactly the type of lady Elle Woods is!

~~~

And so ends my analysis of my favourite movie.
I've also seen the musical version of Legally Blonde on the West End and would most definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a fun musical with great messages and a fantastic soundtrack.

If you ask me, Legally Blonde is a film with plenty of important lessons to take away.
Apart from the five I listed here, there's lots of other reasons this movie stands out so much.

Plus, it's because of my constant watching and re-watching of this movie that I know what crime malum in se and crime malum prohibitum are, that you have to wait 24 hours after getting a perm to wash your hair and that if you're going to be a partner in a law firm by the time you're 30, you need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead.