"}i watched legally blonde for the first time tonight, and while it\u2019s not a great film i do understand the hype now. wowie zowie is it definitely the prototype for a huge chunk of the \u201clean in\u201d/\u201ci\u2019m with her\u201d/\u201cnotorious RBG\u201d liberal feminism of the 2010s. no wonder it\u2019s getting a reboot (written by mindy kaling, no less, whose work i do not engage with but i have the impression she\u2019s a minor avatar for this sort of thing)
the key is understanding that the film has 2 messages: one is\u00a0\u201cyou can be a woman and successful without having to apologise for your femininity,\u201d which is the cool and uncontroversial message everyone generally understands it as having; the other message, which is just as loud and just as important, is\u00a0\u201cas a woman, you can be extremely powerful and also completely innocent.\u201d you can go through one of the most prestigious educational programs in the world, one that virtually guarantees you entry into a tiny elite class of profound influence, and be totally pure of heart. you can flagrantly violate the ethical codes of the legal profession and be totally pure of heart. you can exhibit the unrestrained ambition to ascend to positions of greater power and wealth - you can learn to exhibit this ambition - and be totally pure of heart. it\u2019s a very potent fantasy that\u2019s bottled up in there