Girlhood, Purity And The Virgin Suicides : What Does It Mean To Be A Girl?

I recently watched The Virgin Suicides by Sofia Coppola and it left me with a lot of thoughts. Now, compared to my foray into the world of Wes Anderson, I actually had seen a Sofia Coppola film before. Marie Antoinette. And, it was quite good. You can definitely see some of the inspirations and themes she borrows from The Virgin Suicides. The movie was pretty decent and though not for my particular taste, it did strike hard where it needed to and caused me to ruminate in my mind for quite a while.

So, let's go over what I found interesting about the film and discuss. 

Now while and after watching the movie, it becomes quite clear that the storytelling is purposeful and is sharp. It does something unique by telling the story of our main characters, the Lisbon sisters, through the perspective of the neighborhood boys. By doing this, Coppola uses the male gaze to masterfully tell a story about five teenage girls and how and why they eventually all committed suicide. And in case you're wondering how the boys could ever tell the story in a faithful way, they don't. They are clouded by their emotions and see the girls no more than their vanity but think themselves as 'in love'. It's genius, really.

The story begins when the youngest Lisbon sister, Cecilia tries to kill herself and ends up in the hospital. When the doctor asks her what she's doing here (referring to her age), we get the line 'Obviously, doctor, you've never been a 13-year old girl.' That's just so funny for no reason.

Anyways, her extremely conservative parents decide eventually to throw a party to let the girls socialize and cheer up Cecilia. 

However, this takes a turn for the worse as the boys start making jokes at the expense of another boy, who was the only person she liked, making her losing all hope for the people around her. She walks upstairs and a few minutes later, a sound is heard. Cecilia has jumped off the window and passed away. 

Dark beginning, I know. But our first main character already teaches us something in the brief time that we had with her. She was asking for help but instead of taking care of her, her parents simply tightened restrictions, suffocating their child in her feelings. And when surrounded by self-centered and seemingly unkind people, she may have felt as though there was no point in seeing it through. Her parents take her to a therapist to 'fix her' not to find a solution. She was a sad child in a home full of people who preferred smiles. And in the end, her death may have been her only chance to leave. 

Cecilia and her sisters throughout the movie represent the different types of girlhood that take place within teenage girls. Because of her inability to accept the short-comings of her environment and subsequent rejection of it, Cecilia had no other option but to leave. And in her case, death was the only way to do so.

The remaining four Lisbon sisters however, show us a different form of girlhood based on older teenage girls and the societal lens placed on them. Growing up in a rather conservative household, the Lisbon's did everything by the book. No boyfriends till college, no boys in the house without parental supervision and in general no going out. Now, there are usually two responses to this type of parenting.

There is the ever-obedient child and the rule-breaker. 

We could lump three out the four Lisbon sisters in that category. 

Everyone except Lux. 

After Cecilia's abrupt passing away, the main focus is now on the fourth Lisbon sister, 14-year old Lux. Lux is a very intriguing character. Because this is where the male gaze of the movie really shines (but remember, disgusting though it is, it's intentional). Lux is the 'dream girl'. Rather than being seen a girl or even a person, she seen for her beauty and attractiveness. Essentially, tying her being to her looks. And she's aware of this quite well. She even uses it to her advantage. But unlike the boys, who see her as this unattainable girl to gawk at creepily through their telescope, we the audience, feel pity and disgust. At the fact that this child has been sexualized by so many people in her life that it's clearly impacted the way she sees and presents herself. 

Which makes it even more sad when she eventually gets used by a boy for her body when she really liked him. Only to be hit by reality, in the form of waking up in a cold football field after the school dance, alone. On reaching home, girlhood is the slap her mother gives her, a reminder that they were right and she could never escape. 

Lux is the sister that represents purity culture that is forced upon young girls and how retaliation doesn't help anyone. She is the one who fights back the most and what does she get to show for it? Burned music records (because her mother blames her music influences), a broken heart and an desolate cage. 

The rest of the Lisbon sisters Bonnie, Mary and Therese are the quieter, overlooked forms of girlhood. The kind you don't notice or consider as people but appreciate when they are no longer there. They all reject the boxes they are given but can never escape them. Causing them too, to kill themselves. 

It's quite sad. 

Now let's talk about the flip side of this discussion. The people who would rather not like being talked about. The boys. Our narrators. Who objectify and mystify the lives of these sisters to make them less human and more of a pretty tale to tell. In order to convince us and themselves that they played no part in their murder and are just as perplexed about their passing. 

Just like the parents play their role through sheltering and smothering them, the boys see their pain and suffering as something to romanticize. For them to be 'knights in shining armor'. Even years later, they only see the Lisbon girls story as something to joke or speculate about rather than a sad loss that everyone played a part in. The boys claim to 'love' them and 'care' for them but they were never interested. Not a real way. But they convince themselves that they are. 

Adding to the girlhood.

The men and boys who take it away. The innocence and simplicity of being a girl is gone when boys and men invade and take over. Suddenly, being a girl is no longer your choice. 

And that is what it means to be a girl. 

Experiencing a lot of things that you shouldn't have to. 

But it does make fun for a movie review. 

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