Legally Blonde Analysis

Hidden Female Empowerment

Elle Woods is a known character in the movie world. The movie Legally Blonde is all about a girly girl in a sorority that decides one day she is going to become a Harvard Law student. She is motivated into getting into Harvard because her boyfriend Warner broke up with her due to the fact that she isn’t up to his educational standards. Many people along the way doubt her intentions as a Law student because she is a female and looks the way she does. But, Legally Blonde has a powerful hidden message. The empowered female character of Elle Woods encourages women to work for what they want, prove to yourself and others that they are more than what meets the eye, and that women do not need to rely on a man for their happiness.

In the beginning of the movie, Elle displays to be desperate. She continuously wants Warner to want her back and she is willing to do anything. She talks to her school advisor and asks

what she can do to be accepted into Harvard, the administrator practically takes Elle as a joke considering the way Elle thinks it would be so easy to be accepted. Elle proves that with hard work and confidence she can concur anything. She then gets into Harvard Law hoping to win Warner back but only to find out he is engaged to Vivian. A hidden message in this story line is that even though Elle got into Harvard Law to win Warner back, Warner did not care to pursue Elle. Elle seemed like too much of a threat to Warner’s career.
Besides being a sorority girl and lover of fashion, the way Elle dresses causes her classmates and professors to doubt her seriousness for Law.

While being a blonde with a tiny Chihuahua, she consistently is stereotyped as being a “dumb blonde”. Although Elle is a powerful woman, like a feminist, she does not portray it throughout the entire film. Elle receives an internship from professor Callahan; this becomes the point in the film where Elle receives assurance that Harvard Law is the right place for her. She was motivated by this offer and realizes that all of her hard work was actually paying off. Callahan shows his sexist behavior throughout many scenes. When he wanted coffee, he looked at Vivian to get it for him, he never asked a man to get for him. Callahan pulled Elle into his office, where she thought they were going to talk about the internship. It turns out Callahan came on to Elle and only offered her the internship because he thought she was just a pretty face. Elle does get discouraged but uses this as a fire beneath

her.
Elle ends up taking the place of Professor Callahan as a lawyer in a trial. As the jury and judge were hesitant about Elle’s lawyer abilities, she ends up cracking the case. Not only did she prove her success to herself, her classmates and professors but Warner realized her prosperity. Warner decides Elle is up to his standards and suggests they should get back together. Elle’s strong, empowering female side comes out and tells him that she is no longer going to let him or any other man control what she is capable of. She also implies that Warner needs to meet her standards. Elle ends up graduating Harvard Law at the top of her class and leaving with something more important. She leaves knowing her capabilities, independence and success.
In Legally Blonde, many people doubted Elle Woods. They judged her by her looks and stereotyped her as a “dumb blonde”. But, that is not the point Legally Blonde was trying to get across. Elle Woods is an empowering feminist who did not let any man control her and her capabilities. She wanted to get into Harvard Law and she did just that. Besides proving herself to others, she proved to herself that she is competent and more then what meets the eye. Callahan especially did not take Elle or any other woman seriously but yet again Elle proved she is a force to be reckoned with. Elle also shows that women do not need a man to depend on.