Heathers+1st+Period

=**HEATHERS** 1st Period=

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Question Why/is this an appropriate movie to screen in the class? Think in terms of the previous units we have discussed (names, politics, advertising).

Answer:

 Our first impressions of this movie were actually very good. The movie easily relates to the material we have already covered this trimester. For example, in our first unit we examined the structure of names. In this movie the group of "popular" girls are all named Heather. This is quite ironic because we know that with a name comes a certain predetermined perception of that person and since they all have the same name it can be argued that they don't really have their own true identity.  Names are a first impression before an first impression, which judgments can be based upon before actual interactions. This movie gives an generic view on the popular girls, especially by giving them the same name 'Heather'. Victoria, on the other hand, is a part of the Heathers' group but seems to have a clear understanding of who she is simply because her name doesn't begin with Heather. The name Jason Dean, or JD, is reminiscent of James Dean, which gives his "rebel without a cause" attitude further depth. Referencing celebrities and their reputations through characters' names is a form of advertising for a certain image.

There are other examples of interesting language use in this movie as well. For example, Victoria is known for her ability to imitate people's handwriting, and she tries to use what she knows about a person to imitate their writing style when she does it. She and her boyfriend have an argument over the use of the word "myriad" in writing Heather's suicide note, and one of her teachers comments on that later. Another bit of language use is how the bullies' method of intimidation centers around the slang words like "fag." Their whole method of demanding respect seems to center around calling other people gay. Victoria and her boyfriend find it funny to turn that against them. In the suicide note she writes for them, the same idea is expressed with different words: they call it "forbidden love" instead of "sucking dick."

This movie is appropriate to show in class because it underscores the political hierarchy of high school. We have all faced similar situations (be it not as bad) and can connect on some level with the characters in the movie. This personal connection allows us to truly understand the topics and ideas we discussed in the previous units. The characters develop roles of the typical high school stereotypes, especially that of the "popular" group. While cliques and bullying are tame at Greenhill in comparison to the movie, as teenagers, we understand these situations and the peer pressure that we face each day. Although she takes it to the extreme, Veronica realizes that a change must be made. She is the only one of the group of girls not named Heather and was therefore never completely part of the clique to begin with. Her rebellion against their shallowness displays a confidence that most teenagers lack, the ability to blatantly dismiss social norms.

It is interesting how the language of the Heathers change as power switches from one to another. Heather Chandler, the original “leader,” always speaks in a demanding and patronizing way. After her death, Heather Duke “takes over” as the new it girl and goes from a meek, shy follower (both in speech and body language) to a clone of Heather Chandler. Heather McNamara, who was once “2nd in command”, becomes the girl who is self conscious and teased by one of her best friends. Her speech also changes to self doubting (the radio call) which is a big difference from the way she talked at the start of the movie (especially at the party). These changes all come from title switches. There is a certain type of girl that is seen as the most popular girl, and who ever is filling the position must transform themselves to fit that image. This relates to this class because the name of “leader” changes the person trying to fill that title.

As the movie progresses, the act of suicide starts becoming the "cool" thing to do. This results from both the media attention and the social status of the people who supposedly killed themselves. Whenever groups of celebrities partake in activities or develop habits that would otherwise be considered strange or improper, people are drawn towards trying these things as well. Regardless of whether or not these activities or habits are eventually accepted or continue to be disregarded, they are at least given a chance. This discussion of the effect of celebrities and famous faces in terms of successful advertising has come up during class at some point.

In addition to relationships to political concepts and language use, there is implicit, generic advertising throughout the movie. For example, in on scene the popular girls actually help each other purge to lose weight. This action, with its attached idea that a thin figure leads to popularity, behaves as a "living advertisement". The concept of "this is what I do, there is where I end up, what will you do?" permeates the entire movie. Of course, this goes hand in hand with typical high school popularity (i.e. a popular figure "naturally" has a great amount of influence over others). Due to this, are popular figures automatically "living advertisements" whether they present it actively or passively?

The attempt to explain JD's psychosis through his family history was bothersome. The "like father like son" addage did not provide a satisfying enough reason for his hatred of high school's social heirarchy. His dad's disturbing fondness for ex plosives was just a means for JD to have access to bombs, not the source of his anger. Bringing in his father's business only miscommunicated JD's logic; he was not trying to destroy the school because his dad did the same thing for a living, but instead the sacrifice was supposed to bring equality among angsty teenagers and the community. This reasoning was only well explained in the last minutes of the movie (specifically the boiler room scene) and parallels Socialist revolutions or even Fight Club's "Space Monkeys" train of thought. Regardless of what JD's actions symbolized, the reason behind his madness was miscommunicated. Miscommunication in general plays a role in Heathers, whether from the cheerleader reaching out for help on the radio and later being ridiculed, or the very lack of speech between Victoria and her parents showing their superficial relationship. Although not doublespeak or the language of politics, the exchanges and things left unsaid in Heathers relate to our study of language and especially interpretation. We interpret the advertisements we see and the words we hear, just as the school attempted to understand the fake notes that Victoria wrote and the actions of the suicides. JD's use of language can show us alot about JD's character. For instance he uses the term "society" regularly, but what does that really mean. It would seem that he is refering to the connections between people and the ideologies that define the lives of people. JD generalizes the people in the society inorder to defend his extreme ideas. He is frusted with "society" and the "heiarchy" of the school. These terms dont really describe what he is trying to do. Terms like society, and teenager are similiar to the terms we use in politics such as "terrorist" or "liberal." These are accpeted stereotypes and generalizations that we use to explain the world that surrounds us.

I just watched the end of the movie. I am not going to spoil the ending for those who haven't seen it, but I was a little shocked. I couldn't quite place this movie until i started thinking about other movies it reminded me of. The Heather's reminds me of the latest Romeo and Juliet 1996 remake. The language the rhetoric. The personal interactions and tragedies remind me of Romeo and Juliet (this version has guns and action). The way Veronica uses the gun as a prop also reminds me of that Here are the youtube links for the rest of the movie friom where we left off. Beginning (start at 6:36) [] Middle [] Ending [] Modern Romeo + Juliet (1996) it reminds me of [|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofqCbbZOwW8&feature=related] 
 * Note: Please produce** __one__ answer as a group, instead of individual responses. I have edited out names from the above post.