“I love chick-flicks” is not exactly what people expect to hear from me whenever I say I consider myself a film nerd. Anyone in the film community would probably prefer to hear me ranting about Tarantino’s latest movie, rather than hear me talking about the philosophy behind Mean Girls and the satire of Heathers. However, the hate towards chick-flicks goes beyond a Facebook-group with film enthusiast; I bet we have all met at least one guy, who has complained that his girlfriend “made him watch another chick-flick” like it’s some sort of scarlet letter he must carry from now on and complain about it to his friends.
Of course we all have our preferences when it comes to films; maybe you enjoy action movies more than you enjoy comedies, or maybe you enjoy musicals more than you enjoy slashers; there is nothing wrong with that. Then why is it that whenever a chick-film is mentioned, men and girls “who aren’t like other girls” seem to lose their brain cells trying to convince everybody that all chick-flicks are “bad, stupid and just boring”?
What exactly is a Chick-Flick?
A chick-flick is defined-by the Urban Dictionary as: “a movie that appeals mainly to women”. It is also considered an informal noun that is derogatory towards women. As if saying there must be something wrong with movies that women (especially those who are perceived as “girly”) enjoy. The thing is: chick flick is not even a real genre, so these movies go on lists of: rom-coms, romance, musicals, drama etc. Although, almost by nature, we associate this term with rom-coms as there is not a definite line drawn on what is and what is not a chick flick.
Many people consider the Twilight movies chick-flicks; others argue that chick-flicks are movies like Legally Blonde, Clueless, Grease and Bride Wars, all of which have almost nothing in common. That said, there are movies targeted at a female audience that would probably never get called a chick-flick, especially coming-of-age movies such as: Lady Bird and Freedom Writers.
We could argue that there is nothing wrong with the term, however, we cannot deny that there is something wrong with the way it is used. The reality is that when a movie is called a chick-flick, it’s commonly used more as an insult than as a description. It’s used as a way to call a movie inferior, under the assumption that movies “for women” can’t be good.
Why are they hated?
The only real requirement for a film to be considered a chick-flick is to have an audience that is mostly female. These movies also seem to have in common that they: have a female protagonist, an incline to romance and they seem to be more commercial than indie OSCAR bait. Yet, most film critics claim to hate chick-flick movies but fail to explain why, beyond the fact that “it’s a movie for girls”.
Culturally speaking, pretty much any form of art and media that’s targeted at a female audience, climbs an uphill battle to be respected, especially if it is considered “girly”. This is how we end up with Chick-Lit for books in the first place. Otherwise, Twilight would not be considered the worst movie ever by the film-bros; as we know, there are worse movies out ther
However, many mainstream movies of different genres have female protagonists and are romantic, yet aren’t hated as much nor are they considered a chick-flick. A good example of this is the thriller The Stepford Wives (1975).
It’s safe to say that perhaps the “girly” part is what people do not like. These people could argue that they feel this way because the movies are not relatable (for people who do not consider themselves “girly”); except you cannot expect every movie to be relatable to everyone, it’s simply not realistic. Even if that were the case, most women who consider themselves feminine argue that a female character in an action movie is lame for not being feminine. You should not have to relate to a main character or have a similar life to theirs in order to enjoy a movie.
Critics often talk about their resentment to tropes and clichés that can be found in most movies under this category. However, since there is not a consistency on what genre chick-flicks fall under, they cannot actually hold the category accountable for that. Chick-flicks can really vary in plots and themes, therefore people should not generalize and see them all as clichés. So, they can be repetitive? Yes, but so can be MCU, and we still love those.
In reality: they can be really good movies
Are all chick-flicks good movies? Of course not, but neither is every movie of every genre or every categorization ever. No matter how many bad horror movies out there, it does not stop anyone from watching them. Just like some bad action movies won’t stop anyone from watching the good ones.
The fact that people refuse to watch any of them and categorize them all as bad, just because they have a large female audience, does says that it goes beyond them being “boring”; suggesting that either rom-coms or teen dramas cannot be taken seriously based on their audience is simply ridiculous. Many chick-flicks are highly acclaimed because they are true masterpieces of cinema and they can be capable of great story-telling, production, and acting. It’s just often ignored because film-bros refuse to give them the credit they deserve. Chick-flicks do not encounter any more potential to be worse than any other movie category.
This does not mean every single one of these movies should be considered a masterpiece worthy of many awards; every genre and categorization has their ups and downs. But as a society, we should not simply assume that there is something inherently bad with chick-flicks as a whole. This also does not mean every woman should enjoy them or identify with them at all; but those who do, should not be frowned upon for it, nor looked as less in the film community. We should not have to only love chick-flicks as a “guilty pleasure” instead of just how we love any other movie.
It’s important that we start tearing down the idea that “girl stuff” is wrong in films. They should not have to be viewed as wrong, unworthy or as incapable of being taken seriously. Is it okay to just to say they are not your cup of tea? Yes! Just like you would say about any other type of movie. If someone doesn’t like a film, then they don’t like it, but nobody should assume that a movie is simply bad because it does not appeal to the gender stereotypes they decided to adhere by. We should not have to conform to the cultural dismissiveness on anything “feminine” or “girly”. Much less, to think that these are either “less deep” or “not as smart.” There is absolutely nothing inferior about them for having a touch of femininity.