However even worse: Bridget Jones was by no means ground-breaking and good like Ms Bradshaw. She was regressive, problematic and symptomatic of a poisonous, pre-Me Too time – and the damaging and devastating eating regimen tradition of the noughties.
Because the good Kevin Maher of The Occasions wrote at the moment of the unique 2001 movie’s plot: “Even nonetheless, in 2001, the sexual politics within the film have been past retrograde and jarred wildly with the vodka-and-Chaka-Khan fuelled I’m Each Lady ethos that the film presupposed to champion. Her boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), after a few flirtatious work emails, shares an elevator experience with worker Jones (Zellweger) and covertly sexually assaults her from behind. And, as a result of she’s a man-craving semi-alcoholic nitwit who’s horrible at her job, her eyes open broad and he or she half smiles in triumph.”
Sure, when you recall, being groped by your boss within the raise was deemed by Bridget Jones screenwriters Helen Fielding, Richard Curtis and Andrew Davies as romantic and an aspiration of all early noughties profession women, who, didn’t in precise truth give two shits about their jobs. No, no, all they cared about was bagging their man. By no means thoughts that Daniel Cleaver was clearly a fallacious’un, that was okay! As a result of in the end our Bridge could be saved from a lifetime of single distress and disgrace by the charming Mr Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).
Sure, the thundering message all through all Bridget Jones incarnations was: you need to get your man, it doesn’t matter what the associated fee – as a result of being single is to dwell life depressing, shamed and ultimately die alone half-eaten by Alsatians (by no means did I perceive the Alsatians factor). Being single was even worse than spending time in a Thai jail, in response to the second movie, Bridget Jones: The Fringe of Motive. After which, lest we neglect, the opposite thundering aspect of all of this was after all, Bridget’s thunderous thighs. And I say that deliberately, for that’s how they have been described. She additionally described herself as ‘having a backside the scale of Brazil’.
In one of many precise film posters, the next is listed above an image of Renée posing as Bridget: “Go to the gymnasium thrice per week. Don’t flirt with boss. Scale back thighs. Study to like thighs. Neglect about thighs. Cease making lists.”
Wanting again now, it’s astonishing and harmful that Bridget – arguably not more than a measurement 10/12 – was brazenly described as fats, and that she spent her life a slave to calorie counting (each diary entry famous her calorie consumption of the day). In accordance with the film, her 9st 7 weight was not acceptable. At one level, Bridget writes in her diary: “9st 4 (terrifying slide into weight problems – why? Why?)”. Her all-consuming weight reduction journey to achieve her “very best weight” of 8st 7 was matched solely by her all-consuming need to not be single. Her enemies have been the ‘supermodel’ skinny ladies who she additionally aspired to appear like.
“Bridget Jones actually fed into the already poisonous eating regimen tradition surroundings of the early noughties: it cemented the truth that skinny = stunning, worthy, profitable, fascinating and deserving of affection, whereas fats = a.very.dangerous.factor.” says physique confidence skilled and influencer, Alex Gentle. Alex fairly rightly factors out the very harmful message that this wildly widespread ebook and movie franchise had upon a complete era of ladies rising up.
