Feminism In "Pitch Perfect"

 

Feminism in Pitch Perfect

            In 2012, Pitch Perfect took the world by storm when it presented a comedic take on the transition of feminism the world was experiencing. Director Jason Moore was able to tell a story that showed growth from stereotypical female ideals to new age values. He achieved this through the story of an acapella group: the Barden Bellas. As the movie progresses the Barden Bellas find a new look, sound, and identity. As they grow together and develop as individuals, the Barden Bellas tackle societal stereotypes of women and show the country that women can be equal to men. Through diverse casting, costuming, and song choice Moore was able to address the defining issues of fourth wave feminism.

            Pitch Perfect was released at the beginning of the fourth wave of feminism. According to Ealasaid Munro, a postdoctoral researcher in cultural policy, the transition between the third and fourth wave happened around 2012 due to the increased use of social media. Martha Rampton, the director of the Center for Gender Equity at Pacific University, says that the increased use of social media in society has enable the fourth wave of feminism to discuss topics such as slut-shaming, unequal treatment, and pressuring women to conform to a single unrealistic body type. Fourth-wave feminism encourages the acceptance of diverse women and Pitch Perfect illustrates this through an array of techniques.

            Moore breaks the mold of stereotypical expectations in Pitch Perfect by addressing the many different shapes, races, and sexualities that exist. The initial Barden Bella group was all straight white females who had slender bodies. The group looked specifically for these types of girls at recruitment; as their leader Aubrey said, “We need eight super-hot girls with bikini-ready bodies.” The Bellas have a difficult time finding girls to recruit after a national embarrassment of projectile vomiting at the national competition. This difficulty in recruitment forced the group to broaden their scope of girls and led to diversity within the group. What once was ten white girls became a group of girls with varying backgrounds. There were girls who were Asian, African-American, and Caucasian. They also range in sexual identity. Throughout the movie there is comedic relief provided by the speculation that one of the characters, Stacy, was bi-sexual. She would make advances toward another group member who ultimately declared she was lesbian. Stacy is also put under the microscope multiple times for the way she acted because it aligned with a stereotypical slut. She wore small clothing items and danced suggestively, as well as talk about having a lot of sex. The group accepted her for who she was and broke the mold of slut shaming and discrimination based on sexual orientation. These stereotypes are a large part of the fight currently being battled through fourth wave feminism. At the release of Pitch Perfect, Moore was a pioneer in using media as a weapon to deconstruct these skewed societal norms.

            Body image was also illustrated within the Bellas through the addition of Fat Amy. She confronts the stereotype of people talking poorly on obese people when she first introduces herself to the Bellas at recruitment. She says her name is “Fat Amy” and the girls are astonished that she would call herself something that is perceived as derogatory. Amy’s reply to their disbelief and questioning why she would call herself such a thing was: “… so twig bitches like you don’t do it behind my back.” She embraces her obesity and even has a small fling with Bumper who is a part of one the opposing acapella group: the Treblemakers. This goes against the societal norms that obese women should be fat shamed and will never find a significant other. The fourth wave of feminism is attacking the thought that women need to achieve a small figure in order to be considered beautiful. Fat Amy is comfortable with her body and flaunts herself in a way that shows confidence in her body image. Her relationship with Bumper depicts that overweight women are desirable and challenges the expectation that desirable women have to be thin.

            As the movie progresses the Barden Bellas’ clothing also progresses. At the beginning of the film, the Bellas are all dressed in skirt suits that are stiff and appear uncomfortable. While they all look professional in their navy-blue skirts and paisley scarves, the group of girls lack spunk and personality. As the group starts to form and evolve, so does their dress. They start to wear clothes that represent who they are as individuals. Fat Amy wears pink, Stacey wears revealing clothes, and the main character, Becca, wears dark colored clothing. Although they start to dress as individuals, the paisley scarf is kept throughout the movie. The scarf is symbolic of tradition and beliefs that allow for growth. During Barden Bella initiation, the scarf was used to take an oath pledging loyalty to the Bellas synonymously to the use of a bible for an oath of truth. Treating the scarf like a bible represents beliefs, faith, and tradition that tend to accompany religion. The beliefs that the Bellas hold evolve through the movie and it takes faith in the group to continue to allow the change. The retention of the scarf as the suits are discarded shows that personal growth can happen, but roots from the beginning will always keep you grounded and connected to the past. This same concept is important in the feministic waves. The start of feminism was founded with the intent to increase the equality between men and women. Now, the fourth wave of feminism has grown with the same ideals as a base. But these ideals have grown, expanded, and evolved to mirror gains feminism has experienced and reflect the evolving needs in the feminism fight.

            Moore uses the power of music to illustrate the fight women are battling to convince the world that they are indeed strong and independent. The common theme throughout the movie has Bella members singing songs that have lyrics with a message of being a strong individual. The first example in the movie is “Titanium” by David Guetta. Becca sings the following lyrics in the shower:

            I'm bulletproof nothing to lose
            Fire away, fire away
            Ricochet, you take your aim
            Fire away, fire away
            You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am titanium
            You shoot me down but I won't fall
            I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium

These lyrics perfectly illustrate the struggle that feminist continue to fight. Many times, feminist issues are thought to be irrelevant by groups of society. Feminists continuously experience critiques, backlash, and shots but they do not fall. They continue to move forward and act strong as titanium, just like the lyrics depict.

            The feminist positivity shown in the songs the Bellas sing is countered by the men in competing acapella groups singing many songs that portray only needing women for sex. The difference in the song choice was noticeable at the Riff Off, where acapella groups try to make songs flow together as they cut each other off. The Treblemakers start off with the objectifying song “Mickey” by Toni Basil. The lyrics:

            Oh Mickey, you're so fine

             You're so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey

            Hey Mickey

 resembles catcalling a woman to get her attention due to her looks. This goes against the fundamental ideal of feminism: respect to women. Objectifying a woman based on her looks does not show respect in any sort. The Barden Bellas respond to this by singing “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” by Pat Benatar with the lyrics:

            Hit me with your best shot
            Why don't you hit me with your best shot
            Hit me with your best shot
            Fire away

This depicts the independence and strength that “Titanium” previously illustrated. The Bellas are not going anywhere, which mirrors feminist who continue to dual with substantial issues.

            The finale presents one final opportunity for the Bellas to sing with regard to strength in womanhood. A song they sing is “Price Tag” by Jessie J with the lyrics:

            It's not about the money money money
            We don't need your money money money
            We just wanna make the world dance
            Forget about the price tag

which addresses the stereotype that women are materialistic and prioritize spending money. Instead of focusing on materialistic items, women around the world are working to make Earth a better place. People participating in the fourth wave of feminism are among those who are working to promote equality throughout the world.

            Moore was able to depict the transition of feminism, as well as address feminist issues through diverse casting, costuming, and music in Pitch Perfect. The release of the movie was during the transition in feminist waves and was at the forefront of using media to address the topics feminist are battling. Through including characters with different races, sexual identity, and physique, multiple stereotypes were challenged. It was shown that it is acceptable to have multiple sex partners and that they do not all have to be the opposite gender. Clothing was also used to illustrate individualism and positive body image, which is a main topic being addressed by the fourth wave of feminism. Song choice tackled other topics of feminism and the overall empowerment of women. The Bellas sang songs that depicted strength, even when being hit by individuals who want them to stumble. This strength is necessary to continue the fourth wave of feminism because there will always be people opposing the issue. Pitch Perfect broke taboos about women and replaced them with an image of strong women who worked together to challenge the world’s perceptions.  

 

Work Cited

Basil, Toni. Lyrics to “Mickey.” Genius, 2018, https://genius.com/Toni-basil-mickey-lyrics.

Benatar, Pat. Lyrics to “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.” Genius, 2018, https://genius.com/Pat-        benatar-hit-me-with-your-best-shot-lyrics.
Guetta, David.  Lyrics to “Titanium.”  Genius, 2018, https://genius.com/David-guetta-titanium-                              lyrics.

Jessie J. Lyrics to “Price Tag.” Genius, 2018, https://genius.com/Jessie-j-price-tag-lyrics.

Munro, Ealasaid. "Feminism: A Fourth Wave?." Political Studies Association, Political Studies                   Association, www.psa.ac.uk/insight-plus/feminism-fourth-wave. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.

Rampton, Martha. Pacific University Oregon, Pacific University Oregon, 25 Oct. 2015,   www.pacificu.edu/about/media/four-waves-feminism. Accessed 11 Sept. 2018.