Tam analyzing the musical Legally Blonde that has music and lyrics written by Laurence O’Keefe, Nell Benjamin, and Heather Hach who wrote the libretto. The musical is based on the novel Legally Blonde written by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film version of the same name that tells a story of a UCLA sorority girl Elle Woods who enrolls at Harvard Law School. While at Harvard she is on a quest to get back together with her exboyfriend Warner that already has a girlfriend.
Throughout the musical Elle attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend back until she realizes that she wants to pursue her own aspirations in life. The central theme of Legally Blonde is you have to overcome obstacles in order to always stay to true to yourself. In the scene where the head of admissions “says,” “Gentlemen, Tam not arguing that Ms. Woods is not qualified but is that the face of Harvard Law? ” This passage shoes that the admissions director is already labeling Elle based on her appearance even though she has impressive credentials consisting of a 4. GPA and a 175 on the LSAT.
Ms. Woods is already a victim of stereotypes during her admission process into Harvard and must figure out a way to prove their first impressions of her wrong. During the song, “The Harvard Variations,” Elle introduces herself to Enid and comments about how both their names start with the same letter. Enid sarcastically “replies,” “Ohhh my god, we are like twins. ” This passage shows that Enid is just mocking Elle for her unrelated comment.
Elle is surprised by the treatment of her classmates just based on her blonde hair, attire, and up-beat personality. In the song, “Blood in the Water,” Professor Callahan “says,” “when you return, you better be ready to learn,” and kicks out Elle from class because Vivienne insists she was not prepared for class. Elle is determined to prove her classmates that she is just as smart and ambitious as her peers by staying positive. Vivienne “says,” “I didn’t make you look bad. You just weren’t prepared.
Try opening a law book some time but they do not come with pictures. Vivienne treats Elle as a subordinate because she is labeling her as incompetent for her blonde hair and not being prepared for the Harvard culture. During the song, “Chip on My Shoulder,” Emmett teaches Elle that she has to get respect through pursuing her own aspirations. This song exposes Elle as a character because she can be herself and have the confidence to compete with her peers in the classroom. This new attitude that Elle has achieved gives her the confidence to beat Warner in a classroom debate.
Elle is overcoming the insulting first impressions and proves the stereotypes wrong. Elle has finally distinguished herself in the Harvard community and has the opportunity to be involved in her sorority sisters’ trial. In the scene of Brooke’s trial for murder, the pool boy is claiming that he had an affair with Brooke that she denies. Elle uses her wit by performing the “bend and snap” in front of the pool boy and realizes that he is homosexual. This scene shows that Elle is an impressive attorney for being able to point out the pool boy’s lies during his testimony.
Elle realizes her interest in law and will not let anybody hold her back from her aspirations. Eventually, Paulette convinces Elle to be herself by wearing her flashy pink dress again. Proving to the audience that she can be herself and have intelligence to be a distinguished attorney. During the song “Find Her Way,” Elle has changed and does not want Warner’s love back. Elle went to Harvard to find love with Warner but she actually found herself and what she aspires to be. The central theme of Legally Blonde is to always stay true to yourself even when others are holding you back.
Throughout Elle’s experience at Harvard, she rarely loses sight of herself while she faces obstacles and stereotypes on her journey. A simple version of the theme is to “not judge a book by its cover. ” Even though Elle is treated like a dumb blonde does not mean she lacks intelligence or does not have the potential to be a distinguished attorney. This theme is relevant to the original audience because everyone has received stereotypes from others based on their appearance or behavior.
The people with self-respect and ambition will overcome these obstacles to always stay true to themselves. This theme is still relevant today because there are stereotypes of race and gender to this day. Stereotypes and being true to oneself is what distinguishes yourself from the rest of society. Nelson Mandola is a perfect example of somebody who overcame stereotypes and stayed true to himself. Mandola was imprisoned for his beliefs but stayed loyal to himself and continued his movement to desegregate South Africa.
