Humans are story tellers by our very nature. Since we sat in caves carving stone, we’ve entertained ourselves with stories about events, wars, romances, and most importantly, ourselves. One concept that has withstood the test of time is that of self identity. Who are we, and what does it mean to be “I”? This question has inspired thousands of works, most notably Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night, and by extension, director Andy Finkman’s She’s the Man. In this film, Shakespeare’s play on gender expression, love, and self discovery is expertly retold, maintaining the story as an essential tool in understanding and representing human identity in popular media. In addition to delving into questioning identities, Shakespeare’s play mocked social norms. She’s the Man tackles this through comedy. The story follows a high school soccer player, Viola, who attends her brother’s school disguised as him.
She does this to exact revenge on her ex and his team, who belittled and made a mockery of Viola’s all girl team. Though this film is a lighthearted teen comedy, it still holds many elements of a timeless, profound film on gender expression, self identity, and passing. This film does a fantastic job of representing male and female gender roles in both media and everyday life, criticizing them, and at times, reinforcing them. The characters in She’s the Man present various aspects of gender norms seen in society. An athletic, confident, and outspoken girl, Viola is immediately labeled as being a ‘tomboy.’ Though Viola is a wonderful person who stays true to her character, she continuously falls short of her debutante mother’s expectations. This juxtaposition of true freedom and rigid conformity demonstrates the discord between the conventional, conservative housewife and the modern unorthodox woman. One scene stands out in particular, in which Viola first researches how to disguise as her brother. As she walks, she imitates the mannerisms of the men on the street.
Though this film explores identity in terms of passing or concealing one’s true self, it also discusses sexual and gender identity. The antagonist of the film is Viola’s ex-boyfriend Justin, an abrasive, demanding, and “macho” character. He presents himself as a traditional masculine, dominant male. At one point in the film, Viola refuses Justin’s advances, to which he responds angrily, “Could you just like, be a girl for a second?” Justin insults Viola by questioning her actions based off her gender. Though this is clear commentary on the judgment of women’s choices, the film later offers another thought provoking moment. After Viola’s team wins the final soccer match, Justin bursts into tears. The moment is treated like a gag, that this macho character should cry is seen as laughable, pathetic. This scene really highlights society’s gender stereotypes, that crying is reserved solely for women. The film also challenges societal expectations of gender identity. Viola (disguised as her brother) meets Duke, an attractive and athletic student who is surprisingly nervous with women. Duke’s shy and sensitive personality is opposition to what the main male character is traditionally depicted as in media, unemotional, detached, and unreachable. This film gives a surprising change of pace in the more traditionally feminine actions as well. Many female characters act more aggressively in She’s the Man, as seen more commonly in contemporary films. A prime example of this is how the ‘male gaze’ is instead enacted by the female characters. In one scene, Viola gazes longingly while Duke works out. Here the traditional roles of the sexual gaze are reversed, the men being objectified and the women objectifying.
Though this film documents the fictional experience of passing as a twin brother, it does give the audience some thought provoking insight into passing, and just how serious and widespread this act is. When analyzing She’s the Man and its theme of passing, it is important to understand the audience reactions. Any piece of art that tackles as difficult and emotional a topic as passing is going to have to carefully observe the reception, as it will tell of the film’s overall success. It is important to identify how the audience understood, rejected, or contemplated the social order of passing as exhibited in the film. The choice of genre for this film maybe have done more for reaching large audiences than the message inside. Marketed as a romantic comedy, this film is positioned so that viewers only need to watch the film for casual entertainment, without truly engaging with the story on any deeper level. This preconceived notion in the audience’s minds allowed the opportunity for conversation, as many people would not have initially been open to the message had they known what the film was teaching beforehand.
The time in which this film was released is vital to understanding the importance it had on American understanding of passing one’s identity. Released in 2006, this film entered a society that was on the verge of total inclusivity, though it still had quite a ways to go in understanding the complex struggles with identity that everyday people face. What is so wonderful about She’s the Man is that although gendered passing serves as the driving plot, it isn’t ever the butt of the joke. A film like this could not have existed prior to this era of social awareness, as seen in the 1959 film Some Like It Hot. In this film, two male characters disguise themselves as women, which becomes the sole joke of the entire movie. Luckily, times have changed. Films that use gender crossing are now able to be witnessed and understood in ways that aren’t just comedic, as seen in films like 1998’s Boy’s Don’t Cry, as well as a slew of more recent films such as The Danish Girl, Les Miserables, and Dallas Buyer’s Club. Many of these films represent gay, questioning, and transexual people as wonderfully flawed human beings, instead of a caricature of queerness. She’s the Man portrays this inclusivity in Paul, a friend of Viola’s who gives her the “male makeover” and teaches her how to appear manly.
What is great about this scene in particular is the unexpectedness of Paul (a gay man) being the one to educate on what it truly means to be manly. In a society that is largely ignorant of gender identity, this moment made a statement in it’s subtlety. Modern American audiences are slowly becoming more accepting of homosexuality and gender identity, which is being beautifully portrayed in new American media. However, this understanding cannot stop here. Although film is a wonderful tool for spreading art, message, and understanding, we cannot rely on romantic comedies to teach us about our fellow neighbor. Although She’s the Man is not a perfect film by any means, it did go above and beyond the expected in teaching its audiences of the widespread problems in our society that force people to pass. Concealing one’s true identity is getting less and less necessary, a trend that must continue for the sake of the health and happiness of all people. Hopefully films like She’s the Man can continue to be made, as they offer an education to the American public that has the possibility of creating total understanding and inclusivity of all people, and making passing a thing of the past.
