Analysis of What a Girl Wants

Essay by hills08Junior High, 8th grade August 2004

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The movie What A Girl Wants could be said to be a modern take on Pygmalion. It focuses mainly on the relationship of Daphne Reynolds and her parents. Because Daphne's dad was not in their lives, Daphne and her mother's relationship is very close. Although they are a single- parent family they could be classified as a traditional single- parent family, where once the male is gone that role is delegated to the mother. In some occasions the roles reverse and the child becomes the parent and the parent the child. The family in What a Girl Wants start out as a non- traditional, single- parent family and they end up as a typical nuclear family. The movie is mainly regarding Daphne's search for her dad and viewers get to see their relationship blossom.

What A Girl Wants concentrates on the effect of society on individuals and situations. Daphne gets into many mishaps in England when she tries to fit in with what society expects of a person of her status.

People's views affect families whether in reality or on screen. Daphne is expected to conform to what society decrees is proper behaviour; this has a negative impact on her relationship with her father who is a very important politician in the middle of elections. Daphne's mum and dad were also affected by society's views. When Daphne's dad- Henry who could be classified as upper- class and Daphne's mum- Libby who is classified as lower middle- class got married everyone (family members etc.) found their marriage to be unacceptable because of the difference in status. They felt that Henry had married below him and eventually their relationship ended because of that. In What a Girl Wants it is society that prevented relationships from happening. In Looking For Alibrandi it...