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Intro in Relation to Coming-of-Rage
Intro in Relation to Coming-of-Rage
While Ginger Snaps pushed back against the internet and the norms expected of us Jennifer’s Body 2009 embraced those changes. The events of the film are kicked off with Jennifer and Needy going to a live concert at a local bar, Melody Lanes. Jennifer Check, played by Megan Fox, has found a band from the city, Low Shoulder, on MySpace, who have decided to perform in their small town, Devil’s Kettle.
The marketing campaign for the movie focused on Megan Fox and her symbolic role as a quote-unquote “hot girl” of the time. Not to say that Jennifer’s Body isn’t in some respects about…well…Jennifer’s body, but it is not the male teen gaze fest that some trailers and most of the promo made it out to be. Due to this neglect and pigeon holding on the studio’s part the audience the movie appealed to before it came out is definitely not the audience the movie is actually for. When the movie premiered in the fall of 2009 men and teen boys went to go see the movie and became enraged to find that the movie is more about the relationship between Needy Lesnicki, played by Amanda Seyfried, and Jennifer than it is a slow-motion shot filled softcore project.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Background & Production
Background & Production
The campaign for the movie, created by an agency working solely on behalf of the studio’s best interest, portrayed an image of a low-thought late-aughts comedy hellbent on relegating women and what a woman can be to the most Andrew-Tate-adjacent definition. The male dominated industry only saw what Jennifer’s Body looks like on the surface–hot girl becomes demon succubus and most likely some misfit boy, probably the Chip character, will defeat her while finding himself…and then go off to college and use it as evidence of growth.
To the dismay of teenage boys and Hollywood movie bloggers the film didn’t deliver on its promise of a fully naked Megan Fox, one of the two female leads, but did deliver a compelling horror movie focused on teen girls reckoning their closest relationships amid toxic standards. After sitting through over an hour and forty-minutes of what they did not expect, reviewers and critics took to blogs, magazines, and the papers to diss Jennifer’s Body, its screenwriter, Diablo Cody, and Fox.
In stark contrast to Cody and Fox’s treatment…
In stark contrast to Cody and Fox’s treatment…
Karyn Kusama, the director, and Amanda Seyfried, the other lead, did not receive nearly the same level of vitriol. After reading the script, director Karyn Kusama signed onto the movie in 2008 noting she wanted to be involved with an imaginative and original project like Jennifer’s Body. Most involved in the movie stated how they wanted to work on oddball-like projects, including producers, yet the only ones held so harshly to the standard of normative big screen movies are Cody and Fox.
The backlash began prior to the movie’s release with questionings about both Cody and Fox’s artistic abilities, or perceived lack thereof. In a 2018 Vox article titled “How Jennifer’s Body went from a flop in 2009 to a feminist cult classic today” the author Constance Grady explains the reception of the movie as “knee jerk misogyny” and points out the movie’s use of the “female gaze” which is a concept that had not even been named at the time.
Plot Synopsis
Plot Synopsis
The Beginning
The Beginning
We open at the end, Jennifer lying in bed...
We open at the end, Jennifer lying in bed...
...with the glow of the TV casting an empty feeling, a work-out infomercial plays in the background as Jennifer licks a piece of her hair and looks through her yearbook. In the window beside her we can see Needy, hood up and looking menacing at Jennifer. She is gone by the time Jennifer looks out the window, looking tired and sickly, still stunning because it’s Megan Fox but a definitely dimmed version. The voiceover and first words of the film are from the main character, Needy, “hell is a teenage girl,” which I’m sure made male audiences groan in confusion.
We snap to the future and Needy explains her current circumstances as an inmate in a psych ward. She’s the narrator of the story and is telling it in hindsight after the events that led to her being there. From early in the movie, it’s clear that Needy and Jennifer have a co-dependent relationship with one another, a frenemy type situation built on years of history. They are thick as thieves despite being quite different, Needy dulling herself down to calm some of Jennifer’s insecurities.
Based on the reactions from their peers they have...
Based on the reactions from their peers they have...
...always had a relationship that bordered on romance regarding how they treated one another and what they expected from one another. Chip Dove, Needy’s boyfriend played by Johnny Simmons, talks about how close the pair are while Needy gets ready to go out with Jennifer to the concert. He talks badly about their plan, and she explains what salty is and that he is that, or as Jennifer says, lime green Jell-O that can’t even admit it to himself. Jennifer basically demanded that Needy go to the “club” that night and even approved her outfit, but Jennifer can’t do any of that unless Needy lets her.
The band has bad vibes, Needy even overhearing them talking about the likelihood of Jennifer being a virgin after she introduces herself to them, flirtatious and flustered. Nikolai, the band’s lead singer played by Adam Brody, assures the band that she is and that he’s from a small town like this which they clock as a lie he’s told to them in the past. We learn however via Needy informing Jennifer of this convo that she’s not a virgin and has a history of hooking up with older guys around town, like Roman the cop played by Chris Pratt. As the band plays the song seems to entrance Jennifer while Needy seems entranced by Jennifer until the fire in the bar begins.
The Middle
The Middle
The full events of the night aren’t told until much later...
The full events of the night aren’t told until much later...
...in the movie but at the jump it’s known that a fire erupted in Melody Lanes that killed a bunch of locals. Needy leads Jennifer out through the window in the bathroom as the flames take over the bar, it seems like they are the only ones making it out until the band approaches them, led by Nikolai with a drink he offers Jennifer, noting she’s in shock from the fire. Jennifer enters the van with the band and goes off into the night, Needy going home and calling Chip. Jennifer ends up at Needy’s house however, eating food from the fridge and then vomiting black goo on the floor. We learn later that Jennifer left there and killed Ahmet, the foreign exchange student at their high school, who also escaped from the Melody Lanes fire. This ends up being the only kill that Jennifer is apologetic about.
She goes on to kill a football star, Jonas, played by Josh Emerson, behind the school in the forest and Colin Gray, an emo kid from their school, played by Kyle Gallner in an abandoned house. In a deleted scene from the movie Needy confronts Jennifer in the locker room and she says, “I’m killing boys,” in response to Needy saying she’s killing people and that boys come and go. This mindset perfectly sums up how she pursues and why she pursues her victims. Their utter man-ness enrages her. For example, Jonas’ best friend just died yet he’s down to get frisky with Jennifer in the woods the very next day after mild flirtation from her end. He’s completely entranced by the idea of hooking up with Jennifer, completely overtaken with lust, which is something that Jennifer views as less-than.
When it comes to Colin, she’s proving a point...
When it comes to Colin, she’s proving a point...
...to and getting back at Needy for her not having been aware of Needy and Colin’s friendship. She’s jealous similarly to how Chip is when he finds out about it. By Colin accepting the date despite seeming like he’d be more interested in an intellectual pairing than just a hot girl he proves that he too can be overtaken by lust and that he might be a poser, two things Jennifer views as weaknesses. While Jennifer is killing Colin, Needy and Chip are having sex and during it Needy sees Jennifer as a ghoul over Jonas looking like a ghost in the room with them. Alluding to the psychic connection the two might possess in the next scene, Needy almost hits Jennifer with her car after shutting off Low Shoulder’s song on the radio, then gaining popularity under the guise of being heroes.
Needy gets to her room only to find Jennifer in her bed already, scaring her. The famous scene of the two kissing occurs and notably this also upset male audiences as it’s mostly close ups of the lips, focusing on the sensuality and hesitation rather than the sexual aspects. The kiss is a symbolic turning point of their relationship, Jennifer exerting her power over Needy in the ultimate way to continue like things are and Needy snapping out of her haze to demand an explanation.
Jennifer explains that Low Shoulder...
Jennifer explains that Low Shoulder...
...sacrificed her next to the Devil’s Kettle waterfall in the woods the night of the fire. They found a ritual online for success and fame by sacrificing a virgin, but they didn’t sacrifice a virgin. The ritual still worked, and they got success following the fire, but Jennifer didn’t die and instead came back as a succubus now existing off human flesh. She also doesn’t seem to want to stop doing that so Needy is placed in a weird spot where she can't do anything but also doesn’t know what to do. Jennifer gaslights Needy once she realizes that Needy is still asking questions rather than going along with things. In order to protect him, Needy breaks up with Chip before their prom only for idiot Chip to agree to go with Jennifer.
Needy isn’t privy to information as things are happening and is doing side research to reach the conclusions that she finds by just talking to Jennifer. There isn’t an effort from Needy to find other solutions to the demon issue Jennifer is facing and almost immediately decides that the only path is to stop Jennifer, watching over her like a guardian to ensure she doesn’t kill any more boys. This rage is more like a simmering, deep-rooted rage within Needy that only becomes clear when she and Jennifer have their confrontation in the pool.
The Ending
The Ending
Prior to the pool confrontation...
Prior to the pool confrontation...
...the make-up scene stands out, Jennifer becoming enraged that the demon-curse causes her to wither away, taking away something she cares about and relies on for her self worth, her good appearance. She is desperate and puts on a show to lure Chip into the pool so that she can attack him in private. Those scenes are intercut with Needy getting dressed up in a heinous pink 80’s getup with a less-than-flattering hairstyle and making her way to the dance to intervene if Jennifer goes on the hunt. Her own rage comes from self-sacrifice, something commonly expected of women.
Needy’s rage at Jennifer not...
Needy’s rage at Jennifer not...
...agreeing to stop eating boys, viewing the dance as an all you can eat buffet for her, seethes over. She realizes through their psychic connection that Jennifer is kissing Chip or at the very least that Chip is in danger. This causes her to run at full speed to the pool where we get the most rage-drenched scene of the movie.
During this exchange it becomes clear that Needy has harbored resentments towards Jennifer and judged her in secret while admiring her to her face. We also don’t see a ton from Jennifer’s perspective other than when she tells the story of her sacrifice and when she’s covering her face in makeup before prom. During the exchange both girls lay out all their issues with one another and their friendship. Needy wounds Jennifer by stabbing her through the abdomen with a pool cleaning handle which isn’t fatal due to her healing abilities.
It's revealed that Jennifer had been...
It's revealed that Jennifer had been...
...circling boys in her yearbook earlier in the film, circling one and writing “YUM!” next to his head. Needy busts in through the window and attacks Jennifer for killing Chip, cutting an X in her stomach, and saying, “cross out Jennifer,” as a call back to something Jennifer said to her. The final blow however can’t be dealt without Needy ripping the BFF necklace from Jennifer’s neck, causing her to fall onto the bed. There’s a flashback to their sandbox days and their friendship before Needy stabs her through the heart.
After that we see Needy bust out of the ward, revealing that in her battle with Jennifer she survived a demon bite and now has some of the powers Jennifer had like levitation. She uses her power to go to Low Shoulder’s hotel room and as Jennifer said, “go Benihana,” on their asses which we find out in a post credit scene.
Audience Reactions
Audience Reactions
Negative Audience Reception
Negative Audience Reception
The criticism that the movie faced at the time was harsh, with much of it focused on what Megan Fox either did or didn’t deliver in the author’s view. Men seemed almost vitriolic in their reviews of the film, which I can somewhat understand due to the mis-advertising. What doesn’t make sense however is why they are so angry about it, it’s one thing to not like something but be able to identify its value but some of the critique that Jennifer’s Body caught was just out of pocket.
With hindsight it's easy to argue...
With hindsight it's easy to argue...
...that the issue many had with the movie was less-so about the movie itself and more-so the women who made it. Rather than characterizing the perception at the time of the film’s release, I’ve included some quotes from articles:
“Being a lead (like Megan)...you have that weird pressure of feeling like you have to look attractive.” a direct quote from Amanda Seyfried and “I plan on sucking up my Fox-hate for a few hours and seeing Jennifer’s Body in September. Will You?” - from “Amanda Seyfried rolls her eyes about kissing Megan Fox” by Jen Sabella on AfterEllen.com, August 18, 2009
“For all its pedigree, the film is an all-too-routine fright flick saddled with lazy writing and characterization and not much in the way of suspense or terror.” - from “‘Jennifer’s Body’ fails at horror and comedy” by Alonso Duralde on Today.com, September 17, 2009
“From her earlier days and nights as blogger and a pole dancer, screenwriter Diablo Cody knows a lot about the power of eyeballs, the predominance of the male gaze and the raging narcissism that feeds so many personalities, good and evil.” - from “How bad do you want it?” by Michael Phillips in Chicago Tribune, September 18, 2009
“Jennifer’s Body seems designed more to be quoted than watched.” and “Lines like “Sandbox love never dies,” could be lyrics to the Warped Tour riffs to which Fox slo-mo sashays at the camera” - from “Jennifer’s Body” by Nick Pinkerton on SFWeekly.com, September 18 2009
“So, what’s with all the Diablo hate? Don’t a lot of authors create their own vibe?...I’m fascinated by the criticism that Diablo receives for creating a language, as if that, as a writer, is some unspeakable horror. It’s as if people haven’t read ‘Trainspotting’ or watched ‘A Clockwork Orange’ …or listened to a f–cking Shakespeare, as far as I’m concerned.” and “... ‘oh, so this is so appalling that a woman decides to take language back and create it for herself in a meaningful way?’ That’s what gets me, is I ultimately feel like it’s a subtle referendum on her entitlement to her art and there’s a sense that she doesn’t deserve it and that pisses me off a lot.” - Karyn Kusama quotes from “‘Jennifer’s Body’ Director Karyn Kusama On Women In Hollywood, Diablo Cody and Outsiders” by Jenni Miller on MTV.com, September 18, 2009
“It’s almost as if no one knows what to do with Megan Fox. They eye her appraisingly…and then hand her a script. They hope for the best. They release a vapid and directionless film. Someone else stumbles on a photo of her…The cycle of abuse continues.” - from “Review: Jennifer’s Body–Cute Dialogue, Less Filling” by Laremy Legel on MTV.com, September 18, 2009
“The starlet worked it as hard as she could, but that can’t stop a simple truth about the box office: horror-comedies always tank.” - from “Did Jennifer’s Body Bomb Because of Megan Fox?” by Leslie Gornstein on EOnline.com, September 21, 2009
“Megan Fox wields her sexuality like a blunt object–a sledgehammer in lipgloss–in the new horror-comedy Jennifer’s Body.” and “You can’t imagine the character working half as well with any of today’s other brittle young actors, and Fox seems to know it.” - from “Jennifer’s Body” by Joshua Rothkopf in Time Out New York, Issue 729: September 17-23, 2009
“I feel like I was mocking the way people perceive me in real life…People assume that I’m self-obsessed or a typical narcissistic starlet…stupid, manipulative, boy crazy…whatever–all of those things.” and “There’s nothing to distract you from my performance. So if it’s bad it’s going to be f–cking bad for me. And if it’s good, then I will have achieved something on some level.” - quotes from Megan Fox cited in the article “Megan Fox Predicted ‘Jennifer’s Body’ Could Be A ‘Complete Failure’” by Eric Ditzian on MTV.com, September 29, 2009
“Brody thinks the movie’s female leads and crew should have taken center stage. “The film was directed by a woman, starring two women, written by that year’s screenwriting Oscar winner…And instead they’re like ‘Let’s bury all of that. Don’t tell anyone that. This is for people who like Transformers.’” - direct quote from Adam Brody in “Adam Brody says the negative reaction to Jennifer’s Body ‘felt s–ty,’ film’s poster ‘missed the mark” by Emlyn Travis on EW.com, February 18, 2023
These gendered criticisms,...
These gendered criticisms,...
...harsh language, and lack of sound critique characterized many women-centric projects of the time, especially in male-dominated genres like horror. The perception, documented on web archives, is a good pop culture comparison to life for Hollywood actresses prior to the #MeToo movement.
Despite Fox’s successful performances on the big screen and Cody’s Academy Award for Best Screenplay Writer most critics automatically dismissed them and came away from the movie with no understanding of the nuance or commentary let alone the unique comedy. It also seemed that at times they reveled in their dislike of the film and treated it as confirmation of misogynistic beliefs about women rather than attempting to truly watch it.
Becoming a Cult Classic
Becoming a Cult Classic
Not only is Jennifer's Body a cult classic but it’s one of my personal favorite films. The best parts in my opinion are the friendship between Needy and Jennifer, through the tragic end and revenge murders. The scenes that took place in the pool house are so good, the monologues from both Fox and Seyfried are iconic and a beautiful call back to the essence of the film during a more gruesome and action-packed sequence.The community’s reaction and treatment of Low Shoulder despite Needy and Jennifer being actual victims of the fire is interesting commentary on the time. At that time the approach to news had grown rather abrasive and more on the narrative than the facts. The commentary on the community’s lack of factual interest in the tragedy is also of the time and an example of the approach to stories at the time. During the late aughts stories became very Ellen, made to be told on the talk show couch rather than to be factual, which allows Low Shoulder to take advantage of a tragedy they are probably behind.
In the shadows of this outspoken backlash,...
In the shadows of this outspoken backlash,...
...the intended audience of young women discovered the movie in relative obscurity, often rationalizing the negativity from the outer world and their personal interest in the story. The gap between the two created a perfect breeding ground for a Cult Classic Fandom and sites like Tumblr, Pinterest, and Twitter fostered the perfect way for that fandom to gain membership. Like most cult-classics, fans argue Jennifer’s Body is overlooked by the general public and far more complex and thought provoking than most would imagine.
It’s worth noting that over half of the negative reviews mention the movie’s resemblance to the 80’s teen black comedy, Heathers, as an insult without realizing the film's creators intended it to be that way. It’s also clear as day to anyone interested that all of the main people who worked on this film not only took pride in their work but put care, effort, and genuinely thought provoking detail into all of the movie’s facets.
One example is that even the famous kissing scene is not just there to be there but rather serves a purpose tying back to the feminist notes throughout the movie. Cody has said that Kusama and her wanted the scene to be “profound and meaningful” noting their own experiences with teenage relationships became so intense they bordered on intimate. It’s realistic and authentic while addressing a standing question for the film, are they in love?
All areas of the production infused...
All areas of the production infused...
...meaning into details like Fox wanting Jennifer to wear almost childlike clothing at times to juxtapose her adult-heavy behaviors or how they did the snake-like jaw opening special effects for demon Jennifer after much consideration. The way the sacrifice scenes are done with the band’s flippant view of Jennifer as only a body and a means to an end, alluding to seeing all women that way as they speak to one another as if she’s not there.
Needy & Jennifer's Relationship
Needy & Jennifer's Relationship
Nowadays we’d probably refer to Needy and Jennifer’s relationship as that of high school frenemies or queer coded. Queer coding refers to characters being LGBTQ without it explicitly being confirmed during the film. I suppose Jennifer’s Body is less coded than just queer if taking into account the kiss right after Jennifer says, “But we always share your bed when we have slumber parties,” and the famous “I go both ways” double entendre line in the pool fight scene.
Nevertheless, it’s not confirmed if either of them even wants to be in a romantic relationship with one another or if they are just blending romantic relationship attributes into their friendship while coming to terms with sexuality. This take-away confirms that Diablo wrote the film in such a way that the core essence of it comes through the screen, the conflict of the relationship embodies the turmoil that is being a teen navigating your first loves and obsessions stacked in a horror bun.
In addition to examining the queer aspects of their relationship we can also examine the inner workings of the toxic friendship. On a Bullying Recovery Resource Center blog post, “I Thought We Were Friends!” refers to frenemies as friends who have become bullies and goes on to declare that professionals determined you cannot be friends with someone who treats you poorly, which is fair.
The controlling and intense behaviors are...
The controlling and intense behaviors are...
...indicative of this type of relationship and examples are riddled throughout the movie; when Needy makes a decision about what to wear based on what Jennifer will like and approve of, at the bar when Needy questions Jennifer and gets a condescending lecture about sex appeal, or when Jennifer blatantly flirts with Chip in front of Needy to upset her.
An NBC News article from 2011 cited Today.com and Self.com to state 84% of women have a toxic friend at some point in their life, and I’d imagine many were like the friendship between the two main characters.
I wanted to dive deeper into the inner workings of relationships like this and how it is shown through storytelling tools in Jennifer’s Body to prove just how thoughtful the film is. A Women’s Health article, “15 Signs You’re In A Toxic Friendship According To Experts,” seems
click-bait-y but simplifies the complex subject matter into a BuzzFeed style list backed by experts. After quickly remembering examples for each sign, I believe their friendship doesn’t just clearly exemplify a few of the signs of toxicity, but all of them, hitting the nail on the head but with good storytelling.
Numbers 1-7
Numbers 1-7
- In the article number one is literally “you’re giving more than you’re getting” which basically defines the whole plot from Needy’s POV. She often goes above and beyond for Jennifer, cleaning up the black goo vomit without asking anything of Jennifer but an explanation, defending her when others bring up her bad behavior, and ultimately avenging her death even after she kills Needy’s boyfriend, Chip.
- Number two, “you no longer trust them” is the second half of the film when Needy starts to pay more attention to the demon red flags and rather than blindly following Jennifer she questions her. Once she begins to connect the dots she no longer trusts Jennifer to even be left unsupervised around Chip for fear she’ll just eat him…or make out with him.
- Number three and four are, “you dread checking your phone” and “you don’t enjoy spending time with them” show up in one of the most iconic scenes from the movie. After eating a football player in the woods behind the school Jennifer is feeling herself and calls Needy.
- Burning her tongue mid-convo with a lighter only for her blackened, burnt tongue to immediately heal and states, “I am a God,” to Needy but Needy seems annoyed to have Jennifer even calling in such a good mood despite all of the tragedy in town. She ends up putting Jennifer on hold to answer Chip’s call. This is in stark contrast to the start of the movie when Needy cannot focus on anything not related to Jennifer even when hanging out with Chip.
- Furthermore, in the first quarter of the movie most scenes have both characters and we know what’s going on in Jennifer’s life through Needy’s POV but as the film progresses we know less and less about her and most of what we do know we learn by watching her rather than through Needy. We see the magnetism through the eyes of the magnet until they start losing pull with one another and become separate entities for the first time.
- This goes directly into number five, "you don't like yourself when you're with them," a very recognizable sign that someone is not the best for you to be around. Needy pieces together what Jennifer is doing and when her confrontation to stop the behavior falls short, she tells Chip the details and warns it's not safe for them to be together, further isolating herself.
- Number six "you know they talk shit about you," – when Jennifer convinces Chip to go to the abandoned pool with her to make out she bad mouths Needy and lies about Needy's feelings while representing herself as an authority on the matter. Of course, Chip is also responsible for listening to Jennifer, who he claims to dislike so much, over believing his girlfriend is telling the truth that Jennifer is eating boys.
- Number seven, "you compete with them," – showing up as the push and pull with how to handle the predicament Jennifer is in, whether it’s a curse to be cured or a blessing to revel in. Needy is naive and slower to come to reality whereas Jennifer makes the best out of the traumatic events and avoids processing her murder by enjoying her newfound demon-hood. Jennifer wants to eat boys and tell her BFF about it (maybe make her a little jealous too), but Needy wants to stop boys in her town from being murdered by a hungry Jennifer.
- Jennifer is also noticeably disappointed when Needy is able to distract Chip from her attention with physical affection thus making him an unavailable victim and in the same scene does a complete 180 on her interest in Colin’s date request when she finds out Needy is friends with him. Both actions literally push Jennifer to take Colin up on a date with him that she originally rejected five seconds earlier with the plan to eat him now that she’s realized the good aspects of demon-hood wear off and she starts to deteriorate if she doesn’t eat people.
Numbers 8-15
Numbers 8-15
8. Number eight is self explanatory: you don't think they have good intentions. Personally, I don't hate the idea of Jennifer eating people like a Dexter setup, however the boys she chooses to eat in the movie don't deserve it. This logically makes her intentions bad even if one argues that she is only eating boys to stay alive and well now that she's more demon than girl, it doesn’t matter which boys she's eating because it’s all relative.9. I believe intention is a big reason we are able to view Needy in a more positive light by the end of the film. She did kill her best friend but with her newfound demon-bite-induced abilities she is going after greater evils like the bandmates from Low Shoulder that sacrificed Jennifer to go viral. Of course, this goes hand-in-hand with the next sign, "you can't depend on their advice" as Jennifer is proven to lie to get what she wants and obviously stands in opposition to Needy’s goal of keeping everyone relatively innocent safe. 10. Number ten, "you're embarrassed by their behavior toward others," is ratcheted up a notch by Jennifer's behavior being murderous rather than just rude or some small slight. It would stand within reason that Needy is not only confused by Jennifer's behavior but scared, angry, appalled, righteous, and disgusted. One moment of actual embarrassment does exist though, when their science teacher, Mr. Wroblewski, breaks the news about the fire and Jennifer responds to one classmate breaking down in tears by laughing. Right before this Needy has to defend their story to another classmate who is our first sign that Low Shoulder is walking away from this tragedy looking like heroes rather than the fire starting murderers they are.11. The only sign included in the list that could be argued doesn't apply to the friendship of Needy and Jennifer, number eleven, "you feel used". Both Needy and Jennifer arguably use one another for personal gain but it's undeniable that they love and care for one another and despite playing high school games gone wrong they would, if need be, stop in order to protect one another.12. I believe that Needy in a lot of ways believes she is helping Jennifer by killing her in the end, releasing her from being a demon and stopping her from continuing down the path she's on. While this is one possibility, it's also arguable that Jennifer knowingly manipulates and influences Needy when she doesn't get her way, for example gaslighting Needy that she came to her house and threw up in her kitchen.13. Number thirteen, "you don't know why you're friends with them," can be drawn back to Needy's feelings that their friendship has always been bad for Needy and not beneficial but that it continues due to its history. Despite them making you feel crappy, often by criticizing you, which is...14. ...number fourteen, "they criticize you. all. the. time.” Jennifer has conditioned Needy with criticism so much that she knows exactly what to do and not to do in order to not set Jennifer off. In the beginning she's quick to feed into Jennifer's wants and doesn't stand up for herself but by the end she's saying things she knows will piss Jennifer off, like Jennifer being irrelevant.15. And finally, number fifteen, "they make you second guess yourself," which is all Jennifer does in order to make sure Needy doesn't expose her or stop her. Despite leading her to the answer and almost telling her multiple times she ultimately chooses to protect herself over confirming Needy’s suspicions. After telling Needy the truth following their moment of closeness after she eats Colin and Needy reacts in a way Jennifer didn’t expect she sows doubt in Needy's mind that she could be imagining things.
Modern Comparisons
Modern Comparisons
Conclusion & My Thoughts
Conclusion & My Thoughts
Despite this harsh backlash from an audience the movie isn’t meant for the true audience to find the movie, in some part due to platforms like Tumblr. Not only did the audience find the movie, but they also loved it in a big way, making fan edits and deep dive posts that gained traction. Many women now attribute the movie to discovering their interest in other women, their own sexuality awakened by the relationship and Megan Fox. Now considered a feminist cult-classic, Jennifer’s Body captures the bad vibes towards women in the late aughts while centering them and their conflicts.
The movie’s various perspectives are all women-focused...
The movie’s various perspectives are all women-focused...
...even the male characters who become victims are background to the actual story. There are endless examples like those that can express how well Karyn Kusama, Diablo Cody, Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, and everyone else involved in the making of this movie did with their dedication to the film’s message and essence.
With a better understanding of the circumstances in Hollywood, the gendered media backlash of the time, and the weirdly misguided promo campaign it is clear as day why the movie’s fans might not have originally discovered the film. A huge tipping point in the movie’s trajectory came in the form of its own advertising campaign. With hindsight from the future and post-Roe era discussions about gender we can see the failure of the film’s marketing strategy mis-communicating what the movie was about and drawing in the wrong audience.
Some called it back in 2009,...
Some called it back in 2009,...
...Some called it back in 2009, one article by Jenni Miller stating, “Many women were turned off by the initial red band trailer for “Jennifer’s Body,” which featured a sexy lip lock between Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, among other instances of typically tantalizing shots of Fox being foxy,” on MTV.com. Not just the woman audience got alienated however, the teen audience got largely pushed out of the theater by the R rating. Another article by Leslie Goldstein quotes a box-office analyst on Jennifer’s Body box office flop, “So you have an R-rated film marketed to whom, exactly?” on EOnline.com.
In 2018 an article published in BuzzFeed states Kusama and screenwriter Cody knew that the ad campaigns and company that made them did not align with the movie they’d actually made. The trailer garnered ire from women as a cash grab meant to draw in men attracted to Fox. Horror movies used to go hand in hand with female exploitation or “sexploitation,” the genre earning that stigma when most blockbusters focused on which young starlet might appear naked on the big screen rather than the scary story.
Cody and Kusama stated that at one point the marketing firm they’d worked with replied, “Jennifer sexy, she steals your boyfriend,” to their inquiries about the marketing campaign. Much of the focus centered on Megan Fox’s sexual appeal and cannibal innuendos than the comedic indie horror about female experiences as teenagers that Jennifer’s Body is.
To imagine someone not seeing the story as...
To imagine someone not seeing the story as...
...focused on a complicated friendship bordering on obsession and the desperation to protect others from her wrath while maintaining her affection is mind-blowingly shallow. To see the movie as only a boy-eating teenage girl whose fate is inexplicably aligned with the male band doing anything for success willfully misses the point in favor of sexist ideas about women.
The movie’s appeal to the feminine is extremely deep-Cody even saying she sees the horror genre as having always been inherently feminist leaning. Specifically Cody regards the trope of a strong woman, or Final Girl, left standing at the end of the movie partially intact, displaying grit and strength traditionally reserved for their male presenting counterparts, to exemplify feminist ideals.
The article by Grady in Vox mentioned earlier said it best in 2018, “Jennifer’s Body is good now. More precisely, Jennifer’s Body was always good, and everyone is just now starting to get on its level,” couldn’t be more true, especially five years later. Since the pandemic and the end of Roe v. Wade protections in the United States society in general progressed to more liberal stances regarding gender, race, and sexuality at hyper speed. Personally, this is amazing and the more progress the better. A lot of that progress is propped up on giving women their power back, and even exploring hyperfemininity as a way to do that.
It’s clear that by the end...
It’s clear that by the end...
...Needy is taking things life and death seriously because they are and Jennifer is acting like they’re having a fight over a boy-toy, Chip. My read (which could be confirmed true or completely wrong somewhere in an interview or book already) is that Jennifer never expected Needy to actually leave her, no matter what.
They refer back to "Sandbox Love" in the movie and state that it never dies. There has not been a Needy and Jennifer without one another and the fear of the unknown had been bad enough to make them stick in their comfort zone together until this makes it impossible to ignore their growing apart anymore.
Jennifer chooses to leave after Needy impales her rather than just finishing her off and never seems to be trying that hard to kill Needy. She pretty easily eats men, one time with little more than a flirt and quick make out but with Needy it’s more playful than dangerous. The look on her face after Needy delivers the fatal blow is that of true heartbreak. Needy collapsing next to her afterwards only to fall off the bed is a great physical representation of the emotion after the climax of the movie.
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