HIGH SCHOOL = SOCIETAL SYNECDOCHE
If this wasn't made clear enough narratively, allow J.D. to elucidate: "I'm not blowing up the school, I'm blowing up society! [emphasis his]"
Uh, right. To recap: The Heathers represent the social elite, and the remainder of the school is structured in a sort of hierarchy of power. I know Joe warned about flippant/pretentious Foucault citations, but if you have a look at The History Of Sexuality, everybody's favorite French theorist tells us that contemporary power isn't propagated and maintained through threats of violence or force (as it was in the pre-modern period, where dissent would win you a one-way ticket to decapitationville), but rather through the promotion of health and sexuality—that is, it's in your benefit to acquiesce to institutions of power and be a model citizen, because you get to the reap the benefits of an orderly modern society. High School in Heathers works in a similar fashion; the power of the Heathers is maintained despite their being uniformly abhorred because students in the lower echelons of the social order desire their approval and respect, or as one Heather so nicely puts it, because "everyone wants to either be me or fuck me".
Uh, right. To recap: The Heathers represent the social elite, and the remainder of the school is structured in a sort of hierarchy of power. I know Joe warned about flippant/pretentious Foucault citations, but if you have a look at The History Of Sexuality, everybody's favorite French theorist tells us that contemporary power isn't propagated and maintained through threats of violence or force (as it was in the pre-modern period, where dissent would win you a one-way ticket to decapitationville), but rather through the promotion of health and sexuality—that is, it's in your benefit to acquiesce to institutions of power and be a model citizen, because you get to the reap the benefits of an orderly modern society. High School in Heathers works in a similar fashion; the power of the Heathers is maintained despite their being uniformly abhorred because students in the lower echelons of the social order desire their approval and respect, or as one Heather so nicely puts it, because "everyone wants to either be me or fuck me".
KIDS = BORN FOLLOWERS
Teenagers apparently don't think for themselves. The movie once again drives the point home:
Veronica: "If everybody jumped off a bridge, would you?"
Heather: "...probably."
The underlying joke in Heathers is that kids are so predisposed to trend-following that they're willing to go through with anything and everything in order to fit in, including, in this case, suicide.
Veronica: "If everybody jumped off a bridge, would you?"
Heather: "...probably."
The underlying joke in Heathers is that kids are so predisposed to trend-following that they're willing to go through with anything and everything in order to fit in, including, in this case, suicide.
The question I've often asked myself regarding Heathers is whether the teens who watch the film truly understand the film's message. I think people ultimately acknowledge that JD is a psychopath who is responsible for the murder/suicides and leave it at that - thereby overlooking the actual message regarding the need to be an individual and stand up for what you believe it (that must be on a pillow somewhere). Case in point - when I saw Mean Girls in theatres, only the people who were no longer in High School were laughing. Obviously it's not a valid observation to suggest teens don't get these kinds of films as they are too busy living them, but I've always wondered if - like branding - this content goes right over the heads of the intended audience
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