Teanna Baca

Prof. Saundra Trujillo

Sociology 1101
11/28/16

Legally Blonde: A Look Into the Sociological Concepts Behind

the Movie

Legally Blonde (Luketic,2001), is the story of a young affluent college girl whos main

goal in life is to be engaged to her current boyfriend. However, when she finds out he does not

want to marry her due to the way she is perceived by others, she immediately makes drastic

changes to herself in hopes of winning him back. Throughout the movie she begins to realize he

is not who she needed after all, but rather finds gratitude in her own accomplishments and

becomes a new person through socialization in her new setting .

The films opens in the sorority house of Delta Gamma as Elle Woods (Reese

Witherspoon), our films protagonist, receives a letter from her current boyfriend Warner

Huntington III (Matthew Davis) as upbeat pop music plays in the background. The scene

immediately shows the societal groups and class the characters belong to and also what is

perceived as socially acceptable to this group of women.

Further, a better example of the social structure of the characters appears when Warner

and Elle go to out to eat, which Elle refers to as The Dinner because she believes Warner is

going to propose. Upon finding out Warner actually does not want to get married, but rather

wants to break up, Elle falls into an emotional fit. Warner defends his decisions by saying Elle,

Teanna Baca
Prof. Saundra Trujillo
Sociology 1101
11/28/16

if I am going to be a senator, well I need a Jacquie, not a Marilyn. This statement is a clear

indicator of what is socially acceptable for Warners class and how he is perceived by others.

Elle is an outspoken sexual being and for Warner, his internal controls tell him that is bad for his

image, as well as his future as a senator. This is also an example of Ethnocentrism: The habit of

seeing things only from the view of your own group, which is how Warner views is relationship

with Elle.

Elle ultimately decides to apply to Harvard Law School in hopes of winning over Warner

and being his Jacquie. She is eventually invited to a party by Warner's current fiancee Vivien

(Selma Blair) who tells her the party is a costume party. Elle shows up to the party dressed in a

pink bunny costume, and immediately finds out the party was not a costume party. In doing this,

Elle is unknowingly going against the norm, also known as a more.

As a result of this incident, Elle is now well aware of what is and what is not acceptable

behavior among her fellow law students. She is slowly socialized by absorbing the customs,

habits, and means of expression of her peers. Elles socialization can also be applied to Charles

H. Cooley's Looking Glass Self concept: the idea that one's self is shaped through their

interactions with others, as well as how others perceive them. Through Elles encounters and

understanding with other law students as well as professors she creates this idea of how she

wants those to see her, and begins to become that concept, by dressing, as well as acting

differently according to her setting.

Teanna Baca
Prof. Saundra Trujillo
Sociology 1101
11/28/16
 Conforming to these norms, Elle is rewarded by being considered, and ultimately

accepted for her professors summer internship. One could call this Game Theory, or Rational

Choice Theory. According to Michael Hechter and Satoshi Kanazawa, authors of Sociological

Rational Choice Theory, we can predict the actions of a person if we know what motivates them.

In this case, Elle is being motivated by her new found interests and desire to prove to herself and

others her worth through her accomplishments. Further, they go on to say Thick models

therefore specify the individuals existing values and beliefs. There are several means of doing so

but the most popular strategy has been to assume that individuals seek maximum quantities of

exchangeable private goods such as wealth, and arguably, power and prestige. We can assume

that Elle is after power and prestige as she finishes law school. Being accepted for her professors

summer internship, and eventually winning her first case are all rewards she has received for

socializing herself and resulting in social profit.

Elle woods began as a ditzy, charismatic, sorority girl and self proclaimed blonde, but

throughout the movie we can observe her character development as she transforms into this

strong, prestigious Harvard graduate through her socialization at Law School. We watch as her

values change from sorority mixers, to becoming an associate at a law firm. The concepts

presented in this movie show the benefits of game theory as well as conforming to her new found

social structure for the benefit of society as a whole.

Work Cited
Hechter, M., & Kanazawa, S. (1997). Sociological Rational Choice Theory. Annual Review of
Sociology, 23, 191-214. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2952549
Luketic, R. (Director). Legally blonde [Video file]