Heathers
Heathers: Dark, twisted, and controversial, Heathers is a truly iconic film. The film centers around two high schools students; Veronica (Winona Ryder) and J.D (Christian Slater). Fed up with the cliques and social ladder of their school, they plot to kill the popular kids and stage their murders to look like suicides.
Veronica is friends with the three "queens bees" of the school, all named Heather, hence the name of the movie. It's important to take not of the heavy color symbolism that the filmmakers have given these three girls.
Starting off with the leader of the group, Heather Chandler. Notice how she wears something red in every scene that she's in. Red, which represents power, anger, and aggression; everything that embodies her personality. In Heather's mind, she's the boss of everything; no other options. Do anything to spite her, and you're toast. Her need to be in charge fuels her aggression. She doesn't have a genuine relationship with anyone, which leads to her death.
Heather McNamara is also know as "Yellow Heather." Her personality reflects the traits the yellow symbolizes, mainly the trait of cowardice. She's scared of Red Heather, thinking that she has to be perfect or she'll be kicked out of the group. After Red Heather's death, she becomes even more afraid. As terrible as Red Heather was, she was still her friend, and dealing with her death broke Yellow Heather down. Her anxieties get so terrible that she has breakdowns in class and attempts to overdose on pills in the school bathroom.
Finally, Heather Duke. She is a little bit different from the other two, only keeping her color for half of the movie. She is green, representing jealousy. She wants what Red Heather has; power. She's tired of Red Heather pushing her around, and she wants to be on top . Immediately after Red Heather's death, Heather Duke switches from green to red clothing. She takes Red Heather's place as the manipulative, power hungry leader of the clique.
This movie doesn't sugar coat things; it's demented. Watching this movie, one can't help but wonder how the film makers got permission to make this film. Teenagers tricking their peers into risky situations, killing them, and forging suicide notes in their handwriting.
Why is it popular? Society as a whole has a sick fascination with the deranged. Which stories on the news do you remember the most? Not the short happy stories about the little girl who raised money for her school, or the kid who got a perfect ACT score. We remember the stories about shootings, murders, and suicides. We don't necessarily want tragic things to happen, but when they do, we want to hear all about it.
In the end, it does display a good message. It warns against the romanization of suicide and mental illness. The teachers of the school heavily publicize the fake image of "bringing the students together," instead of teaching the kids about suicide prevention. Their horrible tactics don't prevent further tragedies. Rather, they lead to a suicide attempt of another student. This movie has an amazing script, and should be on everyone's must-watch list.
