Bridget Jones Diary as the New Feminism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Bridget Jones Diary as the New Feminism - Essay Example Her lack of a love interest is the primary concern of her mother and the dominant thought in her mind. She spends the entire movie trying to work out her life in an acceptable fashion, working to try to choose between two men that continue to enter her social sphere. However, it is only when she is under the right male influence that she is able to achieve any kind of the stability and direction necessary to move forward in her life. Her greatest challenge, then, is to determine which man is the right one to help her move forward. All of her other accomplishments to that point have amounted to virtually nothing as a result of her flighty, feminine ways. Although one of the men in the story turns out to be just as flighty and directionless, this fact doesn’t emerge until near the end of the story, allowing both men throughout much of the movie to appear as though they are the quintessential man, strong and sturdy in their differing beliefs and goals and equally capable of provi ding Bridget with her needed stabilizing influence. Seen in this light, it is difficult to understand why the book and subsequent film became so popular with a contemporary audience. This paper is an attempt to explain this popularity and examine its significance in context of the ‘second wave feminism.’