Leticia Barbosa highlights the continual relevance of Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body to contemporary society, especially in regards to gendered violence.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last decade, you know who Megan Fox is. However, not that many people nowadays know about the movie she starred in back in 2009 called Jennifer’s Body. You may be wondering why everyone is suddenly obsessed about a dark comedy horror movie from twelve years ago. Well, there are a few theories on that. The first one is that with streaming platforms, Jennifer’s Body finally found its target audience, becoming a classic amongst the queer community. However, the second theory is that punk music's comeback into the mainstream scene, and her relationship with Machine Gun Kelly also played a part in that. The couple have been doing interviews and red carpet appearances in the last few months, and Megan always comments that Jennifer's Body is one of the favourite movies she has starred in. Therefore, her interviews, plus the streaming services, added up to a combo that has allowed the film to gain way more relevance now compared to when it was first released.
Contemporary viewings of the movie highlight its commentary on predatory behaviour towards women, and how prevalent that is...
The most interesting thing about this shift towards the movie is that, if you search Jennifer’s Body on Google, most articles published recently discuss how everyone wronged this movie because, as you might know, this movie was actually quite ahead of its time. Not only did Jennifer's Body explore bisexuality way before LGBTQI+ characters became something Hollywood would think about taking into consideration, but also because it explores feminism in a strong, yet necessary way. Contemporary viewings of the movie highlight its commentary on predatory behaviour towards women, and how prevalent that is. People need to talk about it. Nowadays, in a world where women do not feel safe to walk in the streets by themselves or even go clubbing with friends during the weekend, what happened to Jennifer is a metaphor for every woman’s worst fear. Then you might ask: but Jennifer was killed in a sacrifice, so what does this have to do with women feeling unsafe? Well, Jennifer was a teenager who trusted a man in a more influential position than her during a vulnerable situation. By trusting him, she ended up being sacrificed. However, as the scene where she was sacrificed rolls, it is impossible not to think about how many women lost their lives just because they trusted the wrong person, at the wrong place and at the wrong time.
...it is impossible not to think about how many women lost their lives just because they trusted the wrong person, at the wrong place and at the wrong time
There are so many things to unpack from this movie that just one article is not enough. Jennifer’s Body touches on many relevant topics while disguised as a cult horror flick. So, if you have never watched it before, you definitely should and even if you have seen it before, you should watch it again and look for the hidden messages that go further than what is shown in the narrative. But before you watch it, just a heads up – this movie might make you crave for some boy’s with 00’s vibes.