Waiting for the Day Bridget Jones Tweets “#MeToo”
Most reasonable adults have come to the realization that romantic comedies are unrealistic to a fault. Yet, time and time again, we curl up on the couch and find ourselves entranced in an idealized, heteronormative plot that comforts us. Romantic comedies like Pretty Woman, Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and When Harry Met Sally have been imperative in shaping the identity of young adults. A common thread between these classic movies is that they all center on a female character who deeply resonates with audiences. Viewers find pieces of themselves reflected in a woman struggling to find love and/or her place in the world.
Bridget Jones’s Diary is no different. This film focuses on the epitome of a relatable woman: Bridget Jones, played by Renée Zellweger. Just like us, she struggles with maintaining the “ideal” weight, not fumbling in conversation with a cute guy, not making a fool of herself in front of her attractive boss, and navigating the dating world. Viewers see themselves in Bridget’s successes and pitfalls. One of the most relatable moments is the opening of the movie when Bridget is sulking in her apartment. She sits in her penguin pajama nightgown, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes, watching Fatal Attraction, and dramatically singing along to “All By Myself” (0.05:08-0.07:17).
While moments like these still resonate with viewers, overall, Bridget Jones’s Diary has aged poorly, especially analyzing it in a post-#MeToo Movement world. Bridget is a character who accurately reflects the modern woman because, just like more women than we will ever know, she was sexually assaulted in the workplace. Sadly, a staple in the romantic comedy category, Bridget Jones’s Diary failed to recognize that a crucial moment in the movie was really sexual assault in the workplace. More powerfully, most viewers did not perceive this once-deemed flirty moment as sexual assault, and therefore desired to experience it, too.
Bridget was just going about her day at work when – out of nowhere – her boss Daniel Cleaver (played by Hugh Grant) sexually assaulted her. Specifically, while both Bridget and Daniel were in the elevator, he placed his hand on her butt (0.14:35-0.16:05). Though this seems like a flirty gesture, this is sexual assault. The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), defines sexual assault as “sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim”. Too frequently, the term sexual assault and rape are conflated. Thus, stating that Bridget was sexually assaulted seems too strong because that term is incorrectly used to mean rape. RAINN clarifies that “rape is a form of sexual assault, but not all sexual assault is rape.” Most specifically, rape is “sexual penetration without consent” (“Sexual Assault”). Therefore, when Daniel places his hand on Bridget’s butt, she was sexually assaulted because she did not explicitly consent to this act. Furthermore, they were in a public space in which it would have been immensely difficult to confront her assaulter, someone who holds the senior-most position at the company. And the most sentient point is that just because Bridget and Daniel had previously flirted with each other, this did not give him permission to initiate sexual contact in the workplace.
Although this critique of Bridget Jones’s Diary seems reasonable now, that is because we are living in a post-#MeToo Movement world. Gillian B. White, in “America’s Sexual Assault Epidemic,” highlights that the #MeToo Movement is a “reckoning of predatory behavior of successful men”. White uses the Trump presidency as a framework to contextualize why #MeToo resonates so poignantly with millions of people. She emphasizes that Trump’s presidential win essentially ignored accusations of his sexual misconduct. However, #MeToo essentially acts as retroactive effort, “…a kind of correction” to hold successful men accountable for their harmful actions.
Donald Trump, much like Daniel Cleaver, has the backstory of a successful businessman. Even more so, both men have lurid sexual histories, which only work to improve their statuses and clout. Just as Daniel thought he could grab Bridget’s butt in a public space, in the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, Trump said “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything” (White, “America’s Sexual Assault Epidemic”). Contrast this statement with the manner in which Daniel Cleaver walked into the elevator and placed his hand on his inferior’s butt. Bridget was trapped in that elevator until the ground floor. And I will reiterate again, just because Bridget and Daniel engaged in flirtatious behavior, that did not give Daniel license to “do anything.” I do not by any means hope to equate Donald Trump and Daniel Cleaver, but they both exhibit predatory behavior in that they see what the want, and then they grab it.
Works Cited
Maguire, Sharon, director. Bridget Jones’s Diary. Universal Studios, 2004.
“Sexual Assault | RAINN.” RAINN | The Nation’s Largest Anti-Sexual Violence Organization, 2018, www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault.
White, Gillian B. “America’s Sexual-Assault Epidemic.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 23 Oct. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/10/weinstein-sexual-assault/543582/.