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If we contemplate Alice’s “everyday� life we may conclude that gender and power are unequal amongst men and women. We see in the film that the boys are not reprimanded for chanting the homework number they want the teacher to go over; however, the girls who are late to class each receive detentions. This demonstrates the boys getting special treatment from the teacher and ultimately more power. Additionally in Alice’s everyday school life the girls are fighting with each other and not getting along, which we see in our own lives. Boys generally get along but it is the girls who are catty and mean to each other. Alice is expected by her mother and neighbor to be a grown up and a woman which are essentially different things. Grown ups are seen as having valid opinions and being responsible whereas women are supposed to “be gorgeous everyday� to attract men but never have a man because he will only run off with another woman. The women are definitely portrayed as the downside, with men having the power. For example when Lila saw her ex-boyfriend in front of the bathroom with another woman he was able to do that yet she felt unable to walk past them to go to the bathroom. After she did she went home and broke down.
These observations are specific to Alice’s life because she is learning the fine line between being an adult and a woman at her young age where she is “at the cusp�. In the end she finally grows up and stands up to Kung-Fu boy and ultimately the girls who were cruel to her.
Alice’s frustration resulted from a confrontation with “limits� of power that take away certain possibilities for her self-expression. She reached her breaking point with Kung-Fu boy. She was sick of acting passively and watching men around her take advantage of women and get away with it. For example her neighbor’s ex-boyfriend and her father who left her mother. This made her act out for not only her but also all the other people she knew who sat back passively and were taken advantage of.