F06 :: Feminist Film Studies

I watched an episode of The Girls Next Door, a show on E! that follows Hugh Heffner’s three girlfriends in their life after being on the cover of Playboy. Many of the shows on E! strive to reveal the lives and stories of celebrities to the world, and in the case of the Heffner girls, their goal is to create humor by drawing from many of the preconceived notions the general public has about Playboy models. The episode I watched was called “Career Dazed� and focused on the girls’ career aspirations of modeling, acting, jewelry designing, and broadcast journalism. Unlike other dating reality shows, the three women featured in this show are not competing for the affection of the bachelor, who is actually only separated from his wife and celebrating his eightieth birthday, but they are content with sharing a romantic relationship while they’re just really good friends with each other. The three women seem to take on specific roles in the house as defined during the opening credits. The first, Holly, plays the role of a cheerleader turned glamour girl, the second, Brigit, a scholarly graduate turned domestic housewife, and Kendra, a tomboy type athlete turned teenage brat. The opening credits to the show are very animated with bright colors and the characters resemble bobble-heads creating an image of something unbelievable and incredibly superficial despite the fact that it’s considered to be reality TV. The music and sound affects added into the scenes contribute to the atmosphere and attitude that the director is trying to convey, such as music that would fit a 50’s family sitcom to create the mood of a happy, traditional home despite the irregular family life and excess wealth as well as using climactic music to bring drama to normally uneventful affairs, creating satire and entertainment for the audience.
As the girls gain more and more recognition and are given the opportunity to excel in their “careers� as public reality TV figures, the message becomes clear that being beautiful is all it takes to succeed in life. All three women have long, platinum blonde hair and Barbie-like figures that are perfected through tanning and makeup. While they are exploring various interests, Brigit mentions that she has a master’s degree in communication studies and explores her new opportunities of broadcast journalism. Rather than highlighting her talents however, they show every mistake and retake necessary to prove that despite college degrees she really is still just a dumb blonde Playboy model. Kendra, the youngest of the three has admittedly the least aspiration towards a career outside the world of modeling and speaks of her enjoyment in being able to have fun while she’s young. However, once again they take what she says in front of the camera, editing it to match what they record her doing at other times, such as having dog responsibilities (showing it her “pimp cane�), doing things she doesn’t want to do (taking a shower when she’d rather continue prancing around in her underwear), and of course her goals (getting a grill so she can be more “gangsta�). However, when she is in a photo shoot for muscle magazine, she is told that she was chosen because they needed someone with personality because the body builder she’s paired with seems to have nothing much past the physical, doing what they can to draw stereotypes of models in general this time (anything he says is inaudible or not included in the cut). Of course during the shoot itself, the photographer makes it clear just how important the physical is as he constantly gapes at Kendra and compliments her perfect body.
As Alison Graham-Bertolini states in the article Joe Millionaire as a Fairy Tale: A Feminist Critique, “Editing convincingly establishes that the women consider this opportunity more important than anything else in their lives. Their degrees, careers, and loved ones are marginalized for the chance to accomplish what is being touted as women’s primary objective, marriage� (Graham-Bertolini, 342). In the same way, the three women in The Girls Next Door are edited in a way that mocks their career goals as something unnecessary and something they are generally incapable of anyways. Instead, they're presented as three "girls" who would really prefer to frolic around in lacy pink underwear with their 80-year-old boyfriend and that the idea of doing something that interests them is just a silly, dismissive idea that Hugh allows them to indulge despite how unrealistic it is.