As the leaves begin to turn vibrant hues of red, and the chill in the air is noticeable from September’s ending, there are many of us that may be dreading the end of summer. More specifically, dreading the ending of Wednesdays spent binging “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” With its last episode airing Wednesday, Sep. 17, this coming of age series truly made an unexpected impact with its last season rising to immense popularity.
The series tripled its viewership during its course and its third season is now ranked the No. 1 most-watched season of television among women between the ages of 18-34 right now. The show’s main draw is its nostalgia, whether you have been an avid fan since the book series in 2009, or if the coming of age plot just evokes memories of your own.
Despite watching the series in its entirety and keeping up with its weekly episodes, I could not say this show is truly astounding with its quality of acting or writing. This is a pretty widespread sentiment from what I have seen and heard from most people my age. So, why does this series have such a chokehold on pop culture if its reputation is a cheesy summer drama? I think it may have something to do with its ability to portray girlhood’s tumultuous transition into adulthood through the lens of a female writer and director.
There are slight but crucial differences between the styles female and male directors use to portray a coming of age movie or show specifically centered around girlhood. Male directors tend to portray women in more stereotypical ways because they cannot relate the story to their own experiences as a man. Instead, they rely on societal constructs to base their story on. When females direct, they tell their stories from the perspective of someone who has had connections to the patriarchy (Kaplan, 1991). Female directors have the ability to deviate from stereotypical female portrayals because they can draw upon their own experiences.
Deviating from stereotypes in film and TV is crucial for the betterment of the viewer’s experience. There have been many times where I’ve watched a show or movie and could obviously tell there was not a woman contributing to the writing of a character. Often it shows by portraying a female character as submissive, incompetent or as a caregiver. While none of these traits are inherently bad, they do feel overdone and unrealistic at this point. Many of the women I know from my life are extremely complex, multi-faceted and ambitious people and it’s becoming increasingly disappointing to not see that portrayed in modern shows and movies.
Shows like “The Summer I Turned Pretty” cultivate their success through honing in on the experience of girlhood and reaching female audiences. This series’ popularity proves that there is a need for a shift in the film industry to produce more female characters from female experiences, not stereotypes. So, while the writing may be laughable at times, the importance of shows like these reaching popularity is imperative to young girls so that their experiences can be represented free from the lens of the male gaze.
Grace Powell is a third-year Media and Culture major with a minor in Human Resource Management. GP1019074@wcupa.edu