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A Mainstream Movie with a Positive Message: Nancy Drew
By Rebecca | April 8, 2008
I recently rented the new Nancy Drew
husband is a big fan of The Hardy Boys, Nancy’s male counterparts in amateur sleuthing.) Although they were formulaic and predictable, I enjoyed the characters and the various mysteries they tried to solve. I was both excited, and skeptical, about how the movie would portray the somewhat outdated detective.
I am happy to say that they did a good job at being true to the written character while allowing her to live in the new millenium. But it struck me that they also did something else that perhaps they did not intend. They portrayed an accomplished, confident young woman who refuses to lower her standards to fit in with her peers.
If the main objective of the teen protagonist had been to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, rather to solve mysteries, this could have been the story of any of the young women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Nancy’s clothing is plain and, for the most part, modest. (In the spirit of full disclosure some of her skirts are an inch or two above the knee and her party dress has no sleeves.) She has good manners and treats everyone she meets with kindness and respect. She honors her father and takes seriously his admonition to think of others before herself.
There is a “boyfriend” in the film who helps her to solve crimes. They share one hug, a couple of awkward “do you like me?”-type conversations and a brief kiss at the end of the film. Mostly, he is her good friend who encourages her to stick to her principles no matter what other people say or do.
Nancy Drew is an entertaining film with fun characters and an engaging plot. It is also a rare Hollywood portrayal of what is best in today’s youth. Perhaps the filmmakers believed the film to be entirely fictional, but I know that young women around the world triumph every day in overcoming peer pressure to stand up for what they know to be right.
Topics: Young Women |
