Many plots follow a protagonist, oftentimes from the countryside, who finds herself lost and confused in a new foreign city, struggling to adapt to the big-city life. Often, the protagonist struggles with modern-day issues that can only occur in urban cities. Most chick-lit novels are set in urban locations to add to the heroine's exciting, fast-paced and often glamorous lifestyle. However, in classic chick-lit fashion, Mia undergoes a physical, as well as emotional 'makeover' in the novel, where she learns how to be glamorous, graceful and more 'princess-like'. In The Princess Diaries series (2000-2015) by Meg Cabot (1967-present), although Mia Thermopolis is unexpectedly crowned as the Princess of Genovia, her clumsy, awkward and anxious personality likens her story to that of any relatable teenager. This is crucial as it allows the reader to root for the protagonist. From the beginning of the story itself, the protagonist is usually working towards achieving something and is passionate about her dreams and career aspirations.Įven though the protagonist may have certain flaws, overall they are likeable. She is depicted as a strong, driven, independent, assertive woman. The chick-lit heroine is usually an attractive young working woman in her 20s. The protagonist of chick-lit novels says a lot about the demographic that this genre is marketed towards. This argument of chick-lit generalising the female experience is because the genre has an extremely standardised set of characteristics and themes that are found in most, if not all, chick-lit novels. Chick-lit genreĬhick-lit novels have been often criticised for generalising the experience of womanhood by having an extremely cliched and two-dimensional approach to presenting women, their issues and interests. However, once chick-lit rose as a category targeting an existing large young female readership, the genre lad-lit was soon forgotten. The term 'lad-lit' was coined in Britain in the 1990s, surprisingly before the term 'chick-lit' was popularised, as a marketing strategy to broaden the male readership. Lad-lit is a literary genre consisting of male-authored stories that focus on the trials and tribulations experienced by young boys during their progress to manhood. The majority are resolved with a happy ending. Usually, the story follows the personal, or sometimes, professional issues experienced by these women in a funny, lighthearted and sort of relatable way. The protagonists of chick lits mirror the genre's target demographic by featuring a young attractive (or soon to be turned attractive by a dramatic makeover scene) working woman in her 20s or 30s. Simply stated, it is fiction by women, for women, about women. The genre typically focuses on issues around modern womanhood, such as coming of age, female friendship circles, family dramas, workplace struggles, issues of appearance and body image, and most often, romantic entanglements with men. The term 'chick' is slang used to refer to 'young women' whereas the word 'lit' is the short version of 'literature'.Ĭhick-lit is a literary genre that consists of fiction that is typically written by female authors, centred around female protagonists, and marketed toward young women. Well, for all those who enjoy a good chick flick, did you know that there is an identical genre that exists in literature? You guessed it- it's called 'chick-lit'! However, is the chick-lit genre an accurate representation of womanhood, or are they based on existing traditional stereotypes about women? Let's look at the meaning, characteristics and examples of a genre that is widely enjoyed, stereotyped and criticised. 1 - Protagonist of Legally Blonde: The Musical
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |