Sofia Coppola

The director I chose to write about for this week’s assignment is Sofia Coppola. By watching three of her movies, The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and The Bling Ring I can already start to identify recurring themes in Coppola’s work. Some elements that predominate in her work that stood out for me in her films are cultural media and the idea of images and perception, issues with society and isolation, the strong presence of female characters and ideas of femininity, adolescence, love and loss.

When it comes to revealing her ideas on cultural media, Coppola expresses her concerns and its effects through her movies in different contexts. For instance, in Virgin Suicides, the Lisbon neighbors pretty much rely on the media to get an idea of what is going on with the girls in the household. They all watch the nightly news and assume their own conclusions, only to be revealed that the youngest girl attempted suicide or that something odd is going on in that house. In the Bling Ring, it’s very obvious how Coppola portrays this idea of modern cultural media. She shows our interest in reality TV, and how everyone is pretty much obsessed posting pictures on Facebook and social media. I think the overwhelming tabloid culture in this movie is important and she aims at this subject with a critical eye.

Coppola also deals with the theme of societal issues and how we are perceived in a society – how our image is perceived. In the Virgin Suicides the girls are different from everyone else, and the rules in their household don’t apply to the other people in the outside world. Their whole family is gossiped about and looked upon as outcasts by their neighbors. In the Bling Ring, the whole idea is how we ourselves want to be perceived by others and create our own public perception for the media and society. It shows how fame-obsessed people like Rebecca and Nicki commit crimes, yet see them as accomplishments because they boost their popularity on social media and puts them on the spot light – even if its for the wrong reasons. In Marie Antoinette, Antoinette is clearly on the public eye as she is going to be the carrier of the heir of the French throne, but evidently she fails to comply the social expectations placed upon her. She really doesn’t behave as true French royalty, as she is barely just an Austrian teenager placed in a demanding situation by arrangement. Her social status allegedly determines her behavior and how people perceive her, but genuinely she’s more of a free soul.

Strong female characters are evident in all of the movies, the Lisbon girls, Rebbeca and Nicki, Marie Antoinette herself and all of the French royalty ladies. Femininity is a theme explored in Coppola’s work and I think it says a lot about her opinion on probably feminism and her beliefs in how society deals with this issue. Also, the presence of teenage characters and growing up, being an adolescent – along with basically coming of age stories. All of the movies in a way can be seen as coming of age stories, each in different contexts. Coppola’s point of view on life is very critical, and through her sort of melancholic, nostalgic imagery, her work creates a reflection in her audience. I think she’s very observational of society and our perception as individuals. It’s like she makes critiques, but with out them being a strong slap on the face instead it’s rather beautiful – with soft natural imagery, filled with pastel and natural colors and emotionally moving stories.