It’s curious; the rising trend of women in film coming to the forefront on the big screen as well as the steadily increasing number of women chopping their hair. It’s curious because there just might be a correlation.
Psychologists and sociologists who read into trends for a living may be better suited to write an explanatory essay on this. They may have more insight than a current college student in this matter. However, we all have one commonality that offers one common ground upon which we are allowed to discuss: the ability to observe.
This is simply an observation of two trends that I have personally noticed recently.
During one of my routine readings in celebrity news in the last couple of days, I kept seeing story headlines of Taylor Swift making the chop. Multiple headlines have made the joke of ‘Short Hair, Don’t Care’ as their headlines. For some reason, this stuck. It stuck and it made me think about how other reasons, we do care.
Lately, it has become evident that young female film stars are making the cut on their heads to make the cut on screen. This could all be coincidence, of course, but it could also be a calculated move.
Remember Emma Watson back in November of 2010 when she shocked fans with a pixie cut at the “Harry Potter Deathly Hallows: Part One” premiere? She made headlines for abandoning the expected Hermione look for something completely new. Watson was, quite obviously, preparing to take on any role in film after her days as Hermione were over.
More recently, Shailene Woodley (‘Secret Life of the American Teenager,’ ‘The Spectacular Now,’ ‘Divergent’) has recently shed her former trademark long locks for a cropped do. Woodley will play Hazel, a teenage cancer patient in the film adaptation of John Green’s novel “The Fault in Our Stars.” Naturally, a shorter cut is necessary for that role. But what is remarkable is Woodley’s commitment enough to actually make the cut. And for that, she made the cut for the role.
Actresses before Woodley have chopped their hair for roles and given spectacular performances. Watson is the only one example, but there are countless others. The point is, as of late, there seems to be a rise in two styles of the moment: a shorter cut and a longer take on screen of women-dominated films. And while sometimes these two styles don’t always go hand-in-hand entirely, they sometimes overlap in at least one aspect. As of now, their overlap is found in time.
Think of the fandom that suddenly boomed at the release of Suzanne Collins’ book-turned-film franchise, ‘The Hunger Games.’ Katniss has become an icon of the potential for power in young women. Although Katniss rocks a braid rather than a pixie cut, she is the embodiment of a young woman taking control of all things that are perhaps, usually considered male traits. Drive, strength, confidence, independence, serving as a provider and an overall power are what make Katniss the dominant one.
What is fairly ironic however, is that the real-life Katniss, Jennifer Lawrence, has in fact chopped her hair. In November 2013, she surprised everyone just before the second story of the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy, ‘Catching Fire,’ premiered.
Is this all coincidence? It’s difficult to tell. However, it is worth mentioning due to a curiously close tie between the two trends on the rise at this moment in time.
