The recent times have seen a proliferation in the interrelation between the media and the society. The society learns a lot from the media regarding new communication or fashion trends just the same way the media learns from the community. Most of the characters and behaviors that identify individuals in the society are depicted in media through TV shows and movies such as Keeping up with the Kardashians, Clueless, or the Bling Ring. Based on the characters portrayed in these shows and movies, societal stereotypes about individuals who talk or look like the characters in such shows and movies arise. For instance, coming from California where uptalk is the main character of the people classifies one within the stereotype of the dumb valley girl. Sometimes, one does not understand or even acknowledge the uptalk but for the mere fact that he or she is from California or talks with a rising lilt, the stereotypes tag along with her. Despite putting consorted efforts in proving individuals at school or within the community wrong about the stereotype, one never gets used to the annoying jokes.
The stereotype or character of the dumb valley girl was advanced or popularized through a famous movie called ‘Valley Girl’ starring Nicholas Cage. The stereotypes associated with the ‘dumb valley girl’ include excessive use of words such as ‘tubular, rad, awesome, duh, like, or oh my God.’ In fact, the movie that sparked the origin of the stereotype has remained the primary enforcer of the stereotypes in the society. However, other enforcers such as the pop culture and TV shows have cropped up over time through the media. For instance, part of the stereotype includes a rich ditzy young girl who speaks with a slight rising pitch at the tail end of every sentence. This phenomenon is not particularly new in the society and is observed in popular shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians. As an icon in the pop culture, Kim Kardashian stands out as one of the vocal trendsetters especially for young women in the society.
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In fact, the main characteristic of the Kardashians especially Kim as a pop culture icon is the ‘vocal fry’ which most of the young women in the society have adopted wholeheartedly. To this end, pop culture bolstered by the show serves as one of the major propellants of the dumb valley girl stereotype. Epitomizing the stereotype is Khloe Kardashian who according to her story dropped out of high school. As such, despite her affluent status as exhibited by the show, the society gets the sense of low or false intelligence. To this end, young girls within the society especially teenagers and young adult women who have been affected by trends set by the Kardashians regarding speech or fashion fall under the stereotype of the young dumb valley girl. However, since a significant portion of the society can afford fancy clothes and fashion, most girls are subjected to the stereotype regardless of their backgrounds so long as they match the appearance of the celebrities in fashion and speech.
Pop culture has in its way propelled the stereotype to the detriment of young women in the society. In recent times, the stereotype has been revamped through iconic pop culture female artists such as Iggy Azalea via songs such as ‘Fancy’ which edify the uptalk. Regardless, the stereotype as it relates to pop culture traces its roots in the ‘80s when a popular artist called Frank Zappa released his song called the ‘valley girl.’ However, the spotlight was more on his daughter Moon Unit Zappa and her ‘val-speak’ lyrics such as ‘gag me with a spoon, barf me out, and tubular’ (Eggertsen, 2017).
From then on, valley-speak or uptalk became a popular trend, but the dumb part of the stereotype did not arise until 1982 when the Valley Girl movie was released. The pop culture continuously perpetuated the stereotype through subsequent female artists who spoke and sang with the rising lilt. Not only did the artist use the uptalk but they also set fashion trends that have since been adopted by modern day artists such as Iggy Azalea who identifies with a massive fan base of young women. To this end, the pop culture has massively exacerbated the stereotype in the sense that dressing and talking in a pop-cultural way subjects the women to the stereotype intentionally or inadvertently. The pop culture has been so effective that a simple act of following a pop artist or icon exposes the individual to the stereotype.
As Sloat (2013) suggests, the dumb valley girl stereotype does not distinguish an individual’s academic performance, actual intelligence or success in life, as long as one uses the uptalk, she is quickly stereotyped as a dumb valley girl. This happens despite the fact that the women using the uptalk are successful individuals or are often intelligent than they are purported to be. This is evidence that the community is influenced more by the media especially pop culture than the actual characters regarding a certain individual. The worst part is that the stereotypes tend to stick, and in this case, young women get the bitter end of the stick. As Sloat further asserts, the fact of the matter is that every individual in the society speaks with the rising lilt regardless of the gender. This conclusion is fundamentally arrived at based on the research conducted by Amanda Rotchart and Amalia Arvanti on Southern Californian undergraduates both males and females. From the study, it was deduced that both genders spoke with the rising lilt. Nevertheless, this fact is consistently overlooked by the society, and the main propellant is the media through the female-dominated shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians or the ‘Valley Girl’ movie where the character playing the valley girl was a female.
Such movies and stereotypes drill and impart individuals with the notions and stereotypes that only the young women can be referred to as dumb and valley girls no matter their achievements in life. However, there are movies such as the Clueless that have tried to debunk the stereotype by playing a character (Cher Horowitz) stereotyped as a dumb valley girl who in the real sense of the movie was intelligent, intuitive, determined and a hero. Nevertheless, the fact that the plot of the movie decided to use a young woman playing the character of a vapid valley girl illustrates once again the society’s tendency of marginalizing women under the stereotype. Still, the media is the central player in propelling the stereotype.
Regardless of the stereotypes portrayed through the media, an individual should learn valuable lessons in overcoming the stereotype especially from movies such as clueless. In the movie, despite every individual thinking that Cher Horowitz was a bonehead, they, later on, learn differently. Instead, as the hero of the movie, she uses her popularity and idealism for the greater good. In the modern pop culture, Cher Horowitz has given life to some memorable lines such as ‘As if’ or ‘Whatever’ that were catchphrases in the late ‘90s, (Semigran, 2015). As such, her influence in the pop culture does not come as a precept of the dumb valley girl but as a well-respected icon with an immaculate sense of fashion who has inspired some of the pop artists such as Iggy Azalea and her video ‘Fancy.’
Deducing from Cher’s heroic acts from the movie, one can overcome the stereotype through brilliance and intelligence. An individual can adopt social responsibility in curbing the stereotype. Giving back to the society and achieving success is particularly crucial since instead of the society viewing one as a dumb rich valley girl, they will see a successful woman who has had a significant impact to the society in a positive way. The most fundamental aspect, however, is staying true to oneself and one’s character. Ultimately, it is wise to judge an individual based on his or her true character rather than a blanketed stereotype. If the society is to be fair, men should also be subjected to the stereotype since they also use the rising lilt in their speech like women.
References
Eggertsen, C. (2017). How ’80s pop culture typecast the Valley. Curbed. Retrieved from https://la.curbed.com/2017/8/7/16059614/san-fernando-valley-fast-times-frank-zappa
Semigran, R. (2015). 'Clueless' Cher Horowitz Is No Bonehead, & Here Are 13 Of The Smartest Things She Ever Said. Bustle. Retrieved from https://www.bustle.com/articles/97863-clueless-cher-horowitz-is-no-bonehead-here-are-13-of-the-smartest-things-she-ever
Sloat, S. (2013). Everyone (In Southern California) is a Valley Girl. Pacific Standard. Retrieved from https://psmag.com/social-justice/everyone-southern-california-valley-girl-71263
