Thrown into the category “chick flick”, She’s the Man does not quickly appear to be a complex portrayal of the human experience within modern society. However, due to the underlying principles related to sexuality, feminism, and Shakespearean text, this underrated flick contains provoking details that are culturally relevant and heavily discussed throughout the modern human world. She’s the Man portrays the modern life of an average American high school girl whose soccer team has been cut. In order to pursue the game she loves, Viola Hastings impersonates her twin brother to gain entry to a boys’ team. This movie adequately depicts a division within modern society that labels boys as better than girls at physical activity. Viola cannot try out as herself for the men’s soccer team, she must hide her identity in order to be accepted and allowed to play with boys. However, by making the team, Viola shatters the image created by society proving that she is clearly able to keep up with the boys. This culturally relevant component of the movie enacts a feeling of feminism that is present throughout the feature. Before deciding to impersonate her brother, Viola asks for a chance to continue to play on the boys’ team. She is scoffed at by all of the male characters and chastised for this “unreasonable” request. So as the strong female lead that she represents, she takes matters into her own hands and conquers those prior ideals that men are better than women at what they do and how they do it.

Furthermore, the content that explores the relationship between the two genders is advanced in the form of idealized gender roles. Viola wants to play soccer with the boys, but her mother expects her to be a debutant and become a “woman”. This illuminates the perceived roles that men and women are placed into. Men are supposed to want to roughhouse, play sports, and get dirty and women are expected to sit still and be pretty. However what an individual wants to do and pursue in life is completely up to that individual and not a direct reflection of societal expectations, and the movie empowers this point.

The element of the movie in which Viola impersonates (and virtually becomes) her brother can be interpreted within the realm of sexuality in a variety of ways. As a boy, Viola attempts to mask her feminine side, indulging the idea that men must be “manly” and “strong” at all times. Whenever one of her “girly” traits would inevitably creep to the surface, the circle that she was trying to become a part of (soccer team of boys) would question her integrity, and she would have to come up with an excuse for the event. Furthermore, more than ever society today is concerned with the role that sexuality plays within the human experience. It also plays a pivotal role within this movie. By impersonating a boy, Viola is concealing the fact that she is a girl, altering her sense of identity. This metaphorically relates to how some people feel as transgender or homosexual within society. Many times, these characteristics are hidden in order for a person to feel like they “fit in” to what society sees as “normal” or “acceptable”. In doing this, a person can lose their sense of identity. She’s the Man ushers this critical issue within modern society to the surface, forcing the viewer to question the role that it plays. These societal restrictions are changing, however this ideology and metaphor depicted within this movie is still relevant, in many ways, to today’s culture.   

At first glance, She’s the man appears to be a simplistic portrayal of a young woman who does something crazy in order to pursue what she desires and falls in love in the end. A classic uninvolved chick flick. However, at a closer look, the feature depicts a twisted love triangle involving a main character who is hiding behind the guise of the opposite sex. Which should sound familiar as it is the plot of Twelfth Night; a play written by Shakespeare in which a young woman (Viola) disguises herself as her twin brother and falls into a twisted love triangle. Again, sound familiar? She’s the Man directly copies this Shakespearean comedy (down to the names of the characters) and throws it into a seemingly believable modern-day situation.

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She’s the Man