Hell Is A Teenage Girl: Olivia Rodrigo, 'Jennifer's Body' And The Joy Of Rage
"Hell is a teenage girl." These are the first words spoken by Anita "Needy" Lesnicky, played by Amanda Seyfried, in the 2009 horror-comedy Jennifer's Body. As Needy narrates, the titular cheerleader Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) lies in bed, staring blankly out her window with blood-tinged eyes. Somewhere, beyond the panes of glass and pink-papered walls of Jennifer's bedroom, Needy waits, box cutter knife in hand, veiled by a starless Minnesota night. Just months ago, she and Jennifer were normal students — lifelong best friends — at Devil's Kettle High School. Now, their sandbox love is dead. Needy is "cracked," "loose around the edges," and she needs to let her feelings out.
Although many would call that opening scene iconic today, when it was first released, was heavily criticized and underperformed financially. Those who skipped it may not have fully known what they were dismissing: As director, the movie they made was misrepresented by a marketing campaign that catered to straight male fantasy. But is really a story about anger — young women's anger. And in recent years, it's been , and steadily grown into a cult favorite. Online, its depictions of teenage girl characters experiencing the extremes of friendship, exploitation and revenge have become potent pop culture references. More than a decade after it premiered (the film celebrates its 12th anniversary on Sept. 18), young fans continue to share and discover it through GIFs, YouTube clips and — appropriately enough for a film , in which rock is not just the soundtrack but a plot point — music videos.
