Film Project: The Virgin Suicides by Sofia Coppola

The film The Virgin Suicides was written and directed by Sofia Coppola in 2000. The story takes place in the suburbs of Grosse Pointe, Michigan in the early 1970s and it follows the struggles of the Lisbon family. The Lisbon parents are very overprotective, authoritarian, and religious, adhering to strict moral disciplines and sexual suppression. Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon have five beautiful, blond, daughters’ ages ranging from 17 to 13, Therese, Mary, Bonnie, Lux, and Cecilia. The Lisbon girls suffer a great deal from their parent’s strict moral code, they are not allowed to associate with boys, apply their talents to after school activities, date, or ride in cars. The Lisbon parent’s strict moral code is meant to keep their daughters pure, pure in mind, soul, and sexuality.

However, after the tragic suicide of the youngest daughter Cecilia, and the persistence of Lux (the second youngest) Mrs. Lisbon allows all the girls to attend a school dance with dates. Lux is different from her sisters; she is very pretty and very rebellious. Lux has had a secrete relationship with heartthrob Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett) and it was her efforts that amounted to the parental permission of the school dance. However, Lux leaves the dance with Trip and succumbs to his sexual advances. After loosing her virginity, Lux wakes the next morning alone. Because Lux missed curfew and was with a boy, Mrs. Lisbon takes all the girls out of school and imprisons them in her home. She takes away all comforts of music and television and the girls are forced to suffer together without outside influences.

Lux rebels immensely by smoking cigarettes and having sex with boys on the roof of her house at every chance. After every sexual encounter she asks the boys what they think of her “do you think I am dirty?” and various other questions of approval.

The Lisbon girls suffer a great deal from what we now know as the Purity Myth. The perfect, upper middle class, white, blond girls are the epitome of every Purity Myth. These girls have everything to live for, they are adored by all and mysterious to men. And their mother and father have protected them from the outside world like little keepsakes. The problem is the purity of these girls is an unrealistic expectation because girls are humans with feelings, desires, passions, and aspirations. The Purity Myth teaches us that if girls are not quiet little virgins than their outrageous sluts, and that fear is what keeps the Lisbon girls on a tight leash. According to the actions of Mrs. Lisbon the girls’ morals are strictly based on their virginity. Any form of sexual display is looked at as pure evil. For instance, when the girls were permitted to attend the dance their dresses were designed by Mrs. Lisbon to be very loose and old fashioned.

The Purity Myth and The Virgin Suicides are trying to provide evidence and explanations as to how detrimental the ideal of Purity can be to young girls psyche and personality. Girls are not meant to be restricted to such unrealistic standards. Parents and society should focus more on teaching girls to think for themselves, and use good judgment, rather than adhering to virgin morals.