The Elle Woods Mindset
Legally Blonde is a film duology released in the early 2000s (2001 and 2003 respectively) that trains the spotlight on the vivacious and fabulous Elle Woods, a college going young woman from a rich household, and her journey to become a successful, formidable lawyer. Although I was born after the films were released, I watched them with my cousins at the age of eight, and since then the character of Elle Woods has been fascinating to me. Even all these years later, I will never turn down an opportunity to rewatch the films, simply because they are just so good.
Elle Woods, played by actress Reese Witherspoon, is introduced to us as a seemingly ditzy, pink obsessed stereotypical blonde who believes she is about to be proposed to by her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III. However, contrary to her belief, Warner breaks up with Elle, because “if I’m gonna be a senator, I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn”. This sets off a series of events in which Elle proves to be one of the best written characters of all time, and her mindset is the driving force behind her actions.
So what is the Elle Woods Mindset?
It is quite simple, really: if you want something, go get it.
You might ask me, “what do you mean, Kali? It can’t be that simple!” and you would be right. Of course it is not that simple. The trick is, the Elle Woods Mindset makes it that simple.
Elle Woods, in her misguided attempt to get Warner back, decides to get into Harvard Law School, a notoriously difficult goal to achieve. She talks to her counsellor, notes down what she needs to do to be accepted into Harvard, and she simply… does it. A “heck of an admissions essay”? No problem, Elle is on it! A minimum 175 out of 180 on the LSATs? Elle scores 179 out of 180. The minute she hears the towering heights she needs to reach to even set foot into Harvard, the only thing she says is, it can’t be more difficult than having to judge a tightie-wightie contest, and honestly, that is so obnoxiously fabulous of her.
Elle Woods décides to do something, and she just does it. She works hard to get the 179 on her LSATs, reading textbook after textbook and solving mock test after mock test in the loudest and most active environments she could find, foregoing parties and hangout’s with her friends in favour of studying. She works and works, filling notebooks and notebooks with her practice, and she earns that 179. Hard work— effort— is a core tenet of who Elle Woods is, and it shows throughout the two films.
This effort, this ability to work hard for what she wants, stems from her belief in herself. Elle has incredible confidence and self-assurance, and that leads to her belief that she can get whatever she wants. Now, if she does not doubt herself, if she believes that she will get her way, why would she ever hesitate to work for it? That’s right, she would not. She is optimistic about everything, despite hitting a few bumps in her road, and even if she does sometimes doubt other people’s motives and actions, she soon shakes it off and reaches for her dream with even more determination and grit than before, and that is what makes her so successful in everything that she does. She never lets anyone’s opinion of her shape who she is or what she believes, and does everything with the mindset that because she will achieve her goal one way or the other— because there is no possibility of her not getting what she wants— she has no problem working to get it.
No matter how many people try to come between her and her dreams, she never lets anyone’s harsh words or actions affect her confidence and her faith in her own abilities and strengths. Her will to work stems from her faith in herself.
Of course, that is not the only trait of Elle Woods that is admirable. Elle is unfailingly kind to everyone she meets. Time and time again, we see her helping people in any way that she can, we see her intelligence in the way that she handles everything life throws at her, we see her creativity, her liberalism, her compassion. These same qualities attract people to her, and her friends are genuinely the best, always ready to help her just as she helps them. Elle is, I repeat, one of the best written film characters of all time.
I hope this little piece of writing encourages both you and I to go for our ambitions and work for our dreams, to embody Elle’s kindness and determination. I hope we all learn this lesson and utilise it in daily life, and start believing in ourselves just like Elle does.
