The Cruelty of Jennifer's Body

Warning: we will be discussing themes of SA and for a moment discuss SH, but no imagery will be shown. The movie itself doesn't depict any of these kinds of things directly, but we will be discussing the possible symbolic link to said tragedies. Aside from that there is violence in the movie but I do my best to censor it here since it isn't the focus of the analysis(I might have missed some spots, because of the rigorous re-editing i had to do.)
As always please watch the movie! It's great and will make this video all the more enjoyable! To respect the wishes of the rights owners of this movie, all reference footage is heavily obscured to not replace the value of watching the actual movie.
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Today we traverse through the trees of Devil's Kettle to explore the cruel secret story being told in the teen slasher Jennifer's Body. Underneath the horror marketing is a black comedy, yet underneath the black comedy is an all too real and vulnerable story being told. In this video I try and piece together this secret story and the puzzles form the tragic and cruel story of one's loss of their best friend to the cycle of abuse.
I hope you enjoy!
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Timestamps:
0:00 Skit - The Meatless Sacrifice
1:55 Introduction to Jennifer's Body
5:15 Content Warnings
6:05 Analysis
45:14 Skit - Butter Help Sponsor Parody
46:37 Back to the Analysis
1:12:12 Skit - Vegetarian Transference
1:12:46 Back to the Analysis
1:36:48 Final Conclusive Analysis
1:50:35 Skit - Veggie Retribution

[@emilyau8023]

The real cruelty was how Megan Fox was treated by Hollywood. This movie is so iconic.

[@flawedpeacock]

She's killing it in the Video Game industry! I love her character in the new Mortal Kombat, and her death announcements in the Diablo 4 promos were Kino!

[@emilyau8023]

@@flawedpeacock whoa I didn't know about this. I'll go check it out!

[@sethozera4246]

@@flawedpeacockif only she had some semblance of voice acting experience in mk1.

[@flawedpeacock]

@@sethozera4246 Lol yeah its too bad, it leaves alot to be desired. Crazy how the two talents don't translate as intuitively as one might think.

[@paultapping9510]

true. She came on the scene, made it clear she was interested in deeply weird, interesting roles, and hollywood went "nah, babe, you're hot tho. Have you met Michael Bay?"

[@mijiah]

the cruelty of jennifer’s body is that jennifer isn’t real and doesn’t know she was my lesbian awakening :/

[@kmakesmusic7890]

Jaysus Chrast

[@Mau_01670]

Ookk....

[@The-Busy-Beeeee]

@@kmakesmusic7890gaysus christ

[@Jasmine-lj8qw]

Didn’t need to know that.

[@d0lLfvngss]

SO REAL

[@junebunchanumbers]

This is an extremely good video. "My tit!" is maybe my favourite dying words in a movie. It's like she doesn't even know she has a heart.

[@AnUnnaturalNaturalDisaster]

When you're so objectified you forget you aren't just your body.

[@marymac3572]

That was great. The tampon quote is my favorite, though. "You got a tampon? Thought I'd ask. You seem like you might be plugging."

[@z333star]

i think the symbolic heart was her real heart Need was her connection to life (humanity) & once it was severed “Jennifer” died. Had Needy not physically killed her im sure she would revert to hedonism.

[@XohjaiSbarkeater]

​@@AnUnnaturalNaturalDisasteryou are literally an object. Everything is an object. All matter is objectified.

[@AnUnnaturalNaturalDisaster]

@@XohjaiSbarkeater wow thanks smartass.

[@eveleene3613]

I was 8 or 10 when this released. As a woman, let me tell you. Being a teenager is brutal. The amount of sexual abuse is so normalized in a sinister way. Its literally the culture. Like you said, can't be a virgin or you're a loser. Have sex, and you're a slut. The amount of predators, the way we're often alone when experiencing so much unwanted advances both from peers and old men. Its brutal. The way Jennifer is desperately using her sexuality to take control, only to find herself breaking down after a while, and the only way to start healing is to let yourself hurt. To let yourself feel hopeless, feel the damage, and then miraculously find the kindness to forgive yourself for everything that happened. Not a lot of people can walk through that journey alone. But this is also just part of being a woman. Almost every woman I know has been abused either lightly or severely. I wish I really understood the movie when I was young, because my god, yeah. Her story is not fiction. Its every day life. Its so fucking brutal and invisible, and society still puts the fault on us.

[@efge-gc8uu]

Being a teenager is brutal to everyone in many different ways, it has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with the decisions you've made in life.

[@bizzzzzzle]

You do realize sexual abuse and sexual harassment are different.

[@axopyl]

⁠@@bizzzzzzlethat’s what you took away from that? seriously ?

[@ThatDudeJerm]

youre such a douche nozzle. They are different in terms of the level of physical invasiveness, but theyre still both forms of unwanted, non-consensual, sexual advances. Sexual harassment is a form of abuse. Its the same thing as how “physical abuse” and “verbal abuse” or “mental abuse” exist. Theyre all different. They all are perpetuated in different ways. But they are all still forms of abuse. And none of them are acceptable. None of them are worse or better than the others. They are all equally terrible and its rare to have a victim who was abused in only 1 way. Even if it starts out as only being emotionally abused, the longer a victim is around an abuser. The more comfortable the abuser gets with continuing to perpetuate the abuse. And they begin escalating the abuse. It started out as emotional, after a while it becomes emotional and verbally abusive. After a while longer now the abuser has no problem being verbally/emotionally abusive to their victim in front of others. If the victim is continuously trapped with that abuser the more the abuse they suffer will escelate. Same thing with sexual abuse. Sexual harassment is a form of sexual abuse. And if someone is being sexually harassed by another person on a regular consistent basis without that scumbag being made to stop and leave thoerson they harass alone. The greater chance the sexual harrassment could escelate to straight up nonconsensual physical sexual contact/battery/rape. So next time you decide *“hey itd be a good idea for me to say some absolutely stupid shit like ‘you do realize theres a difference between sexual harassment and sexual abuse, right?’ Because im an inbred, completely braindead, idiot who has probably sexually harassed one or more people in my life considering im trying to downplay sexual harassment like its not as bad or like its not a form of sexual abuse!”* Try to remember that no. No it isnt a good idea. It not only makes you look like an asshole and a moronic tool. It makes you seem like a defensive predator trying to downplay a form of abuse to convince others what you have done and or continue to do to others is actually not that bad. Which is just weird. Its a completely fucked up sociopathic level of mental gymnastics. And if that was your only response to everything the original comment had to say about their experience with dealing with abuse in their childhood as well as having every other woman/female they have known in their life also being victims of some form of abuse at some point in their own lives as well. If that was what you felt was the response you needed to publicly share to the original commenter, then you need some serious help or maybe you need to be monitored have someone paying close attention to your actions so they can be properly scrutinized and reported if necessary. Youre either just a severely shallow dunce. Or youre a creep who got defensive. Honestly, I think youre both.

[@ragingdevi]

I love that you put all this, because this is what I was really leaning towards when I walked out of the theater. My then-bf was annoyed like, "That's not what I thought it would be!" and I was like, "What the fuck were you expecting?" Apparently we had developed two VERY different ideas of what it would be, based on the trailers.

[@mosa6653]

You know, i feel like Jennifer's behaviours are saying two things, first When she feeds off of her victims and they do not consent, she feels jealous more than anything to me, so she lashes out even harder, its like shes saying "i didn't get to say no when i was abused so no one will" And secondly regarding the abuse she had inflicted onto her, its like she refuses to believe that she was abused, which really isn't rare in these cases, especially with people like her "I wasn't abused, im too beautiful and perfect to be abused and victimised" These two reasons led me to believe that she isn't feeding just because she needs it or gain back control, she's doing it to show everyone how strong she is and that she isn't the victim, she's the beautiful strong men killer devil, not q weak victim that has no control over herself.

[@grandempressvicky6387]

Its also interesting how Jennifer started to target the boys that Needy was interested in/approved of. Needy was the only one who (almost) entered a sexual (or at least deeply intimate) situation with Jennifer that survived... twice.

[@wolfman-zd1ed]

Another bit about the box cutter, box cutters are often associated with self-harm. Needy is most likely jabbing at Jennifer's low self-esteem.

[@elimidd6626]

I think my favourite scene in this movie is Needy and Chip having sex contrasted with Jennifer seducing and killing Colin. Needy and Chip are sweet, eager, and a little awkward, while all you can feel whenever it cuts back to Jennifer and Colin is discomfort and fear. Aside from Needy seeing bloody Jennifer near the end of the scene the movie contrasts what a healthy and good sexual relationship looks like to a predatory and abusive one. As if to say to anyone in the audience who thinks what Jennifer is doing is okay or hot that no, this isn't what a sexual relationship should look like or feel like, both people should be excited and consenting partners, no one should be forcing themselves on the other person.

[@gwencere9383]

I think the phallic imagery between Needy and Jennifer, the pole and the box cutter, are meant to represent the desire between Needy and Jennifer. Because Jennifer is attracted to Needy, genuinely into her, unlike the boys she kills, Needy makes her vulnerable. She can penetrate her outer shell because she's her best friend and crush. So basically its a pegging metaphor

[@swimmyswim417]

You’ve made such a good point identifying the real damage done to Jennifer. Her abuse doesn’t justify the harm she would go on to commit, but there was potential for her to grow out of her harmful behavior before the ritual robbed her of that opportunity. She was young and dumb and learning, she has a different level of accountability for the situation compared to the adult abusers involved (the band). My favorite kind of horror is the horror that makes me sad, and Jennifer’s Body joins the Haunting of Hill House and Midsommar on my list for that.

[@drmollycules]

The title of the movie came from the Hole song Jennifer's Body (btw it's Hole the band who wrote the song Violet, not the other way around as stated). Jennifer's Body (the song) is seemingly about a woman named Colleen Stan, who was kidnapped in 1977 and held as a sexual slave by a married couple for 7 years. Apparently she was hitchhiking and felt comfortable getting into the car because there was a woman and a baby present. The song's theme, by my interpretation, concerns the dynamic of women who do nothing to interfere when men prey on other women, or worse, enable that predatory behavior. For instance, there's a refrain of a woman saying "just relax, just go to sleep," where I presume the fictive female half of the couple referenced above is lulling the kidnap victim to sleep. Further, there's reference to the rationalization of an abused woman deflecting her abuse onto another woman, like the line "you're hungry, but I'm starving." According to the perpetrators, the couple "had reached an agreement that he could capture a slave to take [the wife's] place, because up until that time [the husband] had been using [the wife] to act out sexual bondage." Clearly, some of the themes of the song play out in the movie - "my bitter half has bitten me." Violet, the song played in the movie and from the same album, parodies the phrases often parroted at survivors of sexual abuse/rape with the line, "you should learn how to say no," straight from the ABCs of victim-blaming. It talks about how these experiences, while short, can scar someone for life, "might last a day/mine is forever," and how they now feel and are seen as worthless "when they get what they want/and they never want it again." People can be objectified, used as a sexual plaything, and then are disposed of. Another commenter astutely connected Through the Trees to In the Pines, famously covered by Nirvana. We all know about Kurt and Courtney, but it's interesting how these two songs sit in connection to the movie. While the meaning behind "In the Pines" may be multivalent and ambiguous due to the sheer number of retellings or renditions, one clear constant is decapitation. Jennifer's Body has the chorus, "found pieces of Jennifer's body" so while Colleen Stan survived, the fictional Jennifer was dismembered. "Stan stated that she was tortured and kept locked in a box 23 hours a day until she was given a contract and forced to sign herself into slavery for life in January 1978. In view from the box, propped up against her purse under the bed, was a photo of Marie Elizabeth Spannhake, a previous victim whose body was never found." So yeah great video. Pretty sure you're aware of everything stated above but hey thought I'd write it out and just put it into words.

[@drmollycules]

Thanks so much for liking my comment (even though you kind of do it for everyone). Re-reading this makes me think this is mostly an incoherent mishmash of lyrics and me trying to tie it into the movie, so sorry if you actually read all that. If I wanted to do it justice I’d have to make a 2 ½ hour video on the whole thing, and no one has time for that 😏

[@flawedpeacock]

​@@drmollyculeshaha nah I don't like something unless I've read it! Most of what you said I wasn't aware of actually. I enjoy comments like yours the most because I have a weird method where I try not to to much, if any, background research so my interpretation is as non derivative as possible. But the glaring flaw in that method is I miss out on the more detailed connections. So I 100% appreciate it!

[@ceranademe]

I just watched this after the new Susperia video and I came to comment the same thing! Hahaha. When I first saw this movie and then Violet started playing in the end, I was so confused. Yes, the song Violet has a lot of lyrics that reflect the idea of that kind of abuse. But the song Jennifer’s Body is literally in the same album. I didn’t understand why they didn’t pick that song. Maybe they just didn’t want the ending song to be too on the nose. But that song’s lyrics are so clearly a good fit as well. Actually, that whole album, Live Through This, has a few songs that relate to this movie. Violet and Jennifer’s Body, of course. Then there’s the song Asking For It, which is a phrase that’s used to blame victims of abuse. “Be a model, or just look like one. Wild-eyed, rotgut, do me in, do you think you can make me do it again?” Doll Parts has lyrics that reflect the pattern of abuse. “Someday you will ache like I ache.” Softer, Softest is from the perspective of a victim that’s a child. She Walks on Me is a pretty good parallel of Needy and Jennifer, actually. It’s a really sad and angry, but very cathartic album. I was just so confused that the producers picked a Hole song that wasn’t Jennifer’s Body for the movie of the same name. Fantastic deep dive and exploration of the themes of this movie though! A lot of this was lost on me my first time watching because I felt like the jokes kind of diminished the message of the movie. But your explanation of the black comedy of it made me give it another chance. I can appreciate it a lot more now.

[@drmollycules]

@@ceranademe I too wondered the same thing about why Violet was chosen over Jennifer’s Body, and it could be that the producers wanted a “hit” song to be in the movie over a deeper cut from the album, even though the obvious choice would be the one that inspired the title. I mean we all know the “Megan Fox hot” email, so maybe if a second brain cell had been devoted to this by some of the higher ups we wouldn’t all be discussing this movie as a “cult classic” now. I’ve never seen anyone comment on the choice of songs for the movie, although I haven’t looked that deeply. Thanks for the excellent response and thoughtful analysis.

[@drmollycules]

@@flawedpeacock Wow, thanks so much! I really ought to click on the bell thing more so I won’t miss out on all these great responses. By this video you’d already grown into one of my favorite creators on this platform and the new Suspiria video just further confirms that. Love having deeper insight into a few things I know (Faith, Jennifer’s Body, Suspiria) and a few things I hadn’t devoted enough time into checking out (Skinamarink, Who’s Lila?). Looking forward to your future work. … … … Especially Twin Peaks no pressure no pressure

[@Dream25_]

Full disclosure, if my kidnappers did Tik Tok dances whilst arguing with each other, it would at least be funny enough for me to not be THAT upset with the situation.

[@flawedpeacock]

Did you just call the whip, nae nae, and "When your pizza rolls are done" shoe point, TIK TOK DANCES!? LISTEN HERE, WHIPPER SNAPPER-- back in mah day it was called VINE!

[@Dream25_]

@@flawedpeacock Perhaps a bit of a misunderstanding lol, from my perspective the joke of doing the ironic dances while saying something serious is more of a Tik Tok thing. 🤷🏻‍♂

[@flawedpeacock]

@Dream hahaha I'm sorry I was just joking around. I'm just playing up the boomer shtick! I'm glad you liked my moves 😆

[@AshIzDead]

nah same tho if i saw the guy that tortured me doing the renegade it would make my day

[@HeavenlyEchoVirus]

I agree with your analysis, and I’m so happy you made this detailed video. When Jennifer utters her last line, and Needy corrects her with “no, your heart” I always took that to not just be an in-character Jennifer-ism, but the fact she can only see herself as a hollow body, she’s lost herself and has no connection to her heart anymore because of how that was stolen from her through her trauma.

[@emilyau8023]

That's a good take!

[@missgalaxia14]

I agree! It’s like, after her transformation, she only saw herself as how her (symbolic) abusers saw her: nothing more than a body. Something that a lot of victims of SA go through

[@mysideacc2770]

also, regarding your comment about chip using a "phallic symbol" to defend himself and needy echoing the initial abuse on jennifer but not being sure what it means: my best guess is (and i'm stretching heavily here) it could be a metaphor for how irl often abusers will see victims fighting back as abusing *the abuser*. abusers often don't recognize the harm they're doing to others, but as soon as they themself are harmed or inconvenienced they immediately notice and act out. from needy and chip's perspective, they're defending themselves. however from jennifer's perspective, she's being hurt for no reason, just like when she was killed the first time.

[@eye.sexual]

Reactive abuse is hard to deal with and it is a big tool for abusers to use with the exact mindset you described :/

[@ashegrey3042]

a lot of abusers who are narcissistic especially will often genuinely believe they’re not in the wrong with what they’re doing and that they’re always the victim

[@xxpandagalaxyxx5655]

I kinda think that maybe Jennifer targeting Chip and Collin was less competitiveness and more jealousy towards Needy's love interests. Notices how Jennifer seems to really not like and target guy's Needy has possible *romantic* interest in? (I can not pretend why I never liked your new boyfriends~) Like it definitely could be her competitiveness, but Jennifer didn't seem to like Chip even before she was killed and wanted Needy to ditch him. And after she kills the Collin, the emo kid she targets only after Needy exposes she likes him, she then goes and makes out with Needy. If we go with the idea that Jennifer likes Needy romantically, imagine your crush not only having a boyfriend, but also another guy she might be interested in, and you now have the power to get rid of both of them.

[@tabitha3555]

This I agree with… she seemed to be weirdly possessive over Needy and controlling hence why Needy probably had no other friends besides Jennifer. Once Jennifer got powers it was a perfect opportunity to get rid of any boy Needy showed any remote interest towards.

[@muireannmc1056]

I would argue that fucked up thing about young girl's friendships is that it's most likely both. "I don't know if I want to be you or be with you" is really common among sapphic teenagers. This feeling of wanting to be better than your friend coming from an admiration of her. Her good qualities make you want to outperform her and prove your worth while also being the things that attract you to her in the first place.

[@alexsheperd2060]

It’s honestly really interesting seeing your analysis come from a point of empathy and remorse for Jennifer. I’ve seen more than a few people keep this “screw her she’s a demon” mentality with this movie and it’s really nice having someone analyze it with a more humanizing stance

[@westernmonk6036]

“Humanizing” I completely agree!!

[@tatltails3923]

IMO the people who don't hold at least a bit of empathy for Jennifer have no understanding of the movie at all

[@Sailorplutoe]

Right? Like she didn’t ask for it and she is literally possessed by a demon. “It’s her fault she got sacrificed” yet no one ever points fingers at the abusers. But also how do I became a succubus like her?

[@artistvsworld419]

Even after everything, Needy kills the whole band not only to prevent them from hurting anyone else, but to also specifically avenge Jennifer.

[@Noah60]

You should read "the summer Hikaru died", it really hard to mourn and grieve the death of a friemd when their flesh is still "living"

[@FolstrimHori]

Excellent manga. No idea where it's going but the characters are great.

[@noheckoff5305]

I like how your analysis aside from being very thought out, is so deeply rooted in compasion towards all of the characters, this is so nice and refreshing to see

[@Broeckchen]

Yes, exactly! I especially appreciate pointing out how toxic behavior in teenagers is much more excusable in adults, because it tends to be an expression of pain by someone who simply doesn't have better tools at their disposal. This especially made me smile when he spoke about how Jennifer treated Needy pre-change. It's an absolutely great read that Jennifer was downright desperately wringing her ownly source of wholesome validation for every last drop. I would even add that a lot of her attempts to isolate and shelter Needy say more about Jennifer being scared to lose her to someone else than about Jennifer wanting to harm Needy. It's not okay, but FP correctly identifies that Jennifer doesn't know any better as a vulnerable teen. And I think this slippery slope from desperate actions into outright abuse is a pretty big theme between them in the movie. The more Needy openly disapproves of, disagrees with and removes herself from Jennifer, the more intense Jennifer's actions become. Even though Needy is doing the right thing there, by disentangling herself from a toxic relationship. I also think Jennifer lies about "going both ways". To me, the movie reads as Needy being the slightly queer person, while Jennifer is straight. There is a strong undercurrent of Jennifer wanting to accept Needy's affection but being unable to because she's not physically attracted to girls. She's attracted to boys and maybe Needy. This explains why she goes so exclusively for boys (even when just planning her next attacks), while flinching back from Needy at first. That single bite was when she finally got desperate enough to hold on to Needy that she got ready to consume her fully. Needy on the flipside has shown even in the beginning of the movie that Jennifer was on an equal level with a romantic partner for her, even above that sometimes. I think a valid read on the movie is that Jennifer is actually frustrated about not being sapphic. Needy would be an amazing partner, and while Needy only cared about Jennifer, their connection was as good as being a couple. Then Chip took the place Jennifer wished she could have in Needy's life (note her bitter obsession with Chip and Needy's sexuality) and that destabilized Jennifer a lot and increased the competition. I've actually been through friendships with that exact dynamic.

[@noheckoff5305]

@@Broeckchen this is such an interesting take on Jennifer, I never thought about her obsession with Needy in that way. Her wanting to be as close as possible but being unable to actually do so and being extremely bitter about it makes a lot of sense. Thank you for sharing this interpretation! It really made me see these characters from a different angle, god i love this movie

[@baddidea4863]

The first time I saw Jennifer's Body, I was still in the closet as a lesbian and like... it FUCKED with me in a way I couldn't understand, then. I understand it now, though: that toxic friendship that is so common to high school and the strange way that girls will treat queer girls in their friend group was played out right on screen. Like-- there's something about being the out queer girl that makes other girls treat you... differently. Needy was repressed, sure, but... the way Jennifer played with her was much the same. I've always thought about making an analysis of Jennifer's Body from that particular perspective, because I feel like it hits a lot differently if you're someone who was actively seen as a bit of a sexualized "partner" (in high school, for fuck's sake) for the desires you couldn't quite understand. I went through some really horrific stuff at the hands of people who I thought were my friends. We were all teenagers, you know? For a long time I thought it was alright, and this movie hits me /so/ hard on a rewatch. God /damn/.

[@kathrineici9811]

That’s what every female friend group I’ve ever seen was like. A nest of vipers all snapping at each other and snapping twice as much at anyone not in their tangle.

[@clmaoo]

@@kathrineici9811 you just sound like an incel. That or someone with a metric fuck ton of internalized misogyny they need to work through.

[@eye.sexual]

I've known I was bi since I was really young, and I wasn't ashamed of it until I hit middle school. There's nothing like being told you're predatory for just possibly liking girls, not even going after anyone :/ There were constant implications that bi-girls are supposed to be everyone's experiment or they are going to pressure straight girls into gay sex. It's so fucking gross

[@stripedpolkadots8692]

@@kathrineici9811 are you okay 😭

[@kathrineici9811]

@@stripedpolkadots8692 Yeah, I’m not in school anymore :) It gets better when you’re not locked in a building with multiple groups of people who torment you for 8 hours a day because they’ve decided that you’re “”different”” When they weren’t attacking me and the other girls that weren’t in their cliques(rip to that German girl they practically ran out of the school), they were attacking each other like they were all trying to become the emperor of Byzantium. But you do escape eventually, so never give up.

[@jacquelinesisson8381]

i cant tell you how refreshing it is to hear a man speak about characters of the opposite sex in a way that isn't othering. half the battle of being taken seriously as a woman is convincing people that before you are a woman, you are a person. Beyond that, I really enjoyed a lot about this video. I will be signing up for Butter Help using your code as soon as the video ends. Keep up the good work.

[@kaiklose6172]

I'm glad to see the "we will be keeping the (BLANK) In mind." Is a catch phrase and not just a gimmick for the Faith series.

[@cmcshane2740]

I feel like the phallic (or somewhat ‘sexualised’) symbolism of the weapons used against Jennifer is potentially supposed to show how Jennifer is trapped within her own cycle of abuse, where the violence against her, while not sexual (after Low Shoulder) is recontextualised to have sexual undertones by her trauma, and as such, Jennifer just keeps getting more and more traumatised, yet is unable to stop, because she is sustained by violence both against others and herself. Hopefully that makes sense lol The orchids too have connotations of male genitalia (their name is literally taken from the Greek for testicle), but I think this is more to symbolise Jennifer’s focus on attacking men as a means of a very misdirected vengeance, especially because we only see them once they have been cut, and as such will die soon after.

[@myragroenewegen5426]

I like this logic phrasing of "She was made to grow up too fast, suffered trauma, and then found it impossible to grow up at all." I think that very much is what happens to some women as abuse victims. I see it in the story of someone I know who was the youngest and understood as the prettiest of her sisters. She was abused while young, went through eating disorders and depression and still behaves in ways that are very reactive -- control-seeking, attention-seeking and almost blindly self-centered. If this feels like a mean-spirited way to describe someone who has been through abuse or an eating disorder, it's still very much a repeating story that holds truth. I think for women whose bodies turn heads, and who end up seeking affirmation through sexual/romantic attention, there's actually something particularly immature going on and it can and does cause women to be revictimized. It's hard to describe these things while being clear that nobody deserves abuse, no matter how badly it effects their judgement and what they grow into. But I feel like it's a matter of respect to show that survivors of abuse aren't, and shouldn't have to be, noble to deserve redemption in these stories. Sometimes the power of abuse survivors shows in ways that are disturbing. Bad thing still bad. That said, Jennifer is a toxic brat in this film practically from beginning to end and, in my view, that makes it a good movie. Even as we quickly see that Needy's loyalties are misplaced, we'd still all rather see Jennifer alive than the band dead - the instinct to right injustice is not about whether we like someone or whether survivors deal with their pain in productive ways. That's a hard point to make. The fantasy-horror elements, and humour really help facilitate that tough discussion.

[@emilyivy7664]

my best guess as to why the band is called 'low shoulder' is either that its a sort of nod to the fact that a low shoulder is something you watch out for on the road and are often marked by warning signs. basically a sort of "these guys are people you need to watch yourself around" if that makes sense. my other guess is that its a play on the phrase 'cold shoulder'. perhaps low shoulder is more meant to represent how a victim of abuse often has emotional and mental (and please correct me if i use the wrong term here because i cannot think of the word i want to use-) decrease or a lower self esteem. 'low shoulder' then could be referring to the body language a victim of abuse may exhibit. theyre less energetic and perhaps more 'slumped'. this is just a thought i have though and it could be some completely different reason as to why theyre called that.

[@tatltails3923]

Low Shoulder could also represent "slippery slopes," if you accidentally slip over the edge there's no telling how far down you may fall.

[@elimidd6626]

Your discussion about how we blind ourselves to toxic friends was extremely validating. I have dealt with a lot of toxic friendships in my life and it's hard, because you don't want to admit to yourself this person is bad and you should cut them out of your life. Especially in the case where you're more dependent on your friends for support than family because home life isn't great. It's hard not to blame myself bc I should've seen it sooner, but hearing you acknowledge and validate that we give these people more passes than they should be allowed and that we blind ourselves to it, something clicked and I understood what I had expierenced in the past.

[@Forcommentingpurposes]

I’ve only ever seen discussion about needy and Jennifer as lovers that can’t be together because they both must repress their gay emotions for the sake of fitting in. Jennifer changing and finally being free to see Needy as a partner rather than just a friend. As a closeted teen, I remember how many emotions I had to deal with and seeing it in Jennifer and Needy made it much more impactful. I do like your perspective on how how being awkward being a teenager is, though. It adds another layer to Jennifer and Needy that I haven’t seen yet!!!

[@thetragicomical]

I was around Peacock's age range when this movie was marketed (and also not into girls, so) this came off as a lame straight bait horror movie like he said. Seeing it was released in 2009 I can't help but feel it would do a lot better if marketed right to show off its tone properly and not something it wasn't. I personally thought that this movie was just schlock hornybait, I 've been proven wrong. This movie is pretty fucking baller. This movie is fucking WILD. This movie is SAD.

[@sparklylexi2159]

I had an ex that loved this movie for all the wrong reasons. When you mentioned "radio head" somewhere around 01:30:00 , it hit me so hard. The song creep and also this movie, Jennifer's Body, were things this ex loved. He worshipped the cycle of pain, and thought that Jennifer post transformation was the best thing since sliced bread. He wanted to be Jennifer so badly, he wanted to be my Jennifer but without the death part. He wanted me to lay down and take the abuse he put me through and feed off my misery. I can't listen to Creep by radio head anymore. that was his favorite song.

[@kennyb1588]

Geez I am so sorry

[@yuhhbaby3179]

So glad you have grown and taken the steps to continue living your life happier better and healthier

[@Howtoeatrocks]

I have and always will be a Jennifer defender. She was everything.

[@Howtoeatrocks]

Also I took the box cutter thing as a reference to self harm. As in, it’s for cutting boxes not yourself kinda vibe

[@eveleene3613]

I love her. She's every teenage girl. She's THE girl. I wish she had a chance, but she was just so broken down and tired. Has been eveb before the band. They just quite literally pushed her over the edge.

[@emilyau8023]

I knew a Jennifer. She became a worse person and got pregnant not too long after high school.

[@Ishouldnthavebeensopublic]

@@emilyau8023I knew an Emily. She was a bitter as bitch.

[@Che1Angelius]

Jennifer did loved Neely, more ways than one. She literally stop killing her until the end when she couldn't stop.

[@sc6658]

I’m like 42 minutes in and really loving this so far. I’ve argued for awhile that Jennifer’s death scene is essentially analogous to gang rape. I’ve never been in that exact situation but I have been harassed and catcalled by groups of men and the way they joke around with one another while inflicting pain and violence onto Jennifer… well it isn’t hard to connect dots.

[@HeyitsBri_]

Something else of note about the transformations of both girls is that their evil-mirror selves have the super weakness of each other’s good selves. Anita “Needy” becomes powerful and reliant of her own abilities and Jennifer becomes needy. She needs Needy and is home and comfort to her. There is also elements of trauma bonding, survival guilt, and some of the avenues you go after when you have become and learn to accept victimhood.

[@steviebea]

this. is. EVERYTHING i look for in a video essay, my god. salient, attention to symbolism/themes, compassion & respect for the characters, witty & humorous, and the the samosas bit absolutely fuckin killed me. well done, amazing work, thrilled to find an underrated creator such as yourself!

[@helpthellama]

As someone who is writing their Master's dissertation on a slasher film (film history ftw) the phallic symbol of the knife has historiographical roots in 70s film analysis. This is such a well though out and amazing thesis and analysis. If this were cited and written down, it would do well academically imo

[@ashegrey3042]

in psychology it’s often studied stab victims are commonly stabbed by someone they’ve had sexual/romantic relationship with or some kind of desire for them and then felt betrayed/cheated, etc.

[@CalamitasCalliope]

Before finishing this video i want to talk a bit about my experience with this movie. It feels like such a great example of depicting the extremely common forms of toxic friendship/crush/fwb that a lot of young queer girls end up getting involved in. The first scene where Jennifer sees Needy, directly after the ritual, can be seen as a scene that Needy likely craved subconsciously, but twisted and made cruel. Needy is forced to watch her repressed source of affection be horribly changed by men, and then continue to watch her focus all her attention on more men. While this type of attention isn't what Needy wants literally, she does crave a healthy connection with her. A hopeless craving that is tragic.

[@peachybun]

wow, this comment really struck me. it wasn’t until i was much older that i realized i had had a crush on my ex-best friend, and over the years, i watched her slowly morph and change due to an abusive partner that she is still with ( to my knowledge ). i had to recently grieve that realization that we probably could have had so much more if it weren’t for the abusive man that she ultimately ended up with. i ended up having to cut off the friendship a couple of years ago because she was so heavily protective of her abusive spouse that she was willing to self-isolate if it meant continuing to stay with him. basically, she was willing to destroy the only friendship she had left: which was with me. it’s weird because i still wish her the best even if the way our friendship ended was in a crash and burn. grieving that friendship was definitely a process. my point is, it’s really saddening to see people forced into these cycles of abuse and repeat similar patterns that they either witnessed their parents go through or acting out on others due to them being abused themselves. i hope i made sense. as a queer person, this movie really hit home a lot of aspects to me. 😔

[@AGrumpyWitch]

I've never seen this film, but let's be honest ... I'd watch Flaw Peacock explain the phone book 🥳

[@mijiah]

FR THOUGH!!!

[@spunc8820]

keep [Each name] in mind

[@AGrumpyWitch]

@@spunc8820 lmao exactly

[@callmecalvin7297]

Yup

[@mutantwormgirl]

We need an epilogue where Father Garcia high fives Needy. I'm sorry I missed this movie when I was a kid. I was sick to death of the bad Scream wannabes of that era and assumed it was as dumb as the trailers made it out to be.

[@Bloodyjinx58]

I never really thought about the symbolism in Jennifer’s body, likely because when I watched it, I was a teen in denial about my own abuse and sa I dealt with. Learning how that stuff is displayed in media, and not super poorly, has been something to help me a lot lately processing everything that happened to me. It makes me have more appreciation and connection to a lot of things, and it comforts me that, as tragic as it is, im not alone. These experiences aren’t JUST mine. And I wanna say, something about how you constantly remind us Jennifer is just a child and how children are, well, just children is very comforting to me. From my family expecting perfection and maturity from a younger me to now being treated as if I “should’ve known better,” as a troubled teenager, someone saying basically “Teenagers aren’t adults, they aren’t completely mature and they don’t know what to do,” is something I needed to hear. I loved to hear your thoughts in this video and the way you talked about the topics. I wish more people talked like this, respectful and acknowledging the fucked up things most people turn a blind eye to. These stories are important to a lot of people, and videos like these just spread that to a wider audience who maybe even didn’t realize it at first, like myself.

[@cheriejones44]

there is a lot of intelligent camp here, and some sharply observed characterizations and Cody and Kusama's depiction of the ways in which women like Needy are willing to compromise themselves to indulge an ultimately less secure friend is spot-on.

[@jaycebechtol8448]

Its funny you mention trauma pausing maturity. Its a pretty well known faxt that cptsd and a bunch of personality disorders tend to pause you around the time of the trauma. You can move past there through a bunch of work and help.

[@akapotatobrad]

That "Was that the bite of '87??" joke made me laugh out loud.

[@bennizone]

The way you focus on the compassion and complications of regular people reminds me that, at the core of everything i create, that's what I want to depict, too. Jennifer reminds me of the girls I used to be infatuated with growing up. And not in a good way. But it's so healing to hear your compassion for her. They are just teenagers, and so were we. Humans are weird.. Thanks for another awesome video. I'm inspired to make lots of art about soft hearts. Let's be kind to eachother. Except Low Shoulder. Boo!!!

[@AGothNamedWednessday]

Something I wanna point out that i feel you missed (def not a negative criticism of you, its very understandable, its not your experience, just adding some additional context) Chip's mom giving him pepper spray is really symbolic, because often teenage girls are given pepper spray for defense against potential SA; i think a lot of us have the experience of remembering the first time we were given pepper spray; so her giving him pepper spray to defend against the boy killer is another reference to SA and the cycle

[@jadeisland1455]

Fun fact: water and being submerged in it can be symbolic of a baptism. I also like how with each kill the face he drew became more “monstrous”

[@sleepysadpoet]

I was always under the impression that Jennifer's "death" was sexual abuse. I know the movie has loose basis in something that actually happened in the 90s

[@sleepysadpoet]

Appreciate the mocking of betterhelp btw, they caused a LOT of harm that i wish more people talked about.

[@590275502]

What happened with them?

[@necr0marker]

​@@590275502 late response but basically, the therapy is cheap for a reason LMAO in their policy thing they state that basically they can't guarantee that your therapist will be actually licensed. people had AWFUL experiences, and some even experienced indoctrination/manipulation and abuse. this is at least from my memory, i suggest watching videos that cover betterhelp's bullshittery

[@Ghostykitten]

I more or less lost my best friend in middle school to rape. It was horrible. She was 14 and the guy who raped her was 22. She ended pregnant with his kid and she was taken out if school because of it. I remember she told me she left to move to Mexico and i was heartbroken. A few months another friend of mine saw her at the store, pregnant. I was shocked. I didn't get a chance to see her until after she gave birth to her baby. I remember telling her Id still be her friend but we inevitability parted ways. She had new responsibilities i couldn't relate too and she was sent to a new school. It broke my heart 😢

[@heavymetalrebelnightmare2940]

This is probably the most in depth analysis of the movie I've ever seen. I love how you touched on the themes of toxic friendships, abuse, violence and the cycle of violence, love, and empowerment. I also enjoyed the visual aids as they brought up themes I've never noticed before (even though I'e seen the movie over a dozen times lol) like the orchids, trees, crosses, the stabbings. It's so nice to see a male enjoy this movie to analyze it in such a deep and profound way. I showed Jennifer's Body to my best friend who is a guy and he immediately picked up on the toxic vibes between Jennifer and Needy and got the message, my dad got the main themes of the friendship/loss and the abuse but not the more in depth meaning. Thank you for making this video, and thank you for remembering that Hell is a teenage girl.

[@leon_atrewo]

I wish my English was good enough to express how good this video was, and how much it means to me. Your compassion towards the characters is so refreshing, I believe people are too quick to claim that the teenage characters are f-ed up and evil, while many many teenagers group out of their worst qualities if they're given support, time and space. I'm also happy you say that the majority of the fault lies on Low Shoulder, because yes, Jennifer is definitely in the wrong, but she never asked to end up in this position. What I want to say is... I love your channel and this video, thank you for being so vulnerable with it :)

[@leon_atrewo]

Also, the more elaborate format with the sketches and stuff is really good :D

[@sleepysadpoet]

Jennifers body tells a really interesting story about how being abused and not having the resources and support can lead to continuing the cycle. As youve said, a cycle of pain. Unfortunately I see some aspects of myself and my bpd after being sexually abused as a teenager.

[@wadejohnston4305]

This is an amazing video. Lost my best friend Maxine to an OD 6 years ago. We met in middleschool. I sat behind her and was a little terror and would pull out single strands of her hair. Surprisingly we became very close. Miss her all the time.

[@flawedpeacock]

I'm sorry for your loss, Wade. I cant imagine the heartbreak. But your memory of being a little terror made me smile, theres some nostalgia to that that i can relate to. Thank you for sharing that.

[@gamerchan693]

thanks for being understanding about certain subjects and making content warnings. i remember seeing the trailer for this when i was young and being super scared but later on i felt like i missed out on a very interesting movie, so im thankful you covered it, and in a respectful manner. plus i love that you referenced jenny by studio killers. that song fucks hard.

[@Skip-Towne]

"You sacrificed me for a dream you're not even capable of maintaining?" I love this line. As someone who tried to start a YT channel years ago and gave up, it's kind of relatable if I'm being honest. (Great analysis as well, btw. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and I reckon I'll give the movie another watch soon.)

[@mikeleddyphoto]

Until a year or two ago, I hadn’t known that critics didn’t like this movie when it released. I’ve loved this movie from my first viewing and had always assumed it was acclaimed from the jump. A film definitely ahead of its time!

[@younglink309]

I need this man to read my college study guide and pick out the important parts by telling me to keep them in mind. I'll get a 4.0

[@flawedpeacock]

I dropped out of college 😅 I'm probably not a good tutor.

[@younglink309]

@@flawedpeacock I'll keep that in mind.

[@chriss96dk]

the compassion shown in this review/exploration is wonderful and deeply appreciated

[@flawedpeacock]

I got vulnerable in this one and the fact people resonate with it is causing my heart to explode. Thank you!

[@EliTheGleason]

The timestamp to skip the skit 😂 goddamn what a chad, unapologetic about his indulgent production we stan 🎉

[@mijiah]

funny haha aside, this is genuinely one of my favorite movies and to see someone i respect also enjoying the nuances of this film makes me really happy. as someone who can relate to the underlying themes of the movie, particularly with the cycle of abuse and toxic high school friendships, i’ve always felt some sort of melancholy solace with both nettie and jennifer. they represent two sides of myself that became more apparent after the traumatic experience i had. the way you empathize and understand jennifer and the symbolism of her character while not condoning the whole murder thing really touched me. this is absolutely one of your best videos yet, and i cannot wait for more!

[@juliamarie5903]

I feel like her hating that she has to feed also ties into and could be an allegory for her clearly disordered eating as well.

[@KatKit52]

Besides the cycling symbolism, I also saw the Devil's Kettle as a yonic image to contract the phallic symbolism of the knife. When the knife went in to the Devil's Kettle, I took it to be representing what happens to Jennifer/what will happen to her victims. This tool of sexual abuse, which was supposed to grant the abuser power, has been thrown into the yonic Devil's Kettle, where it is consumed and will not reemerge. While the knife left Jennifer's body, the demon will consume the knife and other "knives" around Jennifer. The "Devil" consumes the "knives".

[@pumpkinbisque3196]

i want you to know that i watched twin peaks last month almost solely on your recommendation in your horror video. i tried a few years ago and it didn’t jive with me (not the right time, i was mad that it was “so weird”) but when i watched it this time all the way through i absolutely fell head over heels. FWWM is maybe the most affecting film i’ve seen in the past few years and i can’t thank you enough for recommending the series i will be thinking about probably for the rest of my life. (PS i’m about halfway through this video, and like all your videos it’s so well made and i love it!!)

[@pumpkinbisque3196]

YOOOO TWIN PEAkS REFERENCE!!! I DIDNT SEE IT COMING YESSSSS

[@flawedpeacock]

The next video I'm cooking up is an analysis of a video game that Twin Peaks fans would love! If you like indie video games with odd gameplay mechanics check out Who's Lila. Also I'm glad you liked Twin Peaks, I come back to it like every 8 months and discover something new. Try and watch the FWWM the missing pieces if you want some more looks at that world. I will warn you, however. The Return, or the third season of Twin Peaks, is like peering behind the veil of that universe, it almost "ruins" the majesty of Twin Peaks, but in return you get a more complete idea of the inner workings of it. In a way I kinda wished I never watched it, so I could just be trapped in the simpler world of Twin Peaks. I'm so happy you gave it a shot from my recommendation! Thanks for sticking around! Damn good coffee!

[@pumpkinbisque3196]

@@flawedpeacock the return was a world of its own for sure! i basically just ate the series up so there was no break btwn the original and the return (paramount just let it play and boy was i glad because if i’d had to wait 25 years after that ending? would have had a breakdown) i’m still thinking about it and figuring my thoughts out about the series as a whole but especially the return (the woodsmen? audrey? diane??? ???????) and i’m glad to just be chatting with someone who loves it like i do. i watched it on my own and i’ve literally been vibrating with pent up thoughts and feelings about it! thank you for chatting!!!!

[@ramblinwriter4987]

The "BFF necklace" thing and the "Needy just knowing Jennifer has arrived" thing, this is all very interesting. It's like there's such a history between Anita and Jennifer that one could assume so much and possibly not be wrong. Their personalities contrast yet that does make for a realistic friendship. Anyhoo, I just want to say no worries about me watching this analysis as substitute for the movie. If anything, I'm more interested now in wanting to buy the DVD instead of renting it. I should've seen it when it first came out but... I've no excuse now, right? Now I just have to wonder if my wife will watch it with me lol

[@iamjanedoe4real]

The song at the end of the movie is called Violet by the band Hole, Courtney Love´s band. Hole has another song called Jennifer´s body, which says ¨They found pieces of Jennifer´s body¨. That song is about a girl who was found brutally murdered back when Courtney was in high school. This is a great analysis of the movie. I understood pretty much the same about thematic undertones back when I saw it, and a lot of even the progressive people I knew told me that I was reading too much about a dumb movie made to showcase Megan Fox´s hotness, which I thought was incredibly unfair.

[@pythronex]

2:07 "when your child hood best friend turns for the worse" yea this hits hard. nice video btw peacock :)

[@dawsonragan2650]

“I can respect that, by the way your c**ks hanging out” had me cackling. Love that I found this channel. Made me rewatch this film and see it differently.

[@starlightxfury1256]

nothing better than some Flaw Peacock in the evening

[@ThatOddChickenHippie]

The ending kind of reminds me of how surviors of things like abuse who aren't destroyed by it tend to do things like form or work for victim advocacy or prevention groups to either help others who went through the same thing they did or hopefully prevent future victims.

[@chaseskinner98]

You are a gem, brother. So happy I’m here to witness the beginning of your rise.

[@EleanoRa99]

I love this movie and always got annoyed when people would try to dismiss it as just a “sexy slasher” flick but omg I was not at all prepared for such an empathetic, thoughtful analysis. This was absolutely amazing. I laughed, I cried, I subscribed. Thank you for taking such care with one of my favourite movies :)

[@yuordreams]

I watched your 7hr analysis on Who's Lila first, and since I've been devouring the rest of your work. Thank you for putting it out. I have so much to say, it's like all of the germs trying to get through Mr. Burn's body, which make him invincible, and me mute. Just thank you.

[@DonutStalker93]

I was 14 or 15 when this movie came out, and due to the marketing assumed it was just a movie that was about how hot Megan Fox was with some horror sprinkled in. I never watched it back then and it's been interesting now to see it being brought up again and to find out that it was a lot deeper than that.

[@SpinnnCycle]

I really really enjoyed this video!! As a bisexual who was a teen when JB came out, watching this movie was one of my more formative experiences. I appreciate that you picked up on the romance between needy and Jennifer, and I think it goes far beyond subtext. There's something truly sick and twisted about the way teenage girls behave in close friendships - from the competition over boys, to carefully crafted rumors, young girls are taught to control their environment and relationships through subterfuge. As a result, I think a lot of gay and bi girls end up with a very close, very toxic best friendship. I know I did! We (me, needy, other baby gays with girl bff's) are happy to look past the cruel and judgemental remarks, the competitive behavior, the rumors and social control, if she'll smile just at us. We're willing to sneak out of the house and into bars, wear whatever she says, do whatever she wants, because she's pretty. Who cares if she's chasing after guys? She's paying attention to us! That shot towards the beginning of the movie where needy is watching Jennifer cheer and waving at her encapsulates this perfectly. I mean, the whole movie captures that specific experience. Right down to the other girls picking up on it. Right down to the compulsory hetero boyfriend (he's sweet enough to be non threatening. Silly enough to not take seriously. A perfect beard. The fact that needy is horrified and sees Jennifer when she's having sex with him is SO telling). What I love about JB is how it so perfectly illustrates the fact that when you're a gay teen, having a best friend of the same gender IS horror. Fear and love and sex are all the same thing. It's beautiful and terrible and it eats you alive. Also, slightly tangentially, I love the juxtaposition of the deer eating the jock with the ferret eating bologna. Deer and ferrets are both animals we associate with cuteness and innocence, and I think they're usually herbivores? The parallels to Jennifer & needy and the animals! I also want to commend you for how you handled the topic of sexual abuse. I think you're right about the stabbing being an allegory for sexual violence, and there's a lot of rich symbolism in JB regarding sexual violence. But more specifically, I appreciate the way you talk about it with tact and grace. SA isn't an easy thing to talk about, and I see a lot of creators tiptoeing about the subject. People tend to approach the topic either with either apprehension or clinical coldness. As someone who experienced cocsa, I get a little fatigued by the way people beat around the bush. It's okay to just talk about it. People don't speak up when it happens because we don't talk about it. So thank you for talking about it. Also your little skits made me actually legitimatly laugh out loud! I really enjoy your writing and delivery!

[@AMortifyingOrdeal]

"Capitalism sure knows how to keep up the supply of bodies" That's been my take away from all these films I've seen where kids get abused or worse and there's no adults around because they're all working. Not the main point of this JB, but can't deny it's definitely harder for predators to act in a rested and resourced community.

[@hellobeee]

After watching your “Who’s Lila?” video, and now this one, i think it’s safe to say im going to start binging your analysis videos. They’re so well-researched and well put together! You’re definitely one of the best video-essay youtubers I’ve watched - looking forward to whatever you have planned next!

[@kalley4100]

I’m so excited! I absolutely love your content and delivery. One of my fav smaller KZbin channels and def will continue to support.

[@flawedpeacock]

My only hope is that I can deliver on this one. It took alot of re-editting, I hope it doesn't get in the way of the information and joy i had putting it together. Enjoy!

[@ZeloinatorZ]

This is my favorite horror movie! Made me want to get over my fear of horror or at the very least allow myself to become the cat in the saying, “curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back”

[@QuikVidGuy]

Helping your friend escape a bar through a window in the bathroom When I was reading about how this movie deals with sexual abuse, I must not have realized that I hadn't seen it. I assumed she was at least killing guys who were creeps, or could be rationalized in her mind as creeps, but Jennifer takes on the mindset of the band who tries to kill her. If she wasn't primed for it already, she's copying their pattern of finding innocent kids, giving them reason to feel safe, and then taking the light out of their world just before they're killed. Again, it's kind of symbolic, and not so all-encompassing in real life, but there's a reason it's called the cycle of abuse. Victims CAN copy their aggressors as a maladaptive defense mechanism.

[@QuikVidGuy]

okay I will never learn my lesson about posting the comment before I finish the video

[@nikomarek951]

I don't think the sex abuse of Jennifer upon needy was forced, or even symbolic. It was actually quite overt and escalated throughout the whole movie in the form of Jennifer inappropriately seducing and touching needy. Sex abuse can, and often is, perpetuated between women and I think that is unfortunately not talked about enough. This only strengthens the narrative core of needy being the cycle breaker. I personally found leaving this out is the only flaw in this review, as it was a missed opportunity to discuss an under represented demographic of sex abuse in an otherwise very thorough overview of it.

[@SpringBlingThing]

I thought the moment needy ripped the necklace off and Jennifer falls was so powerful. It always stuck with me. Even after not watching the film for years. And I never got the vibe they held in true romantic feelings with each other. It was a friendship that was so close and happening at such a pivotal time it was so intense. And that necklace was the power being taken away. Jennifer and Needy were tethered to each other.

[@skepticalrebekah]

Love that you take the piss out of ButterHelp. You even added “Julian says..” 😅

[@flawedpeacock]

Hahahaha. I've been waiting for somebody to catch that! Only OG Better Help disrespectors know!

[@Ninquelote]

"resplendent in this pool of suffering" just fucked me up; thank you

[@ko379]

Jennifer just screams “repressed lesbian” and then to have that trauma on top makes it all the more unfair! I do think needy was ending the cycle but it’s also sort of nice that she loved Jennifer enough to avenge her, even though Jennifer had to die

[@Charlockle]

Could really tell how passionate you are about the topic and the film. I wish my university teachers had as much passion and energy as you.

[@Boon_4444]

I dont think i have anything smart to say about this review, but id like to say that your way of delivering content warnings is the best ive seen so far. Not just flat text on screen or reading out the triggering topics, but a comforting talk of being wary of what youre ready to hear about. It gives you proper time to think if you ARE ready to hear that, and if not that its okay, 10/10 :)

[@lizzyrank5405]

Edit: I wanted to add that I like that they show boys also getting victimized by the actions of adults. I know Jennifer is doing so but Chips mom giving him the pepper spray made me think of this. People dont want to believe that boys and men can get assulted in the same way as women can, but since its not talked about a lot, Chip doesnt take it seriously even though all of the victims have been male. Before the edit"Never thought of it like this, I love difference perspectives on the same topic. I love this moive and wished there was more. As a child I love movies like this cause even if I didnt experience stuff like this. I was told repeatedly and even to this day, how dangerous people are, especially to young girls. I heard the word "fast" too often and didnt realize it was used in a derogatory way to view young people falling prey to adult advances(including adult themed). So I was glad at movies taking the p!ss out of them. And I love both actrsess; this movie might have also now be one of the reasons I can point to in my youth as a "How did I not realize that I was BI?".😁

[@a_a_alithcia9414]

To say something I don’t think’s been said, listening to your masterful analysis and the lyrics for the Low Shoulder song, I kept being reminded of “In the Pines/Where Did You Sleep Last Night” (Lead Belly, Nirvana, and Caught a Ghost all have good versions of this song). In short, the performer asks where a woman slept last night (in the pines). Also, the woman (or performer’s) husband is decapitated and discovered. Like Jennifer’s Body, I think it’s interesting how different the narrative can be depending on who’s handling the song and singing what lyrics when. This is significant when defining who the victim in this situation is. Who killed the husband? Why? What’s the relationship between the storyteller and the woman? To me, it always read like the woman in the pines is being ridiculed for using her body or being used, forcing her to sleep outside. Where’s the power in that when it seems so empty? I don’t know if that makes any sense, but I hope you can see the connection I’m trying to make, FP. Thanks again for another beautiful, human analysis and storytelling. It means a lot to survivors to see ourselves treated with respect and power.

[@42_violets]

Congrats on the sponsor! Here's to many more

[@flawedpeacock]

❤🧈

[@TamagotchiSuper]

some very thought-provoking commentary from Megan Fox and Karyn Kusama about the sacrifice scene, I thought it might interest you. great video btw! (source: interview for Vulture, 2019) "...having people ask me all these questions and having to reflect on it, I realized a lot of things. One of the things was when I was doing that sacrifice scene, there are of course other things that I can pull from my childhood and past, but for me, that scene represented my relationship with the movie studios at the time and the studio executives and directors and just Hollywood in general, because on almost a daily basis, I felt like I was being sacrificed for their gain with almost no concern for my physical well-being. Fuck your mental or emotional well-being. That never is a question when you're a woman in Hollywood. Whatever they need to do to me or put me through, they were going to do as long as it got them that they needed. So in that moment I think it was a very visceral, very powerful, almost cathartic experience, because I was able to let out everything that I was trying to keep in and not be vulnerable and play tough and fight it. I could just surrender to it and cry and wilt and it was okay." - Megan Fox "It was close to the end, I believe, of our three and a half weeks of night shooting. So we were all probably a little bit demented, but Megan just gave so much. She made it so terrifying and deeply upsetting, deeply disturbing. I remember after that day, what you had said upset you so much about it when we were shooting was how everyone just kept laughing at you... I'm getting chills just thinking about what it means for women to routinely feel like their humanity doesn't matter, and I really think Megan channeled an experience that ultimately is just too universal for a lot of women. That was something really moving to me on that day. There was something so viscerally honest about what Megan was doing." - Karyn Kusama

[@myragroenewegen5426]

Maybe Needy does symbolically violate Jennifer in the same way as cold shoulder, but during that same encounter she's finally fully naming and admitting to herself and Jennifer the true extent and nature of Jennifer's destructiveness and, unlike Jennifer with her victims, she's willing to attack someone at least equal in power to herself. Even if an abuser who has themselves been abused, it's still necessary to hold them accountable and neutralize them as a threat in some way. At some point death does play a useful role in healing. The justice system, is shown as harmful rather than useful in this film, so that's part of that picture. There are a lot of real abuse victims out there waiting for their abusers to die to feel safe and relax enough to fully heal. With Jennifer's prisoned self and body finally pulled out of it's internal violence cycle, what's been hidden, bottled up, and kept in cyclical suspension can be released, and Needy can find the balls and dagger, symbolically breaking the cycle. Hypothetically, had the either girl here been a pure virgin sacrifice the demon released by low shoulder would have hung out with them as they enjoyed their fame and we would have gotten a traditional stasher horror film about a rock band suffering for their sins - woe is them! Why did they do something morally bereft? Clearly we must make them main characters and identify with their encounter with a demon. Instead we find ourselves in a much more story of girls who are wise to the ways of the world, physically and otherwise, for better and worse, both of whom only gain power and just won't die in any kind of convenient formulaic way. We even get to watch those nice normal assholes, who would have been centralized and humanized by many a standard formulaic slasher, have their party crashed, when their demon returns to them inside the body and mind of a girl who can wield that violence strategically. This would be entire plot of some horror movies and it's just kind of stuck on to the end here for a campy payoff. Brilliant.

[@-chippedstars-2889]

I need to watch this movie again also THE JENNY REFERENCE TOOK ME SO OFF GUARD HOLY SHIT. Jennifer's Body is a good example of Queer cultures influence on horror. I highly recommend James Somerton's video about horror and queerness. He talks about Jennifer's body, and a few others.

[@Mr.Silence.]

I have to say again how much i am glad to have found this channel, I love review and analysis videos, retrospectives and all that, but what truly sets your content apart and what I find absolutely enthralling is the amount of empathy you inject into your analysis. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 absolutely fantastic video, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us all.

[@DragonHotCoffee]

This analysis deserves so much more recognition, I was close to tears a couple of times. You hit the NAIL into the COFFIN, this analysis of Jennifer's Body is absolutely perfect, it puts together all the stuff I felt was true in the movie but I was never able to put together myself so thank you so much for this video, it's BRILLIANT!

[@catboy3557]

Your channel is such a labour of love! Aside from your excellent execution, the one thing about your content that makes it so unique is the compassion and care you have for whatever you're discussing. The love you have for both the work you do and the topics you cover is palpable , we can't wait for your next video!

[@syxadel]

this is one of my favorite video essays of all time and the way you explained + handled these subjects was top notch. thank you so much

[@opicinus]

i love this analysis, there's so many little details i never picked up on before! also glad to see somebody cover the aspect of the movie that actually addresses losing a friend to this kind of cycle. i was in a same spot when i first watched it and it definitely became a comfort movie for that reason, it holds a special place in my heart for that very aspect. "sandbox love never dies" is still one of my favorite quotes from the movie. i appreciate the rawness around the symbolism and the "mercy" on jennifer as a character as well. it was perfectly in-depth and spot on about cycles of abuse. new sub!

[@teethcity1062]

The way u go thru things + your voice + everything else is just amazing pls don’t stop

[@witchingbrew3]

You made really think of the applying makeup scene in the same way the old man sacrifice scene was in Midsommar. Both scenes were symbolic for me. Especially since both respective actors (Megan Fox, Bjorn Andressen) were had at one time in their careers over glamorized and unfortunately oversexualized.

[@tsukimiaow]

1:28:45 i would argue that the box cutter is absolutely a phallic symbol bc the blade has to be pushed up / emerged from its sheath and uhhhhh... i feel like thats self-explanatory as to why its very much a symbol on its own even without the crass joke being made to rly nail in the point. (very dark pun somewhat intended) one other thing is that if you do a little digging, the director has actually spoken abt how the marketing being so obviously catered to an audience and advertising a film that it never was, was purely bc the execs did want to further capitalize on the sexualization and popularity of megan fox at the time, which the director did not want to do as a large disappointed audience leaving the film bc it was never going to give them what they wanted is worse and what actually set it up for a wider critical failure than if they were able to market this film as a feminist queer coming of age dark comedy abt the cycle of abuse / s3xual ab/use many people experience at any age. really loved your analysis dude!! your personality and style (frfr love your hair and button ups) and humour is great, and i appreciate you delving deep into this cult masterpiece! youre super funny and to echo a lot of already numerous comments-- your compassion and grace without demonization for all the (genuine) characters and victims + navigating this topic carefully, tastefully, and with warning is incredibly refreshing and comforting. cant wait to dive into more of your content

[@FierceStar56]

Oh god the comment about "could the bass be any lower in the mix" could be Jennifer lamenting that the bassist's concerns were shot down before her murder.

[@caitlinwilcox5955]

I agree 100%

[@encyclopediaespx1128]

Once again another huge home run! I’m happy to have been here since the start!

[@river1585]

this is my second time watching this video and the part about excusing red flags in your friend really hit hard as someone who has recently reevaluated a friendship. this friend was kinda similar to jennifer in the way that she was also not a great friend and always needed to one up me. i think analysis of that has really made me think a lot more and have more understanding of this aspect of the movie (also i love watching your videos and how you go about the analysis it’s been fantastic to watch)

[@pinkdolly]

Dude. This is the content I live for. Thank you for thoughtfully, earnestly going through every single detail!!! Now I need to to do all my other favorite horror movies, STAT