Poor Things v.s. Born Sexy Yesterday: An Analysis

“Poor Things,” oh poor things, Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film has been the topic of conversation among cinephiles and audiences alike, whether it’s Emma Stone’s long black locks or film sets so beautiful they got a Vogue feature. It’s no wonder the film is an award-show favorite. Ever since the first images dropped, I knew that it was something I wanted to watch before I even knew the movie's plot. I remember reading the early previews describing the film as a “Female Frankenstein.” I was absolutely sold; I mean, a fantastic cast, some of the most detailed and gorgeous costuming I’ve seen in the last 20 years of film, and a uniquely eerie score I couldn’t ask more from a movie. 

Upon the first scene that featured Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a weird, worried feeling crept into my stomach Bella was acting incredibly infant-like, which (spoiler alert) makes sense given she literally has the brain of a baby. It made me remember a rather unpleasant trope I’ve seen in far too many films/TV shows, the “Born Sexy Yesterday trope,” ( A film where the lead female character has little agency or social awareness, often like a child and is guided/educated about the world through her male counterpart often her love interest) and couldn’t believe that "Poor Things” of all movies was about to be added to that list. However, as the film progressed, I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong– “Poor Things” was anything but a “Born Sexy” film. If anything, it was a slap in the face to those films. Bella was a fully fleshed-out, philosophy-loving, socialist woman. She relished in educating herself and rejected attempts from her male cohorts to conform her to society's mold. Bella's independence and journey of self-discovery should be used as a parallel against these gross, lazy depictions of other female characters.

However, critics of the film have claimed that “Poor Things” doesn’t subvert the trope and is just an addition to the “Born Sexy Yesterday” movies. YouTuber Pop Culture Detective first coined the term in a Video Essay discussing the trope across various movies. The traits that define the women in these films are at odds with each other and are found mainly in children hence the “born” part of the tropes title. These women are discovered or created and fresh in both body and mind. They are both innocent and naive but also profoundly wise and have some sort of physical or magical capability about them. These women are typically unfamiliar with their environment and are guided and educated by the male lead. This becomes particularly questionable in films where these characters are man made, such as “The Fifth Element” or “Tron Legacy”, where their allure and naivety are intentional and where the male lead, who is often the love interest, is the one educating them. This creates a rather disturbing father-daughter dynamic because these women are so far removed from reality that they’ll fall in love with anyone, including their “maker,” so to speak. The men in these films can treat these women as blank canvases void of any autonomy or personality, and they only know what they are told and would not exist without these male figures. Why is this such a problem? While the trope is often seen in sci-fi films, the need for male authority and power is very real. The men in these films do not see these women as real people. They only exist to be guided and to serve their male leads, reinforcing a perverse power imbalance between women and men that has real repercussions outside of the realm of fantasy. So now that we know what a BSY movie is, we can see how “Poor Things” doesn’t fall into this category.

While yes, it is true that an older male figure initially creates Bella, and her original realm of knowledge was somewhat limited to what he was telling her, Bella by no means exists for anyone's pleasure but her own. Even while she was still in the early stages of her cognitive capabilities, she was still defiant against her “father” and was brash and honest about what she wanted. As soon as Bella gets the opportunity to explore the world, she realizes that she finds joy in exploring her pleasures and desires and does what she wants, even when her male counterparts scold her for it. Oddly enough, it is through sex that Bella develops a sense of power and control of herself. It is also through sex that Bella meets a friend who introduces her to socialism and takes her to a  university. The film acknowledges Bella's nativity but never manages to sexualize her for it, nor does the film try to get you to side with the male authority figures. Another thing I thought was so brilliant was the intentions behind Bella's wardrobe and how even something as simple as costuming shows Bella's evolution. 

Holly Waddington, the costume designer for the film, mentions in a Vogue article that when we first see Bella, her outfits are reminiscent of children's clothing. She is never properly dressed “So in everything you see, there’s something missing. She’s more dressed up top—she’ll have a voluminous blouse on but with a pair of knickers and bare feet”.  Throughout the film, we see a progression of her wardrobe; you can tell when she starts her grand tour that Bella begins to dress herself. Her outfits, as wild and mish-mashed as they are, show her growing freedom. My personal favorite nod to this was when Bella was contemplating working at the brothel; she was wearing a long yellowish transparent cape that actually, according to Waddington, was supposed to mirror the look of a condom. For as random of a detail as that is to include, I think it’s important to acknowledge that placing such emphasis on her wardrobe makes Bella even more of a person. The movie doesn’t treat her as a vessel for her father's wishes, and neither do we.

“Poor Things” is not a perverse view of what it is like to have a woman with the brain of a baby at your disposal but rather an insight into a young woman’s transition into society and the horrors and joys that come with that. “Poor Things” pushes back against the trope in one of the most beautiful, subtle, and freeing ways possible by giving Bella the spotlight and letting her control the narrative.