I could really make a connection with the allusions that the film made with puberty by using a more unusual comparison of something monstrous like a werewolf. For example, turning into the blood thirsty teen wolf that she was, Ginger started to experiment with boys and started to conform to things that teens her age would normally do. There was suddenly, this need for her to be noticed and to be attractive, something I’m certain even boys go through when they start to shift from those cargo shorts and jerseys to more suave and more dapper looking collared shirts and pants. I also saw the type of confusion she had to go through, the substances inside of her that made her slowly turn to a werewolf were like raging hormones that circulate all throughout adolescent’s bodies. And there are always times when she would be able to get a hold of herself, and times when she would be experiencing episodes of rage and outbursts of violence. What makes the allusion even more apparent, in my opinion at least, was the timely arrival of her first menstruation with the night of her getting bitten. The film treats young adulthood as a sort of curse, also mentioned in the film when she discovers her little red surprise in the park. The sort of monsters we turn into after our years of innocence and childhood in my interpretation is what Ginger represents.
Then there’s also Brigette, As I was watching Ginger snaps, I couldn’t help but think about my own experience of puberty. Experiencing it very late, I went through a really long phase where I almost felt like I was dancing on the very fine line of pre-teen and teenager. Awkward is not accurate enough I think, but it will do for now. I was looking at the character of Brigette and I really identified with her character first because it seemed like she knew how it was to tread in that limbo zone of adolescence, the character who has not fully developed into the monster is a representation of those who are in their sort of untouched and pure forms, full of ideals and still preserved in her state by the lack of experience. Her character is an interesting foil to that of Ginger’s. She is the unselfish hero of the story who really genuinely loved her sister till the very end.
The ending of the film was intriguing to me since there was no resolution of whether Ginger or Brigette will be back to their normal form, or what happens after the gruesome events have transpired. But I think it’s also part of the message to see that there is no turning back after that sort of horrific experience that one goes through during their puberty. There is a sort of sadness at the loss of childhood and the loss of people we knew who change after going through adolescence.
Gouge Away 