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Tiana Tippetts
Communications 1050
L. Jay Williams
February 6, 2014
Reel PaperCultural Studies Theory
In this paper, I intend on focusing on the apparent attributes of the cultural theory in the
film "You've Got Mail." This film follows two people who are living in the same community,
but in two different cultures. Karl Marx, the German philosopher who was a pioneer in Cultural
Studies, once said that "being powerless can lead to alienation." You've Got Mail points this out
a few times as we see the "big, bad chain store that is out to destroy everything that is held dear
by the local community. I hope to convey Marxist tradition which shows that the capitalistic
society shapes society and the individuals within it.
You've Got Mail is a movie about Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly. The movie starts off with
the two strangers secretly emailing each other after they met in a chat room. We first take a look
at Kathleen's apartment. A quaint, humble, shabby-chic living space, full of light and carefree
happiness. We then see Joe's apartment. Dark, clean, masculine and rich. We have already been
painted a picture of the different cultures these characters live in. Fortunately, online, you can be
anybody you'd like and the fact that Joe and Kathleen have decided not to discuss their private
lives lets them live in the same vague culture.
Joe is a forty something businessman whose family owns the largest bookstore in New
York, and possibly the United States, Fox Books. It's comparable to Barnes and Noble. He is
mild tempered and confident. He is from a wealthy family (his father and grandfather are also
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owners of Fox Books). He has a boat, attends charitable social events and spends Christmas with
his family all dressed up in formal wear around the piano.
Kathleen on the other hand is a thirty something innocent and optimistic. She is the
owner of a children's bookstore called "The Shop Around the Corner." She works with her
closest friends and maintains the integrity of the quaintness of this little bookstore.
Joe and Kathleen unknowingly email each other throughout the movie. They keep a dear
friendship, offering advice, talking about nothing and everything, all the while keeping their
identities secret.
In real life, Joe and Kathleen meet and have a different kind of relationship. Because
they are both in the book business, they share similar circles of acquaintances. The first time
they meet, however, was when Joe was out with his family, 2 children (his aunt and his brother),
and they wanted to see storybook hour at The Shop Around the Corner. Joe meets Kathleen and
is smitten. During this scene, we also get a better picture of how personalized this little
bookstore is. The employees really know a lot about the books, and they give one on one
attention.
Once word gets out that a Fox Books bookstore is opening near The Shop Around the
Corner, some of the employees of The Shop Around the Corner start to worry. Kathleens
oblivious response is "they're new and they're a novelty and it will all die down." She tries hard
to maintain this positive attitude, but once Fox Books opens, and the numbers roll in and they
start comparing their figures to the previous years earnings, her attitude starts getting a little bit
more hesitant and Kathleen starts questioning not only her bookstore, but her life. As I
mentioned in my opening statement, we are now seeing the Marxist theory about his cultural
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studies take form. As Kathleen is losing her power, she is starting to feel alienated.
With Kathleen feeling alienated and her bookstore failing, she starts to reevaluate her life.
She turns to the online Joe Fox for advice, and suggests that they meet. Once Joe sees Kathleen,
he realizes what has been going on. These two people, who live completely different lifestyles
and basically despise one another, are best friends online. Joe doesn't mention anything to
Kathleen during this meeting and leads her to think that she has been stood up. This meeting
confirms that Kathleen is upset with Joe because he is the reason her business (and her life) is
failing.
During the next month or so, we see The Shop Around the Corner go out of business.
Both Joe and Kathleen end up breaking of their existing relationships (respectively). Kathleen is
now trying to find the positive in it all, but ultimately feels defeated.
With Joe, we are starting to see what is known as counter-hegemony, where the masses
(Kathleen) start to influence the dominant force (Joe). He starts to become humble and actually
tries to befriend Kathleen even though his business put her out of business. Although Kathleen
is hesitant at first, she starts to come around by putting herself in a negotiated position, where
she starts to accept dominant ideologies by allowing cultural exceptions. She starts to accept
Joe's friendship although she sees their cultural differences.
The friendship that grows between Kathleen and Joe inevitably closes the cultural gap
between the two. The movie ends with the online versions of them meeting in the park and they
live happily ever after. Near the end of the movie, Joe asks Kathleen "If I hadn't been Fox
Books, and you wouldnt have been The Shop Around the Corner, and we would have just
met....I would have asked for your number." I like to think that their cultural differences
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wouldn't have cause friction in their relationship. But as the term dominant-hegemonic states:
people operate within a code that allows one person to have control over another person.
Kathleens life was controlled by the dominant force in this movie, Fox Books and inevitably,
Joe Fox. Fortunately, the director of the movie was Nora Ephron (in my opinion, the queen of
romantic comedies) and she was able to find the niche that helped these two cultures combine in
almost a seamless manner.