This is why we all need Bridget Jones more than ever
After nearly a decade away, Bridget Jones made a breathlessly anticipated return to the big screen this week in the fourth (and final) instalment (leaving fans v v excited, to borrow parlance from Helen Fielding).
We’ve come a long way with Bridge, the calamitous singleton who first barged into our lives as part of a column written in The Independent in the nineties. With her chain-smoking, calorie-counting, big-pants wearing self, she appears antithetical to the aesthetics and attitudes popularised today.
Of course, Bridget’s popularity long predates the advent of social media, but the latter can certainly take responsibility for the vibe shift away from the chaotic theatrics that characterised Bridget’s life. Bridget irons her hair straight and haphazardly applies her make-up in the back of taxis – social media has seen hair and beauty tutorials become commonplace, with hours dedicated to perfecting application techniques. Bridget smokes Silk Cuts, gets drunk and falls over, flashing her knickers in the process – the most health conscious among us now eschew cigarettes altogether, are teetotal and actively choose to join run clubs.
Put simply, image-obsessed Instagram has stamped out the messiness and mistakes that Bridget is best known for in favour of clean, tailored curation. It’s palpably obvious even if you just cast an eye over leading trends in fashion and beauty over the last few years; the neutral palette of ‘quiet luxury’; the obsession with ‘glass skin’, and its focus on flawless, dewy complexions; (the often misguided) notions of ‘clean eating’, with no carbs or cocktails in sight. It’s little wonder we’re all increasingly anxious, seeing as we’re being bombarded with images that boast perfection at all times (research suggests that young people who are heavy users of social media – spending more than two hours per day on social-networking sites such as Facebook, TikTok or Instagram – are more likely to report poor mental health, including psychological distress).
And yet, in this era of public preening and styling, Bridget Jones remains as popular as ever – if not even more so. Reviews for Mad About The Boy have garnered critical acclaim, with one reviewer breathlessly calling it ‘the best Bridget ever’. The film sees the journalist, now in her fifties and with children, single once more and forced to navigate a new world of dating with her trademark aplomb. As to be expected, things can and will go wrong – but as opposed to making this something to be shamefully hidden, excluded from the curated Instagram highlights reel, Bridget celebrates failure, making it something joyful and funny. Her unabashed enthusiasm, even when things go, frankly, tits up, is something we need to see more of.
Bridget’s popularity, then, stems from her ability to allow us to relinquish these notions of perfection. That’s not to say the hero of this piece is perfect, with some elements of Jones that can be left in the annals of the nineties; her obsessive calorie counting and continued stress about her weight harken back to an era before body positivity, and not one we're keen to revisit. But at a time where we may often be left feeling bad about our bodies, our lives and ourselves, Bridget continues to show us all that you are lovable and deserved to be loved – just as you are.
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