"Cool Girl", "Pick Me Girl", "Subservient Wife"; Eras of the female mold

  In 2014, an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s thriller novel, Gone Girl , was released by director David Fincher. The film follows the twisted narrative of Amy Dunne, played by Rosamund Pike, and her husband Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck. When the beloved public figure and childhood star, known as “Amazing Amy”, goes missing, the media and investigators are sent into a frenzy, suspecting Nick as her murderer. As the viewer tries to use clues to uncover the truth of what really happened, we are shown flashbacks of different vulnerabilities and dark moments in Nick and Amy’s marriage. Though the movie was released nearly six years ago, the infamous “Cool Girl” monologue has recently resurfaced on TikTok with a new audience of Gen-Z’ers analyzing its feminist truths and criticisms.  What I love about Gone Girl is it captures two extremes through the perspectives of the male and female main characters. On the one hand, we have Nick Dunne’s portrayal of the misogynistic jerk an...