Bicurious cheerleaders: vanguard of neoliberalism
Hellcats is no Gossip Girl, but it’s quite an entertaining show; its also a troubling one, in a way which I think may be revealing. The show is basically a TV version of Bring it On, portraying the world of competitive college cheerleading, but the main attraction is the adorably subtext-y relationship between the two main characters, Marti, a law student who would probably be described as “feisty,” and Savannah, head cheerleader and lapsed (or lapsing) Christian fundamentalist. This may have reached its high point in the recent episode in which the two settle a disagreement with a pillow fight, the classic nudge-wink signifier of lesbian eroticism (though unusually played here as sweet, rather than titillating).
What’s not so good about the show is the weirdly excessive individualism. Read moreā“