Sofia Coppola’s film The Bling Ring is a movie of conflict; we see the perfect self-image set next to judgments of inadequacy; sublime moments of freedom are juxtaposed with blatant reminders of societal constraints; and biological gender is hedged against personal preference. Each conflict appears to be a separate engagement. But, I will argue that our teenage burglars see it as one inherent unified struggle—fight to express your special complex individuality, or follow the doctrine of society in blind obedience. 

Now its not just that being an individual or following the herd are seen as the only options, it is that they are viewed as incompatible with each other. That is to say, for the most part they believe one can choose either to be a unique individual, or choose to fit into society. No mixture of the options. No compromise. Ultimately it is this inflexibility that dooms most of our group. Through their failure, or rather it is through observing their failure that Coppola reminds us of our role as both spectators and participants in the conflict. 

The first dialogue of the film is of Nicki (Emma Watson) addressing reporters on her involvements in the thefts. She is wearing massive sunglasses that obscure half her face, a pearl necklace, and an unbuttoned blouse. An outfit that is as constructed as the words she speaks. Everything about her public image is composed. When the cameras are rolling she becomes Barbie, a doll designed for the masses. 

The opening, takes place a year after the start of the film’s events. Spoiling the ending, before the film begins really speaks to an evolution in the human condition. It is observed throughout the movie with Marc’s (Israel Broussard) usage of the Internet to spy on the whereabouts of the gang’s famous victims; spoiling the ending means nothing because it is expected that we know about the real events, its expected we read a synopsis on Google before watching the movie. 

We are living in the information age. No longer do I have to leave my house to learn theoretical knowledge on any topic, it’s all a click away. But it is not just information that is being digitally networked. Images of Facebook are shown in multiple scenes. Coppola wants to draw attention to digital social networking. With Facebook, no longer do I have to leave my house to socialize; my pictures are me; my friend’s pictures are them; spending time with 2,000 friends are just clicks away. On Facebook there is no “awkwardness”, the user controls all the interactions so that one can put forth the perfect self-image. 

However, the idea of trying to put together the perfect self-image seems to speak more to ones hidden inadequacies. A theme depicted in the film’s other commencing scene. The real beginning (the first temporal moment) of the film is of Nicki and her sister Sam (Taissa Farmiga) in bed with very little clothing on, talking about the craziness of the previous night. This is an opening that has some similarities to the opening of another Sofia Coppola film, Lost in Translation. In opening of that film we see a similarly clothed Scarlett Johansson lying in bed. 

Starting out like this certainly makes things intimate. It is a way of making us very aware of the voyeuristic invasion of privacy that we as spectators undertake. But, because this shot of the bedroom is contrasted with the preceding scene of Emma Watson surrounded by reporters, it is a very direct jab at the way we are relentlessly invading celebrity’s lives. This invasion of privacy illuminates all the things that they try/need to cover up, things that would appear to detract from the perfect self-image. The voice of our judgment in this scene is the mom; “Girls its time to get up.”; “Girls time for your Adderall.”; “What time did you guys get home last night?”; “and you know it’s a school night.” So, they are lazy party girls who need pills to be stable, and don’t care about their education—seems to fits the mold set up by their celebrity gurus. 

Another nice example of the conflict between looking to one's perfection, and only being interested in the potentially controversial is observed during one of the school sessions. Nicki, Sam, and their other younger sister are homeschooled. Their mom creates all the lessons, one of which is making a “vision board” of people demonstrating good character. Her example of the good person is Angelina Jolie. The daughters identify hot husband and hot body as the only reasons why Jolie is a good person. 

I am not arguing that being attractive is something of shame, or even a negative feature. But, it does speak to their interests that they did not mention Jolie’s well-documented extensive humanitarian work; her efforts in raising awareness for cancer prevention; or her strong support of LGBTQ rights. Coppola could have chosen any celebrity to use as an example, and the girl’s comments might be appropriate. However, by using a pretty prominent philanthropist, and then simply objectifying her, speaks to the focus of the masses. 

As said by Marc, “America has a sick fascination with this Bonnie and Clyde kind of thing.” We are captivated by the idea of freedom. After seeing what appeared to be an “actual footage” interview of Audrina Patridge, our Bonnie and Clyde’s go rob her house. This scene is really set up to feel fun; it feels like its all make-believe. The camera is zoomed out so we see the complete house, a house that appears to look like a dollhouse, and we observe the robbery taking place through big open windows of our dollhouse. Throughout the scene the camera is slowly zooming in, not making it more real, making it seem more sublime. 

The apparently blissful robberies are connected perfectly with the club scenes; crazy lights, colorful outfits, hyped up music, fireworks, and money flying free. The delusion is that they are in some magical world where all the “grown ups” have disappeared. The kids and the watching Americans get to run around the malls, toy stores, mansions doing anything they want. 

However, the “grown ups” are not gone, and pretending like they are ignores one's own growth into becoming an adult. A chant—“Live fast die young bad girls do it well”, appears to point to such consequences. But that doesn’t stop Chloe(Claire Julien) from getting into a car crash(due to drinking and driving) while singing that mantra. In this movie, the constraints of society are depicted as reminders. Chloe is given community service as a warning not to drive drunk. The gang is featured in a news story—the Hollywood burglary mystery. 

The last conflict revolves around Marc; a male that is depicted to prefer a feminine role. The first clue to this is a bit subtle. Chloe is driving, Rebecca(Katie Chang) is in front seat, and Marc is in the back seat. They are all going to the beach. Music blaring, Chloe is driving and singing along—“shoe box, no shoes in em. In the two seater me and two women” and on “women” Chloe points first towards Rebecca, then back towards Marc. He smiles broadly at that. Alone that scene would mean nothing. But, throughout the film he talks very knowledgeably about women’s clothing, hair products, and various styles. In one illuminating scene, we see Marc by himself in his room, singing, “drop it, drop it, low girl” and practicing his “twerking”. In another scene, a gun wielding Sam metaphorically castrates him. Ultimately, it is the pink high heel shoes that he tries on, and then some time later is again wearing them comfortably while in bed by himself, that really solidify his preferred gender. 

As I said before, these different conflicts are really just a part of a greater struggle—the individual vs. society. Rebecca for instance is clearly enamored with and looks up to certain celebrities. The theft for her was a way of elevating herself to their level. While she is being interrogated at the end, her only concern is “what did Lindsay say(about me stealing from her).” The celebrity victims in the ring of burglaries are not model citizens, they shown to be thieves themselves, drug addicts, party girls, they are shown to be free individuals. That is why people like Rebecca look up to them. They choose models who teach them how to avoid being considered sheep of society. 

Chloe, didn’t care much about her penalty for drunk driving, she doesn’t fit in with her clearly white collar family, and simply does not want to be defined by anything she doesn’t choose. Marc is the most sympathetic character. His fight is just that of acceptance, he just wants friends. However, he rejects societies assigned gender role. Opting instead for being a self-defined individual. Which leads us to the twisted moral of the story. Nicki gets it right. By choosing society, she gets the sympathy of the masses. She clearly puts on a fake face and some people can see it, but too many can’t. We accept her because she compromised herself to fit the rules of society. As a result, we decide that she is the new model citizen.