Satire Within Heathers (1988)

Heathers (1988) is a dark comedy depicting the lives of teenagers in the 1980's. Screenwriter Daniel Walters bitterly and hilariously uses satire to exaggerate the dramas of teenage life-- including sexuality, eating disorders, self esteem issues, social status, and drug use.

While intertwining each of these aspects of “teen life,” the central subject of Heathers is teenage suicide. The somewhat controversial film appears to be in favor of teen suicide-- or at least, doesn’t seem to look down upon it. However, the film is arguably an expert work of sarcastic satire against suicide. Main characters Veronica and J.D. are two teenagers, both deeply cynical and profoundly thoughtful, who are placed in a contrastingly dull Midwestern setting. J.D. a subtly placed contraction for “juvenile delinquent,” proves also to be a psychopathic killer. When he purposely gives Heather, the head of the most powerful clique in the high school, a “hangover cure” of pipe cleaner, Veronica thinks it was an accident, and helps him stage the murder to look like a suicide. This soon becomes a sort of hobby for the two-- killing the most popular kids in school, and making it look like suicide.

The casual, sarcastic, and blunt language that takes place throughout the film bitterly mock the very real issue of teen suicide. This language is seen among most all of the characters, whether they are reacting to the suicide or planning it. Some examples are shown when Veronica writes in her diary: "Dear Diary, suicide gave Heather depth, Kurt a soul, and Ram a brain. I don't know what it's given me, but I have no control over myself when I'm with J.D. Are we going to prom or to hell?... Dear Diary, my teen-angst bullshit now has a body count... J.D. asked me if I wanted to go out tonight for miniature golf. I was thinking more along the lines of slitting Heather Duke's wrists open, making it look like suicide." Suicide seems to be a sort of "taboo" in today's culture. However, by so bluntly addressing it, Walters is able to temporarily erase that taboo, and force the audience to really think about the role that suicide plays in today’s culture, and how important it is to acknowledge as an emerging problem.