The virtues of Ellen Page and the indie girl

You all know the indie girl: she's got that weird, eclectic, but awesome taste in music (hello, anyone who's ever seen my iTunes library), she watches weird, eclectic, but awesome movies (I'm sensing a pattern here), she wears weird, eclectic... well, you get the point. The best part of the indie girl is that she doesn't give a shit what other people think about her and her quirky ways.

Enter: Ellen Page, Zooey Deschanel, Aubrey Plaza, and the likes.

The examples I provided all happen to be actresses who I absolutely adore. Not only do I feel like these women are extremely talented, funny, and quirky, but I love the way they act in the public sphere. Aubrey Plaza is still relatively new to the scene, best known for her role on Parks and Recreation as April, and her role as Daisy in Judd Apatow's Funny People. Zooey Deschanel is perhaps best known for her roles in Elf, Almost Famous, and Failure to Launch. Ellen Page is best known for her role in Juno as the title character, but on October 9th, Page stars in Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It, a coming-of-age "dramedy" about a misfit girl in a small town, just looking for her place to shine.

Whip It appeals to me on several levels: first, its cast is spectacular. It includes Ellen Page, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Wiig of Saturday Night Live and Knocked Up fame, Alia Shawkat of Arrested Development, and rapper Eve. Second, the fact that the screenwriter is a woman (Shauna Cross) and the director is Drew Barrymore (whom I adore!) and the story is about a girl kicking-ass and taking names without having to be scantily-clad or stereotypically "high school evil" (ahem, hello, Jennifer's Body...). I love that. I'm all about that. Girls being themselves, totally breaking the norms and cliches society sets out for them, and all the while, a wry sense of humor is employed.

Perhaps this is why I love Ellen Page so much. She has typically played sarcastic, funny girls who stick to their opinions and aren't afraid to voice them. It doesn't matter to her that she's not the coolest girl in school, and that's what makes her, in actuality, the coolest girl in school.