male characters extolling the virtues of date-rape and the objectification of women and girls. Contemporary critical analysis of this film often arrives with the disclaimer that these problematic elements are simply reflective of society at the time, and that such scenes would never be accepted by audiences of today. But, Lara Jean’s misty-eyed appreciation of the movie, as containing a model of her romantic fantasies, makes the point that such films lose neither their influence, nor their power to shape the development of social attitudes.

Though Sixteen Candles was released long before Lara Jean was born, it is her chosen touchstone for romantic expectation. The fact that the Lara Jean character is of Asian heritage, and the film Sixteen Candles includes a deeply racist depiction of an Asian foreign...

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