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Daengprok
Pear Rinrada Daengprok

Professor Leonard

English Composition II

22 February 2021

“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”: Let Go of Other’s Expectations Vs Its Consequences

“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is an upbeat song originate by Cyndi Lauper in 1983. This

song was covered by Greg Laswell later in 2009. The artists are stating unlike sentiments and

they have different purposes. Even though Cyndi and Greg’s versions of “Girls Just Wanna Have

Fun” appeals to anyone in society, and are full of emotion, they are each conveying a different

narrative, in a different musical style. They are claiming different ideas in their version of this

song. Cyndi’s video highlights that people should live freely and have fun with their lives. The

meaning that Cyndi tries to tell her audience is that we do not have to be what society wants us to

be. On the other hand, Greg’s version claims that people should take their life seriously and

focus on their owns.

Cyndi wrote this song in 1983 and focused on what could be the female perspective: girls

are not less than boys in the wish for fun. She had always been a feminist and with this song, she

managed to raise her ideas on equal rights between men and women (Moyer and Kaplan). In

2009, Greg Laswell decided to cover this song to show it from a male’s perspective. He changed

the melody so that people wouldn't recognize it right away and played it only on piano, to shine

a spotlight on the lyrics.

The two music videos are extremely different. Lauper’s music video, which was directed

by Edd Griles, encompasses a variety of elements that are typical of a music video, creating a

linear narrative that is easy to understand with codes and conventions that are also easily read.
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Cyndi, the central character, is adorned in a bright, gaudy pink dress that is eccentric and eye-

catching. The song and its lyrical composition were lauded by critics for its feminist message

(Moyer and Kaplan). “In addition to bold orange hair color, to resist sexual objectification and

voyeurism as she has her style, refusing to conform to the typical dress of women that semiotics

in the media have suggested is attractive and desirable” (Greaves). This analysis from Greaves

supports the usage of rhetorical appeal in Lauper’s version. The crucial scene is when all of the

women are satisfied and wearing glasses. Glasses can be interpreted as seeing a bright future.

The disparity in styles suggests that they each value their differences and have distinct

personalities. Laswell’s video, on the other hand, looks more like life than a storytelling music

video. In his video, he plays piano and hopes that the piano’s melody will shine a spotlight on the

lyrics.

The rhetorical appeal in two versions of this song share both difference and similarity. In

Lauper’s version contains the ethos appeal, but Laswell’s version lack of ethos appeal. Lauper’s

version uses her credibility to present against society’s moral code at that time. One example is

when Cyndi and her father having a heated debate, with her father telling her off and pointing

this finger toward her. This moment demonstrates the traditional gender roles in her time.

In contrast, differ rhetorical appeal that Cyndi and Greg have is pathos. Lauper’s version

reveals a relationship between herself and her parents. She feels restricted and unable to be

herself. In the second version by Laswell, emotion is more prominent due to the slowness of this

song arrangement. He makes it sound like a guy who is under pressure to find a girl and can't

seem to find one that is right for him.

Both versions appeal to have different audiences, but the lyrics can appeal to both

genders. Lauper’s version tends to have more young female audiences because her version is
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about gender equality. Laswell’s version, which is covered later in 2009, tends to have different

groups of audiences due to society’s changes. In his live video, we can see that there are both

males and female audiences. However, these two versions of “Girl Just Wanna Have Fun” have

similar lyrics, but they claim different claims. Amazingly, they can present two different claims

by having similar lyrics.

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Works Cited

Greaves, James. “‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ - Music Video Analysis.” Issuu, 2017,

issuu.com/jamesssgreaves/docs/music_video_analysis_-_cyndi.docx/1?ff.

https://issuu.com/jamesssgreaves/docs/music_video_analysis_-_cyndi.docx/1?ff

Accessed 24 Mar. 2021

Lauper Cyndi. “Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Official Video).” YouTube,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A. Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.

Laswell Greg. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Live on ETown).” YouTube,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN49J-W485Y. Accessed 13 Feb. 2021.

Moyer Justin, and Sarah Kaplan. “Cyndi Lauper and the Secret Feminist History of 'Girls Just

Want to Have Fun'.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 3 May 2019,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/30/cyndi-lauper-on-capitol-

hill-and-the-secret-feminist-history-of-girls-just-wanna-have-fun/. Accessed 24 Mar.

2021