The 2003 teen comedy, What A Girl Wants follows seventeen-year-old Daphne Reynolds on her journey from her fifth-floor New York walk-up all the way to London to meet her father, an English Lord. 
Daphne believes that having a relationship with her father will help her figure out who she is. So, in order to become who she thinks he wants her to be, she ditches her spunky American ways and chunky boots for a quiet, posh new demeanor and some kitten heels.
In her transformation, Daphne is coming face-to-face with a culture clash, as well as a socioeconomic one. In order to fit into the world of high class and wealth, Daphne changes herself, becoming a new person who fits in better with her father’s peers.
This shift is an example of negotiating identities, with Daphne submitting to the role she believes she needs to play in order to earn the love of her father and ensure that she does not taint the family name. 
While Lord Dashwood, Daphne’s father, has given up his seat in the House of Lords, a decision that foreshadows the messaging of the movie, he is running for election as a common citizen and must continue to impress high society.
Toward the end of the movie, it is revealed that Lord Dashwood never wanted his daughter to change, and is in fact more like her than the posh people he is surrounded by.
However, Daphne, and her just as spunky mother, still clash with Dashwood’s new fiance and her family, who are actually the ones trying to ensure Daphne is subdued and eventually dismissed.
This clash is representative of high culture clashing with “low culture” and wealth clashing with lower socioeconomic status.
The messaging of the film is clear however in the resolution when Lord Dashwood publicly leaves his snooty fiance and life of status and instead chases Daphne and her mother all the way to America to be with them. This signifies that wealth and status are not everything and that compromising your identity for society is not necessary for happiness.
This movie, while comical and light-hearted, inspires conversation about the price of status and birthright. It questions why people who hold power by “divine right” are deserving and sheds light on class discrimination and injustice.