Cady's High School Culture

The culture at Cady’s high school, North Shore High, is very similar to most high schools in America; filled with classes, books, clubs, and dances. While learning is the main purpose of high school, the degree of importance fluctuates within the youth culture. A few of the aspects of the culture are common music, activities such as sports, hanging out at the mall after school and teenage slang. Value is placed on the level of popularity and social status, which can also be linked to material items such as money, shoes, clothing, houses and cars. Teenagers find looks very important. In The Cycle of Popularity: Interpersonal Relationships among Female Adolescents, Eder states that “having money and being attractive were considered important

Regina George, head of the Plastics controls the rest of the school including Gretchen and Karen. The other students mimic Regina’s clothing. They have their own table in the lunch room and only people invited can sit with them. The Plastics have managed to disregard mores that the rest of society abide by, such as respecting other people’s privacy. They created their own set of rules to follow such as who they can date or what they can wear. The Plastics spend their time together gossiping about their peers. The Mathletes are another subculture, but they value intellect more than the Plastics. They have matching jackets which are a symbol of their group. They speak in math terms. The group’s time together is spent practicing math and going to competitions. The Desperate Wannabees are a subculture that “worship” the Plastics but are not part of the Plastics. The Outcasts, or as Gretchen calls them the “Art Freaks” are another important part of the culture, the counterculture. This includes Janis and Damian who befriend Cady. Janis was rejected and humiliated by Regina so is very jaded when it comes to the Plastics. The Outcasts seem to value independence. Janis is just as aggressive as Regina but has little influence on the other students until the end of the movie when everyone is mad about the burn