When people make choices that could drastically change their life, the decision they make is based on the influence of others. In the novel, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton a gang called the Greasers is stereotyped for being the "mean types" that slack off at school. Then there are the Socials who are know as the rich kids with cool cars that happen to like "jumping" Greasers. As these two gangs are rivaling, they both go through some dramatic events that change their perspectives on life. In the novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton the character Darrel Curtis is unquestionably influenced by his gang as it prevents him from being successful, leading him to becoming the father of the gang, and overall being someone to look up to.
This picture shows Giorgina ,one of the character in the movie Mean girls. She is radiant and beautiful like an angel, with a natural and flawless makeup. Giorgina is skinny with a blond hair, perhaps she is called the blond girl. She appears tall like an athlete. Her pink shirt and black suit or sweater give her a professional appearance of the leader she is.
The movie Mean Girls is about a sixteen year old girl, Cady Heron, who has recently moved from Africa to the United States, and is attending public school for the first time. Her first day of school was not the best, but on her second day of school she meets Janis Ian and Damian Leigh who start to guide Cady into high school by telling her about different groups (cliques/discourse communities) in the school, including the Plastics, which is made up of Karen Smith, Gretchen Wieners, and Regina George. The Plastics soon take interest in Cady ask her to sit with them at lunch. Thanks to that we learn all about the discourse community of The Plastics. According to John Swales, there are six characteristics of a discourse community which I will discuss and use The Plastics as an example.
Conformity is present in every group situation with adolescents. Adolescents are always looking to be a part of a group, usually conforming to the standards of the group. Adolescents often conform because they want to have the approval of the peers that are well liked or “popular”. A great example of adolescents and conformity is in the chick flick ‘Mean Girls’ through the different cliques in high school and how it affects the peers themselves. Caty, the main character, is faced with several difficult situations where she decides to conform with her high school peers getting her in trouble that becomes hard for her to escape.
Youth can feel like their ideas and thoughts are nothing because of this, which can lead to self-esteem issues. In The Misfits, Addie is treated with little respect by the teachers and principal even though she had great ideas. “‘Trouble?’ Addie goes. ‘for what?
The film Mean Girls is an American comedy movie for teens that illustrates the mainstream high school experience in the west. The main character, Cady Heron is a sixteen-year-old girl who is a new student at bob school in Illinois. Cady moved from being home-schooled in Africa, and therefore is unaware of the environment and lifestyle at a public high school. Cady then meets Daemon and Janis, who are part of an outcast group. Janis and Damien expose Cady to the norms of their school, talking her through cliques, and most importantly introducing her to “the plastics”, a group that Janis and Damian hated.
The movie Mean Girls is a perfect example of many social-psychological principles. Three of the major principles that are seen in the film include: conformity, in-groups and out-groups and prejudice. Cady Herron, a naïve sixteen-year-old who has been homeschooled her entire life, is forced to start as a junior at North Shore High School because of her family’s job relocation. Throughout the movie, you see Cady struggling to maintain acceptance in the school’s in-group known as The Plastics. The Plastics, who represent popularity, high economic status and the acclaimed standard of beauty, are one of the meanest cliques at North Shore.
Whenever we need to break unsatisfactory habits, change our ways of thinking, or even do something differently, no matter how hard we try, many of us go back to our old habits/selves. It is important to use all our will and realize when we are referring back to our old ideology and try as much as we can to build a new way of thinking. Through many classic stories, main characters look as if they are on their road to change by starting to build the new, but it is just too hard for them and they want conformity, so they go back to their old selves. According to the article, “Teen Gangstas”, by Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, the plight of Ponyboy Curtis, the protagonist from S.E. Hinton’s classic young adult novel, The Outsiders, will end tragically unless he adopts a pet in which he grows and bond and cares for.
It centers on females and how they act at that certain age. The four mean girls, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, Karen Smith and Cady Heron represent the stereotypes of the popular girls of high school. The role of gender plays an important role in the movie. The movie discusses the aspects of how a “typical” teenage girl should be, in order for her to fit in.
The film Mean Girls, produced by Lorne Michaels and directed by Mark Waters in 2004 focuses on a teenage girl, Cady Heron, who experiences the drastic change of living and being home schooled in Africa to moving to America and attending a regular high school. While attempting to sabotage the plastics, the girls who hold the most popularity in the school, Cady unknowingly turns into one of them, leaving aspects of her old personality behind. By analyzing the film through sociological perspectives, the deeper meaning of the film can be revealed. Socialization Socialization is the process of connecting individuals to their community allowing individuals to experience new attitudes and perspectives.
Mean Girls: implicit and explicit social norms, conformity, obedience Cady Heron’s life changed dramatically when she moved to a suburban area in Illinois, after living in Africa and being homeschooled her whole life. She started at North Shore High and quickly got sucked into the stereotypical girl drama. Prior to the drama, Cady met two of her best friends Damian and Janis, who were apart of the out-caste clique.
Many of the characters in Mean Girls struggle with finding their identity and belongingness into a certain group. Fitting in is hard. Making new friends, moving to a new place, figuring out where you belong, and discovering who you are—all of these are difficult tasks. The films show how cliques can wreck everyone’s life. The film even shows how conflict often time arises within different socio or cultural groups.
Mean Girls, set in Illinois, depicts the socio-political climate of an American high school, with it’s protagonist, Cady Heron moving from Africa and homeschooling to be socialised in her new society. The antagonist throughout the film, Regina George, is portrayed as an authoritarian woman who has total control of the school (Mean Girls 2004). Regina is shown to engage with numerous sexual partners at the same time and promotes her liberation through wearing a tee-shirt with her bra protruding out the front when she finds two holes cut at her breasts; motivating a new fashion trend throughout the cohort (Mean Girls 2004, Robinson-Cseke 2009, p. 45). This depiction of a strong, independent woman aligns with ‘Post-feminist texts-films, books, magazines and television programs characterised by a model of young womanhood that is empowered, successful, entitled, independent, socially mobile and free to choose her destiny’ (Toffoletti 2008, p. 72). Post feminism is further reflected in the film through the power change which occurs, transferring from Regina to Cady, mirroring the transfer of power from second wave feminism to post feminism.
High school is a life changing experience for everyone. Teens mature and deal with situations that they may not have had to deal with before they entered it. The movies Clueless and Mean Girls are based on two different high schools with similar problems the teen girls face. Although the two films are taken place in different decades and portray a different aspect of what it’s like to be in high school; they both have a similar life lesson.
There is no doubt that the film Mean Girls is full of conflict. Director Mark Waters did an excellent job at presenting how conflict can transpire and spread between females. The conflict that occurs in Mean Girls can easily be seen through the main characters Cady and Regina, however, conflict does not only takes place between the two of them but the entire school as well. Conflicts that arise throughout this film can be explained through power and power currencies, conflict styles and tactics, assumptions and triggering events, and forgiveness and reconciliation. Each conflict allows there to be understanding as to why the conflict took place and how it got as destructive as it did.
