Conflict Theory In Mean Girls

Mean Girls

The film being discussed with in this paper is Mean Girls. Relating this film to bullying as well show how it relates to the sociologic theory of conflict theory. When an individual would first watch the film Mean Girls they would first automatically think of today’s society and how they may have dealt with a similar situation in school. What an individual may not think about when watching this film is Karl Marx and conflict theory. The film Mean Girls was produced in 2004 and shows how social class causes major bullying issues in school settings. “The social psychological factors that underpin choices to bully and sustain involvement in bullying have been relatively neglected in the research literature. This is somewhat puzzling

Middle class would be Cady before she became a “Plastic” and low class would be Damian and Janis and the rest of the school. In the eyes of “The Plastics” everyone is low class and they are the only upper class. According to Jeff Manza, author of The Sociology Pproject 2.0: introducing the sociological imagination conflict theory is “a type of social theory that emerged out of dissatisfaction with structural functionalism and held that all societies are characterized by conflicts that arise from the uneven distribution of power and wealth between groups” (Manza, 2016). Bullies are not always at the top of the class chain but they often feel the need to put other lower them. Bullies often feel stronger and tougher when they are on top and they intimidate others around them. Karl Marx was born May 5, 1818 in Trier, Prussia. Mr. Marx was one of nine children born to Heinrich and Henrietta Marx. He started his college journey at University of Bonn where he only lasted two semesters. He then studied at the University of Berlin where us major was philosophy and

This is considered verbal bullying because of them not using Cady name instead they use the term “Loser”. Another example of verbal bullying during the film is when Regina and Cady are in an argument and Regina tells Cady “Do you know what everyone says about you behind your back? Hmm? They say that you're a homeschooled jungle freak that's a less hot version of me” (Waters, 2004). After the “burn book” was released they gathered the students in the gymnasium and the female teacher asked them if “any of them have every felt personally victimized by Regina George” (Waters, 2004). Regina George ran the school, she was the most popular student in the school. Students would run the opposite way from her, she would also push people out of the way so that she and her “plastics: could walk in a straight line in the hall ways. Towards the end of the movie Cady realizes that name calling does not make her better than anyone else. She states “calling someone else fat will not make you any skinner, calling someone else stupid will not make you any smarter” (Waters, 2004). This was a turning point for Cady because got so caught up with becoming a “plastic” that she started to act like them and did not stay true to