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Mean Girls Research Paper

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Recommended: Sociological theories behind mean girls

Another example of a teen film that institutes a similar stereotypical high school social hierarchy is the well-known movie, Mean Girls. Cady Heron, who lived her first 15 years in the African jungle, being home-schooled and living only with her parents, never knew what "high school" meant, until moving out of Africa and enrolling in a real school. She instantly becomes friends with two teenagers, Damian and Janis, who were in the "out crowd", as opposed to the “Plastics”, which consists of Regina, the unofficial leader, Gretchen and Karen, her followers, all of whom are gorgeous and popular. The Plastics, after meeting Cady, immediately let her into their group, but Cady is unsure, because she did not want to leave her first friends, but they …show more content…

Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post writes that it "boasts a one-two-three punch in star Lindsay Lohan, screenwriter Tina Fey and director Mark Waters, and, indeed, it delivers a knockout". Critics praised the screenplay highly, with Peter Travers of Rolling Stone calling it "comic gold." Rotten Tomatoes named Mean Girls in its 'Top 50 Greatest Teen Comedies,” in November 2012. Mean Girls is relevant to today’s teenage society and its relatability is what captured the hearts of so many teenagers and is the reason why so many people still watch and quote it today. Mean Girls was able to capture the tension and difficulties of surviving in a high school environment with all types of people- ranging from popular bullies to goths to nerds. Not only does it display the complexities of such a social hierarchy, while highlighting the nature of wanting to fit in, and the desperation that comes with those feelings. In a high school society, many teenagers struggle between wanting to hate those above them on the social totem pole, and trying to suppress the feelings of wanting to fit in and be like them. Additionally, Mean Girls tackles various issues that are prominent in an everyday teenager’s life. Bullying and slutshaming are an obvious part of the plot of “Mean Girls,” and are unfortunately clearly still significant issues

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This emotional satisfaction stems from the “remembered hurts which then get recast into symbols” (Denby 11) and are eventually eliminated or fixed when “the outsider who joins the system also modifies it” (Denby 13). The system he mentions is the social constructs American teens create for themselves as they view the world is constantly judging them and they constantly judge the world. The high school teen movie genre in a whole is an inaccurate representation of reality, according to Denby. They are “merely a set of conventions that refer to other films” (Denby 4) and simply reaffirm for the yearning viewers that “the outsiders can be validated only by the people who ostracized them” (Denby 13) creating yet another unrealistic

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James Lull defines the term hegemony by stating that it “implies a willing agreement by people to be governed by principles, rules, and laws they believe operate in their best interest, even though in actual practice they may not.” The portrayal of hegemony is achieved through the use of mass communication tools, such as magazines, television, and internet. For example, in the movie Mean Girls, teenage girls are portrayed as dramatic and unintelligent individuals who strongly care about their physical appearance and enjoy to gossip and backstab other girls. The film points out the importance of physical appearance by showing the concern of Regina George, one of the members of “The Plastics,” about her body weight as she strictly monitors

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For example, Tina Fey’s Mean Girls (2004) is a critical representation of one of the most popular and long-standing subculture’s in mainstream society: the high school popular female social clique. The basis and inspiration for this movie was from Rosalind Wiseman’s self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which focuses on how high school girls form cliques that are permeated with aggressive behaviour. Mean Girls (2004) aptly portrays the complex hierarchal social dynamic of a subculture. The overall aim is to critically analyse Cady Heron’s socialization from

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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.

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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.

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It was a fairly accurate depiction even of today’s adolescence and how difficult it is. This movie shows egocentrism, puberty/hormones, the effects of peers, and the struggles of school all in about an hour and forty five minutes. It’s no wonder it is a cult classic. By the end you can see where the hormones kick in with John and Claire.

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Introduction The film, Mean Girls, a 2004 American teen comedy, focuses on female high school social “cliques” and their effects. In doing so, the movie brings up various topics of sociological relevance, with connections to two of the main topics discussed in the first semester of this course. This film’s characters and world tie into modern socialization and gender issues, giving sociologists a satirical in-depth view of the social hierarchy present in today’s youth—particularly concentrated in young female teenagers. The movie addresses gender stereotypes, socialization and assimilation into a complex high school environment, self-fulfilling prophecy, and various other concepts important to the development of a social self for teens in the

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Mean Girls may have a strong and meaningful impact on some of its audience for those that are able to relate the movie to real life scenarios. I also feel like the film has so many funny catch phrases such as “boo, you whore” or “you can’t sit with us,” which causes the true lesson of the film to often be overlooked. Mean Girls portrays this idea of a more girl-positive

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The issue of Gangs has received considerable critical attention and is a re-occurring topic on the news in the UK. This essay will critically discuss the notions around ‘gang girls’. Over the years there has been a vast amount of media attention around gangs and post code wars. However a majority of the gangs portrayed by the media over the years, have been male gendered. Leaving the question open: Are there only male gendered gangs on the local streets?

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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.

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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.

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