Girls Will Be... Mean Girls
“Cady Heron moves to a new home from the bush country of Africa. She goes to a new school where she meets Janis and Damian. Her new friends warn her to stay away from the Plastics: the A-list, popular, crude, and beautiful clique headed by Regina George with Gretchen and Karen. When Cady sees Aaron Samuels, she falls in love. When Regina discovers this, she seeks revenge by taking and dangling Aaron in front of Cady. Now, Cady, Janis, and Damian plot to bring Regina's status down. However, as Cady continues to spend more time with the Plastics, she begins to become one of them” (Mark Alexander, IMDb).
Mean Girls’ themes parallel what we have been discussing in this class.
Cady’s Infatuation with Aaron
Cady’s initial crush on Aaron made me think of Jocelyn in “Red.” In it, she writes: “You were tall, cute, and athletic. You had dark hair and dark eyes, and perfect skin that was tan even in the middle of winter. You always seemed to be surrounded by people, always a group of smart and good-looking teenagers all as smart and good-looking as you. You always had a pretty popular girlfriend. You were on the soccer team. You were one of those people who had everything… I was invisible” (143).
Body Image
We’ve spent some time talking about body image. Mean Girls does a great job of exposing girls’ obsession with looking good. The first time Cady goes over Regina’s house, she witnesses first-hand the obsession: “I used to think there was just fat and skinny, but apparently there’s a lot of things that can be wrong with your body.” Cady’s ignorance was bliss, but her ignorant bubble burst in that very moment.
In “Red,” there’s a whole chapter designated for body image. That alone speaks volumes to how much of an issue it is with girls. From Amy’s bitterness over being fat, to Alison’s too-skinny body, and Jane’s thick, Jewish hair, girls will always find things about themselves that they don’t like. In Mean Girls, Regina hates her man shoulders, while her two minions despise their hairlines and nail beds.
Then, there’s Regina’s obsession with being thin. She is so willing to accept Cady’s carb-burning bars to lose “three pounds.” What I found most fascinating was Regina’s knowledge of weight-loss drugs like Ephedrine and Phentermine. Obsess a little?
Peer Pressure
Even though we haven’t touched on peer pressure much, I found it fitting to discuss it as one of the film’s themes. Cady starts out as a naïve, home-school girl only to be sucked into a world of perfection and popularity. Her first pressured moment is in Regina’s bedroom when they first looked at the burn book. Cady felt the urge to dis her new friend, Damien, calling him “too gay to function.” She liked him, so why did she have to go there? Sure, Janis said that of Damien earlier in the film, but Cady’s naivety and overwhelming sense to fit in forced her to say it.
Also, Cady’s “Regina persona” got the best of her. To continue that persona, she would have to forfeit her stellar grades in order to win over Aaron. Ultimately, the pressure to be liked took control of her.
Mean Girls’ themes parallel what we have been discussing in this class.
Cady’s Infatuation with Aaron
Cady’s initial crush on Aaron made me think of Jocelyn in “Red.” In it, she writes: “You were tall, cute, and athletic. You had dark hair and dark eyes, and perfect skin that was tan even in the middle of winter. You always seemed to be surrounded by people, always a group of smart and good-looking teenagers all as smart and good-looking as you. You always had a pretty popular girlfriend. You were on the soccer team. You were one of those people who had everything… I was invisible” (143).
Body Image
We’ve spent some time talking about body image. Mean Girls does a great job of exposing girls’ obsession with looking good. The first time Cady goes over Regina’s house, she witnesses first-hand the obsession: “I used to think there was just fat and skinny, but apparently there’s a lot of things that can be wrong with your body.” Cady’s ignorance was bliss, but her ignorant bubble burst in that very moment.
In “Red,” there’s a whole chapter designated for body image. That alone speaks volumes to how much of an issue it is with girls. From Amy’s bitterness over being fat, to Alison’s too-skinny body, and Jane’s thick, Jewish hair, girls will always find things about themselves that they don’t like. In Mean Girls, Regina hates her man shoulders, while her two minions despise their hairlines and nail beds.
Then, there’s Regina’s obsession with being thin. She is so willing to accept Cady’s carb-burning bars to lose “three pounds.” What I found most fascinating was Regina’s knowledge of weight-loss drugs like Ephedrine and Phentermine. Obsess a little?
Peer Pressure
Even though we haven’t touched on peer pressure much, I found it fitting to discuss it as one of the film’s themes. Cady starts out as a naïve, home-school girl only to be sucked into a world of perfection and popularity. Her first pressured moment is in Regina’s bedroom when they first looked at the burn book. Cady felt the urge to dis her new friend, Damien, calling him “too gay to function.” She liked him, so why did she have to go there? Sure, Janis said that of Damien earlier in the film, but Cady’s naivety and overwhelming sense to fit in forced her to say it.
Also, Cady’s “Regina persona” got the best of her. To continue that persona, she would have to forfeit her stellar grades in order to win over Aaron. Ultimately, the pressure to be liked took control of her.
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