Film Project- Mean Girls

Film Project: Mean Girls
I went online to recall phrases from the movie that struck out to me, and I read on a website (http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/review/films/mean-girls/332 ) that the movie is based on the experience of the writer’s sister in high school and was written by Tina Fey from Saturday Night Live. This is interesting because Tina Fey is pretty and sharp and names the girls who have empty spirits but flashy bodies and accessories as “The Plastics.” My high school did not have so many cliques, especially the sub-categories like “Hot Asian girls” and “Mean hot black girls” which is not a direct quote. This one is:________________________________________
Janis: [reading list the major cliques in high school] You got your freshmen, ROTC guys, preps, J.V. jocks, Asian nerds, Cool Asians, Varsity jocks Unfriendly black hotties, Girls who eat their feelings, Girls who don't eat anything, Desperate wannabes, Burnouts, Sexually active band geeks,
[a picture of herself and Damian come on screen]
Janis: the greatest people you will ever meet, and the worst. Beware of plastics.
The main character Cady, was homeschooled all of her life and ends up going to high school (public school) for the first time. She befriends the art students (one is gay, the other has been called a dyke and therefore rejected—although was not gay) and soon after the most popular girls in school adopts Cady like a pet. Unfortunately, Cady sets her sights on Regina's ex-boyfriend. Regina, is the head of "The Plastics." Now, Regina must have her ex back out of spite and power. Of course, initially Regina offers to help set up the two but intentionally sabotages it. This is the start of a downward spiral in which with the help of Cady’s “art student friends”, begins the plot to undo Regina; Mrs. Popularity. In the end, Regina is undone and Cady becomes the most popular girl in school. Unrealistically, the main cliques end and the former members become the gatekeepers preventing future plastics.
The most realistic parts of the movie are in the way girls see themselves and the high school relationships (to some extent). Obviously body issues were huge and the popular girls nitpick about body problems (as if it is the “thing to do”) and the end up waiting for Cady to comment upon her own faults. Cady cannot compete. An example of the emphasis on thinness is when Regina puts on too much weight for her Spring Fling dress. “Saleslady: Sorry, we only carry sizes 1, 3, and 5. you could try Sears.” (Mean Girls, 2004). Weight is a huge issue.
“Regina: I can't go to taco bell; I'm on an all-carb diet.
Also, the movie touches upon some of the unwanted harassment that girls receive from boys in high school.
Jason: Is your muffin buttered?
Cady: What?
Jason: Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?
Cady: My what?
The coach who teaches sex-ed, ironically is having an affair with students. The sex ed classes were a bit over-the-top.
Coach Carr: At your age, you're going to have a lot of urges. You're going to want to take off your clothes, and touch each other. But if you do touch each other, you *will* get chlamydia... and die.
Speaking of which, being a slut is huge. Many characters say it in common speech but it is also used as a weapon to degrade females. Numerous times, girls are labelled as sluts and Regina even says she was a "half-virgin" the first time she had sex with her ex.

Also, there is a quick joke on feminism!
Gretchen: Irregardless, ex-boyfriends are just off limits to friends. I mean that's just like the rules of feminism. Teenage self-acceptance is important because humans want to find a connection but are stuck adhering to rules of society.
Cady: [voiceover] The weird thing about hanging out with Regina was that I could hate her, and at the same time, I still wanted her to like me.
There is a montage to dumb blondes too:
Karen: You know who's looking fine tonight? Seth Mosakowski.
Gretchen: Okay, you did not just say that.
Karen: What? He's a good kisser.
Gretchen: He's your cousin.
Karen: Yeah, but he's my first cousin.
Gretchen: Right.
Karen: So, you have your cousins, and then you have your first cousins, and then you have your second cousins...
Gretchen: No, honey, uh-uh.
Karen: That's not right, is it?
Overall, the movie for me was unrealistic because once a girl (in my experience) “made it” to the most popular group, there was never a realization. However, they usually would end up being the worst immoral character, much like Cady was before she realized that had become the new figure-head for The Plastics. She had a seemingly moral and worldly upbringing in Africa and perhaps had something to fall back on; like empathy and ideals. This movie really shows some of the class struggles in high school and the social rule tightrope that students walk on in order to survive. There is more in the movie than I possible allude to in 500 words.
Sources:
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/review/films/mean-girls/332
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/quotes
Mean Girls, 2004