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 …show more content…
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 …show more content…
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
All of a sudden, I found myself thinking sociologically when I was watching the movie “Mean Girls,” because it reminded me of the cliques and peer groups that were in my old high school. The movie is about a teenage girl who ends up becoming a part of this clique full of mean girls and after an incident she sets out to try and ruin the leader of the clique’s life. It was the cliques and peer groups that made me start thinking sociologically, because it made me look back and see how much I have changed since I came to the University of Kentucky, and left my old clique or peer group behind. In my sociology class I learned that a peer group is a “group of individuals who are often around the same age and are linked by common interests and orientations.”
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.
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.
In “How to Handle a Bully,” by Kathiann Kowalski, an experienced journalist, Kowalski reports the different strategies to stop bullying. She informs that bullying is at its peak in the late teenage years, but can start in an early age. Kowalski concurs that girls intimidates as much as boys; however, they do it differently. She explores many reasons why bullying occurs at the first place, and who starts bullying. Kowalski exemplifies the situations that victims could be in, and the solution on how to handle the bully.
Karl Marx’s class theory lies upon the premise that "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." He meant by this that ever since the inception of modern human society, people have been always divided into classes which are in conflict with each other due to class interests. An argument against class interests is that they are not given ab initio, they arise out of exposure of people occupying different social positions in varying social contexts. Karl Marx and Engels divided the masses into three broad classes, the proletariats, the petty bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie.
The film is based around Cady, she is the new student at the school who ends up meeting Janet and Damian. They become her first friends, however, the Plastics (Regina, Karen, and Gretchen) get her to become part of their group. The Plastics are the popular mean girls, who everyone is afraid to stand up to. Janet and Cady come up with this plan to ruin Regina’s popularity and reputation through several different ideas. Cady ends up crushing on Aaron, who is Regina’s ex causing a secret anger in Cady.
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.
Another example the movie talked about was the fact of leadership. For instance, Dr. Judy Chu quotes, “In good times guys are like really close to each other. But when things get all a bit worse you’re on your own.”. Boys make sides or teams as kids, singling out the ones that are not as fast or as fun as the others. When this happens, they make believe that the other kid is somehow different.
At the beginning of the film (4 minutes and 50 seconds) shows how the different Hierarchical Groups taking part in this movies. Social Dominance Theory explains the behaviours that being participated in and experienced in middle and high school as well as the behaviours in the above mentioned move, Mean Girls. The theory states that people all belong to groups and members protect their group and act to maintain their hierarchical groups. The clip demonstrates this principle in how a member of the group did not follow their standards and therefore, in order to protect the group, she was dismissed. The top group has high social value which motivates and maintained the hierarchical status.
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.
Cady has never really had to question her identity because she was homeschooled. She goes through obvious changes after becoming apart of her new group. She insists on working hard to please and be accepted by her intragroup. “Because being with the plastics was like being famous,” Cady thought to herself. Throughout the film Cady has a tussle with her own social identity.
It can be contended that varying contemporary texts which have been created for both children and young adults endorse post-feministic values and the importance of adhering to a consumer culture. The text Pink by Lili Wilkinson (2009) can be viewed as promoting post-feminist ideals through the inferences of dialog between characters; specifically, through the protagonist Ava. Additionally, the film Mean Girls (2004) mirrors similar ideologies as Pink which portrays a post-feminist society, revealing issues which individuals face once gender equality has largely been achieved. Both of these texts have been created for a young audience and utilise various narrative strategies to convey their ideological position. Accordingly, this essay will
This article explains what is bullying exactly. Bullying is any form of psychological, verbal, or physical abuse that occurs repeatedly among schoolchildren over a period. Statistically, the dominant type of violence is emotional and occurs mostly in the classroom and courtyard of schools. Bullying is a kind of torture, methodical and systematic, in which the aggressor sums up the victim, often with silence, indifference or complicity of other comrades. The author explains some characteristic and consequences of bullying.
Bullying in Schools What seems fun and harmless for some students, is painful and degrading to others. Bullying has been a critical issue around schools, but before it was not as dangerous and know as it is now. These do not means bullying was not happening, it means it was not taken into consideration by parents or teachers. They thought it was just peer pressure or a kids game, and sooner or later the kids would be friends again. At one point, bullies think it’s normal to be mean and abusive to other students.