Mean Girls Sociological Perspective

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. It is through socialization that an individual learns what the societal norms are for values, lifestyle, and beliefs. When an individual moves to a new society like when Cady moves to America, they are forced to experience new values and choose to stand out or integrate into society possibly changing their lifestyle (Brym, 2014). In Cady’s case, life in America was a shock as people interacted in ways she had not experienced in Africa. People were less welcoming and appeared to be uncertain about her, displaying feelings of distrust. Examples of this include her teacher not allowing her to go to the

During the film, Cady starts taking on Regina’s role the moment she starts to plan her own “plastic sabotage” without Damien and Janis, demonstrating that she actually wants to be around them on her spare time. This is also shown when she begins to speak the same as Regina by quoting things she says, and using the same tone of voice that she does (Mean Girls, 2004). This is the first step Cady takes before she becomes a clone of