ipl-logo

Stereotypes In Mean Girls

2019 Words9 Pages

Gabrielle DiBartola
Dr. Sarah Trembanis
Film and American Society
May 21, 2023
Final Project Throughout the past couple of decades, there have been similarities and differences in a teenager’s life in high school with the effects of their home life or school. Whether that is abuse, abandonment, stereotypes, rejection, privilege, etc.; it has never been easy for teenagers then and not even now. Now, there is a difference between each decade, as there is more technology and what is occurring in the country, but everyone has their own experience. Teenagers’ trauma harms their mental health and future mental state. This could lead to them having an eating disorder, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, poor communication, poor self-esteem, …show more content…

Years prior, gay individuals got shunned, and restricted in films with few exceptions while worsening with the AIDS crisis. It was not until 2000 when Vermont created the Civil Union and in 2004 Massachusetts accepted gay marriage whereas other states were rejecting this right. In the same year, 2004, Mean Girls was released which was created off the basis of Queen Bees & Wannabes published by Rosalind Wisemen. This film in particular is quite unique and important to understanding high school students in their environment, causing them to change. Mean Girls was written by Tina Frey, who brought personal experiences into the film giving a stronger connection to real life. 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. Cady ends up learning about the burn book that makes fun of other kids in high school with a picture of them. In the end, Cady becomes Regina 2.0 and ruins every friendship or relationship she has until she starts making amends for her wrongdoings. In the end, Cady and Janet become friends again and Cady gets Aaron at the dance sharing a kiss. The theme and America’s past relate to this film perfectly; it relates to how teenagers are affected during their time in high school by the status quo and getting to the social class they want to be in. It represents that to be the popular girl in high school, you must be able to put others down to obtain the “Queen Bee” status. The use of sub-language in

Show More
Related

  • Stereotypes In The Outsiders

    497 Words  | 2 Pages

    Seeing Through the Fog S. E Hinton stereotyped most of her characters in the book The Outsiders. She took advantage of doing this, for us to grasp major takeaways throughout the novel and for our minds to always gyrate with new information. Most characters have a strong disliking for the other group, although certain characters can see through the fog of each other's actions, and always remove the negatives and bring out the positives. The Greasers and The Socs are discrete in many ways. Both groups are treated differently mostly based on their appearances, lifestyle, and wealth.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In The Outsiders And Just Mercy

    813 Words  | 4 Pages

    “You know my name, not my story. You've heard what I've done, but not what I've been through,” wrote Jonathan Anthony Burkett in his book Neglected But Undefeated. This ideology is the basis of misjudgement. People jump to conclusions based on stereotypes, what they see in the moment, and what they have heard. If taken too far, a misinterpretation of one’s character can lead to them losing everything.

    Read More

  • Implicit Social Norms In Mean Girls

    1398 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Clueless And Mean Girls

    296 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have not yet met a single person oblivious to the phrases, "Blonde moment," or the annoying, "She won't understand because she is blonde. " Being blonde myself, I've personally heard these I would say oh-- maybe a million times, give or take a few. I have grown to turn a deaf ear to someone whenever they say such things because I know that they are either ignorant to the fact that hair color does not in fact play a role in someone’s intelligence whatsoever, (which is scientifically proven by the way), or they themselves have heard it so much that they now use the phrases without a second thought. But here I am, green eyes, fair haired and all, trying to put a rest to such things that once caused me problem, but have now been downgraded to more of a nuisance in my life.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In The Outsiders

    745 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stereotyping is an issue that affects all ages, genders, and races. Not all stereotypes are bad, but when you maliciously stereotype it becomes a problem. In S.E. Hinton’s young adult novel The Outsiders, stereotyping is a significant issue. There are two gangs in this novel, the “greasers”, and the “Socs”. The greasers live on the east side and are known as “hoods”.

    Read More

  • Individuality In Mean Girls

    1009 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Mean Girls, the composer illustrates the pressure of conformity and the need to follow the social hierarchy as the protagonist, Cady Heron, a new student, faces school social expectations while trying to maintain her identity. This becomes evident in the film when she is asked to sit with the notorious plastics, the most popular girl in the school. We then are witness to the technique of framing. As Cady walks up to Regina, we can tell she is anxious as she is already bombarded with social norms. Regina tells Cady that pursuing one of her passions, math, is "social suicide, and that being a "mathlete" would be frowned upon.

    Read More

  • The Character Stereotypes In The Movie Mean Girl

    2137 Words  | 9 Pages

    Stereotypes are seen all throughout history in films and television. With all of the character tropes that began to make an appearance in films, most characters were thrown into a certain box with a checklist of criterias that they had to fit. Character tropes are especially seen in movies with a high school setting due to the overwhelming pressure of fitting in and the cliques that seem to ring true in real life. In most high school movies there is almost always a teacher's pet, jock, stoner, geek, and most importantly a mean girl. A mean girl trope is very common in high school movies and they are usually one of the most relevant characters to the plot of the movie.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Conformity In Mean Girls

    843 Words  | 4 Pages

    Caty begins the movie with a real genuine friendship with Janis and Damien, two individuals who struggled with popularity because they were considered the “outside” group. However, the popular girls, infamously called the “Plastics” try to recruit Caty into their popular group, but only because she is considered one of the prettier girls in the school. The ring leader, Regina George, of the Plastics is the most popular girl in school who is really hated by alot of peers because of her horrible attitude and how she

    Read More

  • Gender Stereotypes In Mean Girls

    1839 Words  | 8 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mean Girls Psychology

    471 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mean Girls The Mean Girls is a movie created in the year 2004 about a girl who is named Cady, who has been homeschooled. She finally goes to regular school however, all the high schoolers are divided into different groups based on their personality and appearances. Some of the many groups that they are divided into are the following: plastics, cool Asians, math athletes, varsity jocks, desperate wannabe's, and nerd Asians. After watching the movie and observing how the different groups of students interact with each other I can hypothesis that they were all insecure at least once throughout the movie, lack of feminism and they feel that backstabbing will solve all problems.

    Read More

  • The Plastics, And Social Psychology In Mean Girls

    950 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mean Girls Psychological Analysis

    996 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Social Identity Theory In Mean Girls

    1719 Words  | 7 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Mean Girls: Post-Feminist Analysis

    1687 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower Movie Essay

    1494 Words  | 6 Pages

    The movie does not exactly enlighten all the issues that adolescents are going through, but it provides a story of a boy who overcame the things that were holding him back. This movie can be used as a motivation for others who are dealing with similar situations. Conclusion Adolescents experience a large amount of change including puberty, high school, and romantic relationships.

    Read More

More about Stereotypes In Mean Girls

Open Document