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,
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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