Mean Girls Film Analysis

The movie “mean girls” is about a sixteen-year old homeschooled girl named Cady Heron who lived in Africa for the last 12 years of her life. After 12 years she returns to the United States and is now going to High school. Attending public school for the first time in her life. The homeschooled girl entered girl world that is full of lies, drama, gossip, boys and rules. She started hanging out with the “Plastics” and become friends with. The movie showed many example of conflict management styles, it reflects on the American culture values and beliefs, and power style.

The movie Mean Girls is filled with characters that are easy to relate with, quotable lines, and a hilarious but realistic plot line. One other major thing that the movie has is concepts of the development that occurs during late adolescences including social, emotional, and cognitive development. Mean Girls is about a girl named Cady that is attending a public high school for the first time after being home schooled in Africa for all of her life. She knows nothing of the American teenage culture or customs or about the public school system. During her first week of school Cady becomes friends with two people in one of her classes named Janis and Damien, who unbeknownst to her are a part of the

"Mean Girls", based on the book "Queen Bees and Wannabes" written by Rosalind Wiseman, was produced by Paramount Pictures in 2004. (Walters 2004, Wiseman 2002) The leading star, 15 year-old Cady Heron (Lindsey Lohan), recently moved to the suburbs of Illinois after being home schooled in Africa by her zoologist parents. During her first day of public high school, Cady befriends two teenager outcasts, Janice Ian (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese). They supply Cady with a map of North Shore High School in order to educate her to the 21 different cliques within the school. Even more, warning Cady to stay away from the "worst people you will ever meet", The Plastics. Which was comprised of three girls: Gretchen Wieners, a girl who's rich because her father invented toaster strudel; Karen Smith, the "dumbest girl you will ever meet"; and Regina George, "queen bee" the unofficial leader and the meanest one. The Plastics take an interest in Cady and invite her to join them, Cady is very unsure of this. She discusses this with Janice and Damian and they convince

Mean Girls is about a girl named Cady who joins an elite social group at her new school known as the Plastics. While socializing with the Plastics, Cady develops a new, mean girl, personality and ends up sabotaging the group’s leader, Regina, and becomes the new leader of the Plastics. Regina retaliates by spreading the burn book, a book the Plastics filled with insults and gossip about other students, around the school leading to a riot and Cady takes the blame. Cady realizes that her new personality is wrong and apologizes to the school, makes amends with her old friends, and forms a truce with Plastics who disband and become regular students (Mean Girls, 2004).

In the film “Mean Girls” there were many types of peer relationships expressed. Friendships are described as a reciprocal liking, trust, and loyalty between all participating dyadic parties. An example in the film is the relationship that Damian and Janis hold because they are loyal to each other and the liking is mutual. Peer acceptance is to the degree one is liked by their peers. In the film Aaron Samuels is very much liked by his peers. Perceived popular is a child that is considered popular based on their peers’ perceptions. Regina George is a prime example of teenage girl perceived as popular. When students described Regina George in the film these type of comments were made, “Regina George is flawless”, “One time she punched me in the faced. It was awesome.”, and “she always looks fierce.” Cliques are polyadic social groups that are voluntary. A main clique in the movie is “The Plastics” which consists of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. These forms of peer relationships are a lot more complex than just a group of friends, these relationships of dynamic in early adolescence.

As Cady gets to know the plastics they begin to introduce her to The Burn Book. This book is a perfect example of prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice is hostile or negative feelings about people based on their membership in a certain group. Discrimination is behavior directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group. The Burn Book was a book that singled out anyone in their school whether it was fellow students or even faculty members, and would basically list things that were wrong with that person. For example, they stated in the book that one of their newly divorced female teachers was selling drugs on the side and that certain girls were fat and ugly. Some examples would also stereotype because of a part of sports team or group those students were part of. For example, the students that were part of a more man like sports team such as lacrosse or field hockey was considered “lesbians” or “dykes”.

In understanding conformity, Bartleby the Scrivener warns of the risks of being too non conformist while Mean Girls chronicles the risks of too much conformity. In Mean Girls, Cady Heron conforms to a group of malicious friends known as the plastics. When first meeting with them she does not intend to become actual friends with them, but then she is lured by the reputation she will

The story begins when Cady meets two friends, Janis and Damien, who show Cady the ways of high school. This is a very normal way in reality and most would not think much of it. Unconsciously, Freud would say, that there is some sort of motive behind this behavior and that there is no possible way that there doing it just to be nice. But as the story goes on we do find out that Janis used to be best friends with Regina (queen bee of “the plastics”) and that their friendship ended due to Regina spreading a rumor that Janis was a lesbian. When Cady is asked by Regina to hang out she is very hesitant to do so and tells Janis what is happening. Janis gets overly excited and instantly her id, the pleasure seeking principle, of her behavior jumps into play causing her to completely ignore

The movie Mean Girls follows Cady Heron as she experiences high school for the first time in her life. As she is thrown into a new society, this film provides the opportunity to socially analyze high school. From figuring out her new culture and society that she is engrossed in to realizing how social status can both negatively and positively affect her values and beliefs, there are many concepts that Cady learns and is taught as she makes her way through her first year of public school.

Stereotypically, men and women have very different roles in the eyes of society. Gender roles and stereotypes have a history in religious, political, legal and economic systems. In reality, men and women are more alike than most people assume. Throughout the world there are struggles with identity, power, and violence occurring everyday between both men and women. The film Mean Girls, directed by Mark Walters, follows a young girl, Cady’s, transition from being home schooled to public high school. Cady enters the school’s group of mean girls, otherwise known as “the plastics”, which consists of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. Throughout the film each character struggles with their true identity.

Mean Girls reinforces the aspect of tragedy by creating a lesson that being yourself is better than becoming someone you’re not.

Mean Girls is about a young teen girl Cady Heron who just moved from Africa to attend a public high school in America for the first time. This is very different for Cady because the high school setting in America will be extremely different from how it was when she was living in Africa. It’s not easy for her because she is not used to the American customs or “norms”. Within the first couple of days of school she becomes really good friends with two people named Janis and Damien. In the school there are many many cliques, and Janis

The need to create an identity for oneself is a strong human desire with an intensity that is equaled only by the craving to become part of a community. With such strong yearnings for individuality as well as a sense of attachment within a group, the most familiar consequence is conflicting emotions that are all too easily persuaded. The 2004 film Mean Girls exhibits various examples of identification and social influence as well as the level of persuasion they hold over the decision making process of the main character, Cady. After arriving at a new school, Cady is immediately accepted by two unpopular students, but then attempts to become noticed by the most popular group of girls, The Plastics. Once Cady is accepted by The Plastics, her moral compass, belief systems, and actions change in order to more closely reflect those around her and solidify her status

The last psychological perspective of psychology to compare “Mean Girls” to is the behaviorist approach. This approach emphasizes the importance of environmental and situational determinants of behavior. Simply because of the new environment that Cady is thrust into her entire behavior is changed. She acts completely unlike her normal self, adapting and becoming an expert at backstabbing and manipulating. Through her manipulation she learns to control everyone around her, because according to this theory people and situations influence each other

The message of a film is what it revolves around, and what the filmmaker is trying to portray; a strong message makes for a successful film. Mean Girls and Bully have that in common. They correlate the message of not fitting in with a crowd, therefore the characters modify themselves in an attempt to please others. The Plastics initiate a conversation with Cady, where first they offer her an invite, followed by listing all the rules she needs to follow to be allowed to join the group. She goes along because it is for the purpose of the hoax that Janis plots (Waters 13:40). Cady is confined with how she dresses, who she is seen with and how she interacts, otherwise she is seen less as. It is unlike her personality to act so feminine and mean because she has a different taste. Even Gretchen is unhappy in the group, “She knew that it was better to be in The