Introduction For as long as the technology has existed for movies to be made, screenwriters have been using the high school setting to perpetuate the basics of adolescent development common to all of humans. Specifically, the stereotypes of the popular kids versus the not-so kids comes up in almost all of these, as the conflict between such groups allows the writers and viewers to experience and understand the push and pull of figuring out who we are through taking risks and making decisions about which kind of person we want to align ourselves with. These films almost always bring attention to the school environment, emphasizing the idea of close-knit cliques and friend groups. Mean Girls (2004) has tackled this exact conflict as its basis, even acknowledging it in the …show more content…
128). Identity Crisis Throughout the entirety of the film, Cady really struggles to figure out who she is. Damien and Janis immediately take her under their wing, but convince her to transform into a “plastic,” in order to destroy Regina George from within the group. This definitely does not make it easier for her to figure out her true identity, especially since she finds herself conforming to their thoughts and actions, instead of the sole purpose, which was to sabotage. There’s a scene in which Janis, her best friend, tells her, “you’re not pretending anymore, you’re plastic.” This statement was somewhat of a wake-up call for Cady, realizing she had indeed become one of them. James Marcia portrays the idea of identity as a self-constructed concept, made up of all of the traits of a person’s beliefs and ideas (Waterman, 1988). There are four stages of identity development: foreclosure, diffusion, achievement, and moratorium. Steinberg, 2023, p. 218-223. I believe at this point in the movie, Cady was likely on the moratorium stage. Cady really wasn't sure where she
“High School Confidential”, an article written by film critic David Denby for the New Yorker in 1999, accurately disputes and criticizes that high school related movies get their genre clichés from other high school movies that are out, as well as emotions of writers from their own high school years. Denby backs this claim up with multiple examples showing the stereotypes of high school movies, and explaining how those stereotypes are incorrect, such as the stereotypical princess in the school, the standard jock-antagonist, and the outsider/nerd character, and then he shows that all of these examples stem from the “Brian de Palma masterpiece Carrie”. David Denby’s purpose is to show readers how most high school movies are over-stereotyped
In the movie Mean Girls the role of conformity is important to the central plot. The plot of the movie is focused on new girl Caty, who moved from Africa to start a new life, and is forced to attend America’s high schools. She at first has two friends, Damien and Janis, two kids who consider being in the “outside” group. However, the popular girls, called the “Plastics” try to take Caty into their group, because of her she looks. The leader of the group is the most popular girl in school named Regina, who is really hated by a lot of people, but is still considered extremely popular. Caty falls for their deceptive kindness, not realizing that really it’s all just a show. She begins to become more like them, she starts to talk to boys and dress
Much like the movie classic The Breakfast Club, American Teen is a documentary film that focuses on five different stereotypes of high school students. The five stereotypes discussed in the film are “the typical popular girl, the basketball star, the good-looking guy, the band geek, and then finally, the rebel, or in this case, the arty type” (Roberts & Burstein, 2008). The adolescent I chose to analyze from the film was the band geek. The band geek in this film was Jake. “He was funny and outgoing one-on-one, however, he was very shy in certain group situations” (D-Man, 2010). He played the clarinet in the marching band and also really loved video games. He lived with
Director John Hughes does it again. In Sixteen Candles, he captures the essence of high school from the views of the nerds to the jocks. Depicted in the daily lives of the main characters, he shows even back in 1984, there is a division by popularity and grade. The struggles and pressures students faced are the same as what students are faced with in today’s high schools. This movie relates to teens year after year, generation after generation. Just as the author William Zinsser states in College Pressures, “They are too young to be prisoners of their parents’ dreams and their classmates’ fears” (385). Hughes is able to capture this through the eyes of high school students and the pressures they feel.
Cady displays a solid control over her emotions. There is a scene where Regina is kissing and flirting with Aaron in front of Cady to make her jealous. Instead of lunging across the table to attack Regina (“how we would solve it in the wild”, according to Cady), Cady stays calm and doesn’t let Regina get to her. Although adolescence can be a time of emotional turmoil, Cady does not let her emotions control her. The fourth developmental task is membership in the peer group. This particular task is the main focus of the entire film. When Cady first starts school, she isn’t a member of any particular group. This changes when she gets invited to start hanging out with the “Plastics”. Even though there are only three members in the “Plastics” (four when Cady joins), they would still be considered a clique. The three members, Regina, Gretchen, and Karen are extremely close and loyal to one another (more in the form of loyalty to Regina from Gretchen and Karen). Regina puts in place strict rules and those who don’t follow them will be kicked out. Another huge part of the “Plastics” are their group boundaries and norms. As far as selection, all three girls share similar interests and values including shopping and the importance of looking “good”. At first, Cady doesn’t have much in common with them, but she is soon socialized to fit right in. Throughout the movie, Cady begins dressing,
This film contains some classic examples of the kinds of real life issues adolescents deal with. Issues such as popularity, peer relationships, family/sibling relationships, sex, and struggles with identity are all addressed in this ninety-minute film.
The film, Mean Girls, is about a teenage girl named Cady Heron. She was educated in Africa by her scientist parents. When her family moves to the suburbs of Illinois, Cady finally gets to experience public school and gets an understanding on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity, that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques. She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students called "The Plastics," but Cady soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith, earned this nickname. I will discuss how Radical Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, and Anti-Racist Theory, are used to criticize the movie.
In many high schools, there is an unspoken social order amongst peer groups; teenagers are either included in the popular group or the unpopular group. These social standings are determined by the popular group whether they will accept certain people based on shared interests and values but mainly on appearance. For example, some groups may isolate a student who does not have clothing considered to be attractive enough. Teenagers belonging to the popular clique label individuals as outcasts who do not fit the clique’s standards of a perfect appearance. This repression can cause a build up of anger if an outcast seeks to be accepted into that popular group. Literature displays this social phenomenon of categorizing people too; author Mary Shelley
The movie Mean Girls, is the most popular and accurate representation of adolescent society in today's adolescent culture. It is sincerely one of my favorite movies because of its satirical portrayal of different facets of high school life.
Mean Girls is an example of conformity. In the movie, the main character, Cady, moves from being home schooled in Africa to going school for the first time. During her first week of high school, she meets a group of girls who call themselves the “Plastics”; this group of girls follows a set of rules and if they do not follow them, they are excluded from the group. Cady decides to join the Plastics, by joining the Plastics she has to change her behavior and appearance. The pressure to fit in and have friends in high school f...
Some examples that attract teens or examples that transformed the movie for a teen audience: modern setting, music, basketball, attractive and good actors/actresses, sex, guns, drugs, violence and drama, or something as interesting. The setting takes place at an elite private American high school that is mainly for the upper class families to go to. Even though the movie made it into a high school setting, it seems more like a college campus because the dorms that students lived in were huge like it was their personal bedroom. There were parties, students were able to drink alcohol and students were able to drive. A typical high school setting sets the tone of the movie to be more casual but because it’s in a high school setting, dramas and issues between the students are more prone to happen and for certain cases, it could be very relatable to teens. The movie contains many different styles of music, ranging from rap to opera. Music enables teens to develop their own identities but in this case, music allows the sound effect of the movie to match with certain scenes and actions. It also intensify the suspense that the audience might feel. Basketball is a sport that is very important to the American culture and it brings everyone together, connecting the similarities from kids to grandparents. The producer chooses basketball to be a part of the movie because basketball is a favorite sport for
In which these things are the most touch subjects in Catherine Hardwicke’s film Thirteen (2003). In Thirteen Tracy is a good student who hangs around with a couple of unpopular and wants to get a taste of what of the popular kids
Robbins, Alexandra. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why Outsiders Thrive after High School. New York: Hyperion, 2011. Print.
The first reason is that Mean Girls is an entertaining movie that draw students’ interest. The second reason is that it accurately highlights many sociological aspects of highschool culture. The third reason being that it will help students to think critically about other popular films. Mean Girls is a popular film that many people have seen and love. I believe that this would lead many students to be interested in the movie and how it applies to the course, and they would not get bored and become distracted. Also, as noted above, Mean Girls is a film that students can learn lots from and can relate to their own life as highschool students. The high school setting is a place that each student will be able to relate to and this will help them to analyze different parts of their own lives from a sociological perspective that they had not considered before, such as how their friend groups impacts their social relationships. Finally, seeing a popular movie like this and analyzing it can help students realize that many other popular movies have applicable sociological aspects that they did not consider prior to analyzing Mean Girls. This has the potential for students to begin thinking critically about other popular films they watch and analyzing
The film being analysed is the Breakfast Club, directed by John Hughes. Trapped in Saturday detention are 5 stereotyped teens. Claire, the princess, Andrew, the jock, John, the criminal, Brian, the brain, and Allison, the basket case. At 7 am, they had nothing to say, but by 4 pm; they had uncovered everything to each other. The students bond together when faced with the their principal, and realise that they have more in common than they think, including a hatred for adult society. They begin to see each other as equal people and even though they were stereotyped they would always be The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club highlights a variety of pressures that are placed upon teenagers through out high school. One of the most challenging aspects of screenwriting is creating characters that an audience can identify with, relate to, and be entertained by.