The film Mean Girls follows the story of Cady Heron, a teenage girl who was homeschooled in Africa by her parents all of her life until moving to the suburbs of Illinois and joining a public high school. Cady soon finds herself in a group known as ‘The Plastics’, who are the dominant group in the high school. The film highlights the ways that people, specifically teenagers, both consciously and unconsciously, conform to different aspects of society, based on race and class, and how the different groups view each other. On Cady’s journey through this year of high school she is given a glimpse of how strong a society can impact an individual when she begins to socialize with ‘The Plastics’ and they completely change her personality and values. …show more content…
She begins to see how hard it can be to stay true to yourself when society wants you to conform to a different set of rules and expectations and behave differently. Connection to Social Science: Mean girls examines the way that teenagers, specifically teenage girls, relate through the pressures of high school. These pressures include the need for affirmation and status. It also examines the hierarchy between teenagers in high school. For example, Regina George is seen as the ‘alpha’, or the ‘queen bee’. Her followers, Karen, Gretchen and eventually Cady, have status as well. Aaron also has status because of his relationship to Regina and position in the school. This dominance is sharply contrasted with the inferiority of other groups of people at the highschool, such as Janis, Damian, Ms. Norbury, and different groups such as the girls who don’t eat at all and the sexually active band geeks. These groups are mainly determined by race and class. The film also looks at the way that teenagers are socialized in a high school setting. Cady is socialized a certain way at school that contrasts how she was raised in Africa. It takes her a while to adjust, specifically to her relationship with ‘The Plastics’, but she eventually, inevitably conforms to American society. The negative influence of Regina George causes her to lose her ‘true’ friends (Janis and Damian) as she is reprimanded by the plastics for talking to others of ‘lower’ classes, until she too believes it. Cady soon begins to identify as nothing but a plastic. Throughout the film many different sociological theories are also alluded to, some of these being functionalism, alienation and conflict theory. A time in the film that functionalism is highlighted is at the end of the movie when Cady returns to being friends with Janice and Damien. This demonstrates functionalism because Cady who has a superior status in the school starts to reconnect with Janice and Damien who have a much lower status. Various classes are interacting to contribute to society. Also, alienation is shown in the way that different classes view each other. For example, ‘The Plastics’ look down on everyone else and pass judgement on others. This is shown through the ‘Burn Book’ which is a book where ‘The Plastics’ make fun of others behind their back. Finally, conflict theory is demonstrated when Cady is contemplating joining the mathletes. This conflicts to the norms of cliques in the school. Someone with popular status such as Cady never socialized with the ‘nerds’ of the school such as the mathletes. Regina tells Cady that her joining the mathletes would be “social suicide”. When Cady does join the mathletes it shatters many norms known to the school where a person with status (Cady) socializes with a person without status (the mathletes). Review: From a social science perspective Mean Girls is a film with many realistic circumstances highlighted accurately, many to an extreme but are all evident in today's world.
The movie did a great job of alluding to many different sociological theories that have been proposed over the years such as conflict theory, social stratification, socializing and many more. At many different points in the movie conflict theory is evident. Conflict theory, proposed by Karl Marx talks about the need for social order to be maintained in an environment and the order is controlled by people with power. In Northshore High School this power is held by the ‘Plastics’. They have the most status and influence the way others act. The theory is challenged when Cady, a plastic, begins to hang out with groups without status, such as the mathletes and Janice and Damien. When Cady does this the whole school is changed due to the interactions of someone with status befriending people without. As well, social stratification is accurately demonstrated. Social stratification is the hierarchy of different classes and how the power/status is held by the upper classes. In the movie the upper class people, ‘The Plastics’ hold all of the power in the school compared to lower class groups. ‘The Plastics’ power is shown when Gretchen, one of ‘The Plastics’ believes she can make the phrase “That’s so fetch” popular just because others follow her example. The next accuracy of the film is the aspect of socializing. …show more content…
Many characters are influenced by various environments in the film. Originally Cady is influenced predominantly by her parents and the african culture she grew up apart of. That is until she transfers to Northshore. At Northshore her entire personality is changed. Due to the clique she becomes a part of she begins to conform to certain expectations such as only being able to wear a ponytail once a week, or only wearing jeans or sweatpants on Fridays. As the film continues she drastically changes her appearance, values and the way she interacts with others. Other characters are also socialized such as Gretchen Weiners who also relies on following others because she has conformed to Regina’s rules for so long. She has become so used to being a follower that she is unable to find a voice to stand up for herself, evident during the Jingle Bell Rock performance when Regina forces her to switch spots with Cady when she does not want to. The main inaccuracies of this movie from a sociological perspective is how extreme many situations and actions seem. Often times in high schools today there is not just one group of people with status. Although there are different levels of status in high schools, similar to the movie there is not as obvious of levels. Many times there are a larger group of people who would have status or who would not. As well, the rules made by ‘The Plastics’ that Cady is forced to conform with are quite unrealistic in most high schools in today's world. People don’t force others to dress and look a certain way such as ‘Plastics’ forced Cady to do to just be able to sit at the same table as them. Society has deemed a certain look ‘attractive’ but it is unrealistic that people would tell others they can not sit with them due to the colour of their clothes or the way they are wearing their hair. Overall this is a film that an individual can learn lots from because of how realistic many circumstances are. Discussion: I believe that Mean Girls would be a great film to study in this class for three key reasons.
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
them. Some research questions that I believe could help students analyze this movie are: What parts of this film relate to your life and why? Why do you think the way that ‘The Plastics’ look is seen as attractive? How have sociological aspects of the high school environment influenced your life and what norms or expectations have you consciously or subconsciously conformed to? To answer the third question, I believe that the high school environment has had a significant impact on my life and has shaped much of my personality, values and beliefs. One way that the high school environment has greatly influenced my life is through the expectations at school. At school, many expectations and rules are enforced with the intention of making you comply to broader society’s rules and expectations. There are clear rules to follow, and punishments if the rules are broken. An example of this is the dress code at schools. Society has deemed a certain way to dress as ‘appropriate’, and many students have been sent home to change if they are deemed as not conforming to these guidelines. Another sociological aspect of school that has shaped me is through my peers. Society, especially schools, has become accustomed to cliques. Most people are involved with a certain friend group with people who have similar interests as them. These cliques both consciously and unconsciously shape your life through activities you do with them and the way that you interact with each other. An example of this influence from the movie is the clique ‘The Plastics’. The plastics have a very toxic and unhealthy way of relating to each other. They betray each other's secrets and abuse each other’s trust. This unhealthy behaviour between ‘friends’ has a negative repercussion on the other relationships in their lives. Specifically Cady, who gets caught up in pretending plastic that she becomes plastic, betrays the trust of her real friends, Janice and Damien and jeopardizes their friendship. Having expectations to follow and the way that I am influenced by my peer group are two examples of how sociological aspects of the highschool environment have influenced my life.
In my sociology analysis essay I will be discussing Menace II Society. There are five concepts that I will define and use to show a broader vision of scenes from the movie which are: master status, differential association, self-conflict, stereotyping, and street crimes. Also, there will be two theories I will be discussing about the movie which are symbolic interaction theory and social conflict theory.
The film Mean Girls is about a young girl, Cady Heron, born and raised in Africa by her zoologist parents, who were also her homeschool teachers for sixteen years. When Cady moves to the United States, she enrolls in a public school for the first time. Here she realizes that high school students have the same hierarchy as the animals she observed in Africa. The lowest ranking group in this high school hierarchy is the outcasts, who also happen to be Cady’s first friends in the U.S. The highest on the high school food chain are the “plastics”. The “plastics”, are the most popular girls in school. The plastic’s notice Cady’s charming personality and stunning good looks and invite her to join their clique. In order to avenge her first friends,
According to Newman in Sociology: The Architecture of Everyday Life, a social class “consists of people who occupy similar positions of power, privilege, and prestige” (Newman, 2012). Someone’s position in a social class can affect “virtually every aspect of their lives, including political preferences, sexual behavior, religious affiliation, diet, and life expectancy” (Newman, 2012). The social class that was represented in the film was the middle-class. The show, Pleasantville, portrays the 1950s in which the wife would stay at home cooking and cleaning while the father works. This show holds similar views to the show, Leave it to Beaver. The movie begins
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.
In our modern world, sociology has a tremendous impact on our culture, mainly through the processes and decisions we make everyday. For movies and television shows especially, sociological references are incorporated throughout the storyline. A movie which includes many sociological examples is Mean Girls. Mean Girls is a movie based on the life of home-schooled teenage girl, Cady Heron, who moves to the United States from Africa and is placed in a public school for the first time. Cady finds herself in many uncomfortable scenarios and has to deal with the trials and tribulations pertaining to everyday high school issues. Her experiences involve interacting with high school cliques, such as ‘the plastics’, weird high school teachers, relationships,
...s a classic that shows just how nasty adolescent girls can be under typical circumstances. Nearly every character at one point shows adolescent egocentrism. There are numerous lifespan concepts covered throughout the movie. Cady Herron is a perfect example of how tough high school can be for an adolescent girl going through multiple changes. She goes through a lot more than the typical adolescent girl. However, I think she shows how staying true to yourself is important when going through high school. The "plastics" do a great job of displaying different relationships with peers. They have strong relationships with each other, but struggle to form these relationships with anyone outside of their group. All in all, Mean Girls does a great job of displaying parenting styles, egocentrism, relationships with peers, self worth in relationships, and juvenile delinquency.
The movie The Breakfast Club is a perfect example of peer relationships in the adolescent society. It shows the viewer some of the main stereotypes of students in high school you have a jock, a nerd, the weirdo, a rebel, and a prep. Over the course of a Saturday detention the different types of peers learn a lot about one another by hearing what each one has done to get into Saturday detention as well as why they chose to do it.
While watching this movie I noticed many social psychology concepts throughout. I have never paid attention to these concepts when watching the movie before, so it was interesting to pay close attention and see how many came up. The movie displays foot-in-the door technique, social facilitation, deindividuation, ingroup, scapegoat theory, among many others. Being a very real and honest movie, it is easy to understand why so many social psychology concepts are present. Our textbook defines social psychology to be, “the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior, feelings and thought in social situation” (Baron & Branscombe, 2012). There are many strong characters within the movie, and they display these concepts.
This movie is full of social psychology topics, such as, self presentation, agression, group behaviors, stereotypes, and conformity. To begin, when Cady tells the girls that she is from Africa, Karen blurts out something very stereotypical by saying, “If you’re from Africa, why are you white?” Here, she is representing
Mean Girls is a comedy film aired in 2004 this film captures the influences on lifespan development during adolescence. The main character Cady Heron was home schooled in Africa and now she must transition into high school where she is tested in different areas of her development. Throughout the film she becomes known as the new girl who is trying to figure out her self-identity. Cady integrates herself into a clique of girls known as the Plastics, soon enough Cady understands why they are known for their name. The Plastics run the school by the norms they have created and must always be followed otherwise it will lead into exclusion from the group. In order to be socially accepted social norms determining attitude, behavior, and status must
The movie Mean Girls portrays several interpersonal communication concepts. Cady Heron grew up in Africa and was homeschooled by her parents. When she is sixteen, her parents decide to move to the United States, where Cady enrolls in public school for the first time to begin her junior year of high school. Two students that are considered outcasts, Janice and Damian, befriend Cady, and soon they decide that it would be funny for her to join the populars girls clique, known as “The Plastics”. The Plastics are a group of three mean girls that are feared by their school, but everyone also aspires to be one of them. They come up with this plan for Cady to pretend to be one of them so that she can learn all of their secrets and report back to Janice
Social class, as defined by the film, is something that affects who you are as a person. In the film, the people saw class as the defining factor of a person. They saw class as a barrier between people. If one person is in a different class than another person, then obviously, they are not supposed to associate. They allowed their social class to dictate their action each day. It was amazing to me just how much the people in the film allowed their class to truly define them and really serve as a boundary in their life. The people in the film lived their daily life with their social class as the most influential factor. Their worth and value as individuals was not determined by anything else except the amount of money they had. It was really interesting to see how the amount of money a person had somehow equated with their worth in society. The same is true within our society today, but in the film, this aspect was especially evident. The film really shed a light on just how impactful social class is and just how much we allow it to
The movie that I chose to do my analysis on, is Mean Girls because it is my all-time favorite movie. I watched it a million times, it never gets old and plus I know every single line in the movie. The main character Cady, played by Lindsay Lohan, exhibits how to go from being a nerd, popular, hated and rehabilitated all in one school year. It’s hilarious movie about high school but, it also covers many interpersonal concepts that we learned in class like: verbal communication, conflict and relationship dynamics. Before I provide my analysis, I’ll present my brief summary on the movie Mean Girls.
To most people the movie Mean Girls is simply a silly teen chick flick and is not good for anything but pure entrainment. Even though Mean Girls is slightly dramatized, high school in reality is perfectly portrayed through this movie. Every high school varies but there is always a domain group of students. The socially powerful are the rich and beautiful girls and everyone else are the loyal subjects to their castle. However, there is a twist in Mean Girls, the message is actually positive. Mean Girls is sending a message that women should not criticize one another to feel empowerment, it is unattractive to men to be mindless, and that White Americans have domains over other races. This movie also implies that nothing wrong with being different from what society accepts.
Before I started taking the course of sociology I wasn’t really expecting to learn anything, it was just supposed to be an easy online class. However, that was not the case. It challenged my mind. I started to see sociology all around me, starting with family, then friends, and how I see things overall in general. The fact that we have an everyday life in which there are patterns in ways of living is what sets a platform for a sociological breakdown and for being a part in what we do. A better way of understanding ourselves. We use sociology in many ways every day. One central and important study of sociology is the study of everyday social life. Everyday life and sociology are definitely two different words and situations, but they tend to hold a close relationship. While sociology is the study of the human interaction, everyday life consists of everyday human interaction. Everyday life is filled by human beings interacting with one another, ideas, and emotions. Sociology studies the interactions with all of these and shows how mere interaction resulted in things such as ideas. For an example, race and ethnicity are important concepts in the field of sociology and are ones that are studied a great deal. Race plays a large role in everyday human interactions and sociologists want to study how, why, and what the outcomes are of these interactions. Current sociological theories focus mainly on how there are many different factors in our everyday items of life, like movies. We were assigned a final to write a review for a movie in sociological form. The movie that was on the list that also happened to be one of my favorite movies, Toy Story. When we were assigned the assignment, I never thought about how in-depth it was with sociol...