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The stereotypical girls in highschool can either be very negative or positive when it comes to engaging with interpersonal communications. To display various examples of interpersonal relationships, there is a movie called Mean Girls. The movie demonstrates how a group of girls in a public high school survive their way through life with gossip as one of their sources of communication. The main characters involved in this movie are Cady Heron, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. These girls are known as, “The Plastics,” the most popular girls in the school. However, Cady was not one of them, she only hung out with them to sabotage them because they would bully Janis Ian, the first friend Cady made since she moved to that school. …show more content…
Cady would take revenge by giving Regina candy bars and say that they would make her skinny, but they were really fattening candy bars.
Cady has always been homeschooled, so she did not really know what it was like to communicate with others and make friends. She thought that her actions are what she should be doing in order to make friends. As Cady gets closer to The Plastics, she starts to develop feelings for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels. Later on in the movie Cady has to make a choice whether she wants to be officially part of the group or to continue sabotaging it. Eventually she decides to be part of the group, which disappoints Janis; since Cady basically betrayed her. Cady starts developing into a whole new person; she became a Plastic. Cady illustrates different types of interpersonal communication as she tries to make everything right again in her life. Throughout this movie, the girls show how their relationships consists of: social exchange theory, communication privacy management theory, unproductive conflict, and productive …show more content…
conflict. The first concept that is shown in the movie is social exchange theory. “Social exchange theory explains how we balance the advantages and disadvantages in our relationships (Real Communication, 211).” This theory includes rewards and costs. Rewards are what you gain from a relationship and costs are what you lose from a relationship. Based on the movie, Cady is gaining popularity, but she is losing her true self and friends. For example, the rewards that Cady gained from the relationship with The Plastics is extrinsic; she gained a social status, she became one of the most popular girls in the school. Their relationship continues to grow due to the amount of rewards that Cady is exchanging. Cady becomes so involved with exchanging rewards that she does not realize the costs that she is causing other people. Aaron Samuel told Cady, “You are just like a clone of Regina (Waters 2004, 1:00:03).” Aaron thought she was different from Regina. He broke up with her because she would always lie to him and now Cady is doing the exact same thing to him. This backfired on Cady because not only did she lose Aaron, but she lost her true self-image. Regina has this “burn book” that she and the plastics created and in the book there is gossip and rumours about all the girls in their school. Now that Cady is the new girl in charge of The Plastics, Regina begins to get jealous. Therefore, she starts rumours by writing in the burn book, “This girl is the nastiest skank bitch. Do not trust her. She is a fugly slut! (Waters 2004, 1:03:01).” She writes this to make herself a victim and Cady the culprit. This further on ruins Cady’s self-image and all of this conflict starts just because of jealousy. In this case, the social exchange theory is not balanced. The costs weigh more than the rewards in Cady and Regina’s relationship. The second concept used in the movie is communication privacy management theory which “helps explain how people perceive the information they hold about themselves and whether they will disclose or protect it (Real Communication, 211).” The main point of communication in this movie is to gossip, therefore the girls are always talking behind each other’s backs.
When Regina found out that Cady had a crush on Aaron she immediately went to go tell him. Regina told Cady that she was okay with Cady liking Aaron because he was an ex, but little did she know that Regina was untrustworthy. Regina told Aaron, “Well be careful because she has a huge crush on you (Waters 2004, 27:24).” Cady thought that Regina would never tell anyone her secret since she was part of The Plastics. This shows how the boundary turbulence concept comes into play, “a readjustment of your need for privacy against your need for self-disclosure and connection (Real Communication, 201).” However, this does not stop Cady from liking Aaron. Cady decides to disclose more information about herself to Aaron, “I pretended to be bad at math so that you’d help me (Waters 2004, 59:36).” Cady decides to tell Aaron this information about herself because she feels that they have a close relationship and disclosing this information would make them become more intimate with each
other. Another concept used in the movie is unproductive conflict. “It is the conflict that is managed poorly and that has a negative impact (Real Communication, 239).” Cady only started hanging out with the plastics because she wanted to resolve the conflict of Regina mistreating all the girls. However, this quickly escalates into an unproductive conflict because Cady used Regina’s own tactics to get back at her. In this one scene one of the teacher states, “I want you to raise your hand if you have ever had a girl say something bad about you behind your back (Waters 2004, 1:10:55).” From this statement the teacher is referring to Cady because she found out that Cady was spreading rumours about her. Cady started off by wanting to resolving this whole conflict by stopping Regina from making all the girls feel bad about themselves, but in the end all Cady did was add fuel to the fire. After Cady realizes all the damage she has causes, she starts displaying productive conflict, “conflict that is managed effectively (Real Communication, 215).” She attempts to solve the problem by saying, “No, because I am trying this new thing where I don’t talk about people behind their backs (Waters 2004, 1:21:12).” Cady is now coming up with more effective solutions to the conflict. Regina gets hit by a bus which makes everyone give her more attention and pity her, Cady comes back to her old self again, and so this productive conflict led to both parties being happy in the end. This movie gives a good demonstration of how a girl’s world is put into perspective from an interpersonal relationship and how it can be so relatable to relationships that develop in reality at high schools. In the beginning, Cady started out with earning rewards from the social exchange theory but throughout the movie her costs started to build up which led to communication privacy management theory and unproductive conflict. In the end, she used productive conflict to solve all of her problems in her relationships. This shows how we also use all of these communication skills in our relationships today. Although this movie is targeted towards more of a teenage group, a lot of people can relate from different groups and have used these type of interpersonal communications in their relationships.
Golding shows how children all on their own, can change their own brains to function the way they choose with no one telling them what to do. He as well explains the impact of less clothing has on society, which causes civilization to diminish from where they lay. Likewise, Cady changes the way she dresses from being fully covered with dignity and respect to exposing body parts and changing her way of thinking. However, in the end, both authors reveal symbolism and setting through teenagers and children. Parents should be most cautious about teenagers because they seem to be the main reason why society corrupts and destroys itself, which leads future generations at risk of becoming even
The movie Napoleon Dynamite is filled with key concepts such as, perception, self-concept, identity, and conflict skills. The story line is that of a teenager, Napoleon, and his quest to find who he is and where he belongs. At the start of this movie napoleon is very alone and doesn't seem to have anyone by his side. He is bullied and often beat up by a popular boy in school. Napoleon, over time finds a group of people who understand and except him. Pedro and Deb both show kindness to Napoleon and help him to face his fears. Near the finale of this movie, Napoleon has the courage to preform a dance solo in front of the whole school in order to help his friend, Pedro, win the place of school president. Many interpersonal communication concepts
Gretchen was not a helpless victim to Regina’s ruthlessness or a robotic follower. When pointing out Gretchen to Cady, Damien comments, "that's why
An anonymous person once said “The most miserable people are those who care only about themselves, understand only their own troubles and see only their own perspective.” In other words if someone is selfish and does not care about other people’s feelings is someone who is usually miserable in their lives, if all they see is themselves and views only their side they are blinded by their character and personality. In the play Othello by Shakespeare the villain Iago suffers from wanting more power which drives him to destruct other people’s lives along with his own. In the movie Mean Girls by Mark Waters Cady Heron suffers from wanting to fit in and be apart of something which makes herself the villain in many parts. Cady Heron and Iago’s character
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,
Her character and personality is a prime example of perfectionism. In the movie, she secures the title of “queen bee” within her group of friends. Regina controlled her friends on what to believe, what to say, and even what to wear. Showing no signs of sympathy, Regina refused to allow anyone below her standards of ideal into her small group of friends. Quickly, she mastered superiority making not only her friends feel inferior but also other peers. Annoyed at Regina’s manipulating, controlling, and self-centered ways, Regina’s group of friends turn their back to her. In the end, Regina loses her friends and becomes hated as a result of her perfectionism. Regina’s perfectionism leads to her social
Blue meth? This is what the TV series Breaking Bad is shaped around. First, I will be discussing why I chose Breaking Bad to analyze. Secondly, I will discuss the topic of communicating verbally with Walter and Jesse. Thirdly, I will see how they managed conflict and power. Fourthly, I will look at Walter White's relationship with his friends. Fifthly, I will see how listing actively played a role in Breaking Bad. Next, I will dissect Walter and Jesse's relationship in the workplace. Lastly, I will see what this means for communication as a whole.
"Cold, shiny, hard, PLASTIC," said by Janice referring to a group of girls in the movie Mean Girls. Mean Girls is about an innocent, home-schooled girl, Cady who moves from Africa to the United States. Cady thinks she knows all about survival of the fittest. But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when she enters public high school and encounters psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teen girls deal with today. Cady goes from a great friend of two "outcasts", Janice and Damien to a superficial friend of the "plastics", a group of girls that talks about everyone behind their back and thinks everyone loves them. Adolescent egocentrism and relationships with peers are obviously present throughout the film. I also noticed self worth in relationships, parenting styles, and juvenile delinquency throughout Mean Girls.
The second concept from our textbook I will talk about in relationship to the movie is Non- verbal cues. This takes place when everyone starts to clap when Regina (the main plastic) gets told off and leaves the cafeteria. This shows that people are glad someone stood up to her and they cant be pushed around by her.
Regina George is a junior in high school who is described as teen royalty. As the leader of her clique referred to as “The Plastics”, she rules the school with her best friends Gretchen Weiners and Karen Smith loyally at her side. The three girls feed off of tearing the other girls in the school down and diminishing them by writing awful rumors and secrets in the “Burn Book”. With her tall and skinny physique, bright blonde hair and good-looks, she uses her sex appeal and superiority to manipulate and victimize the people around her including her family. Regina easily controls her family members. Her mother worships the ground Regina walks on and desperately looks to her for acceptance. Her ability to make other girls at school feel inferior fuels her power, as queen bee Regina is seen as the “it” girl. Everyone wants to look like her, dress like her, and be just like her. She uses her sex appeal to get any guy she wants and dangles them around everyone else to make them jealous.
The movie Bridesmaids has been my favorite movie since the first time I viewed it, with just the perfect amount of humor and real-life difficulties to satisfy. After I started learning about interpersonal communication I realized how many of my personal relationships use the concepts we have discussed as well as how I have used the concepts while becoming who I am now.
Blasingame, James, Kathleen Deakin, and Laura Walsh. Stephenie Meyer: In the Twilight. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2012. Print.
In the film Mean Girls, teenager Cady Heron was home-schooled in Africa by her zoologist parents. When her family moves to the U.S., Cady finally gets a taste of public school and learns a vital lesson about the cruelty involved in the tightly knit cliques of high school. She eventually finds herself being drug into a group of “the worst people you will ever meet”, The Plastics; and soon realizes how they came to get their name.
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
...ole, the female students became close when they became true to themselves and the cliques begin to blend. For example, Gretchen, one of the Plastics became close friends with the Asian students. Social acceptance should not be the most important thing in anyone’s life. Always wanting this acceptance will cause people to change into someone they are not.