Interpersonal Relationships In The Film Mean Girls

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,

A good interpersonal relationship makes each member feel like he or she is included. One needs to feel included in order to have a sense of belonging and in order to feel like he or she plays a vital role in the friendship. The second aspect of a good interpersonal relationship is control. Each member must feel that he or she is in control for at least part of the time. When control isn’t shared between members of the interpersonal group we have discovered through the film Mean Girls that members want to “rebel” against the leader and ultimately take control for themselves. The last, important component for a good interpersonal relationship is affection. Each member in the relationship needs to feel loved and appreciated by the other members. When they do not feel loved or cared for they feel as though they are not needed and therefore do not feel the need to reciprocate affection for other members of the group. The film Mean Girls shows us that without just one of these aspects of a good interpersonal relationship, there can be conflict causing the friendly dynamic, and even the entire relationship to be destroyed. Therefore, we have learned that it is important to communicate effectively, include others, show love and affection, and share control with each member of our interpersonal