The Undercutting Of Mean Girls Film Analysis

It is important to note how there is an underlying theme of undercutting the rising female gender role within this movie and also movies of the same type during this era. There is agency in the female character, which is innovative within the era and in the context of globalization. The agency of these female characters is a commodity that is packaged for the consumption of diasporic audiences. This is because to attract foreign investments from NRIs audiences and foreigners, these movie must appeal. And the old outdated ideology of the ruling patriarch should eventually diminish. Although many restraints exist, like as in the mentioned scene, the newly founded female agency is constantly guarded by the patriarch. This results in the undercutting.

Simran’s father holds onto her hands, contemplating on whether to let her go or not. In the dramatic, somewhat slow motion, sequence, she begs her father to let her be with her love, escaping the arranged marriage that would evidently destroy her life. Sim’s father eventually approves her love for Raj and let go, saying: “Go Simran! No one can love you more than him. Go on Simran, live your life. Go my child, go!” The father’s tone and the statement itself is strong, confirming his total approval of the relationship. Gopal, in addition to discussing about the couple-form, mentioned how the reinvention of the family as a liberal space allowed room for the third option as opposed to the original ones of either the arranged marriage or the romantic love (77-78). The scene shows how Simran can ultimately achieve her love, however this achievement is only possible with the approval of the patriarch of the family – Sim’s father. This means that there really is agency in Simran, however there is also the conservative construction of Indian femininity through

He constantly looks at Raj, transmitting unsaid thoughts between them and a non-verbal progressing acknowledgment from Sim’s father to Raj. When he finally approves her relationship, this becomes literally the transfer from one patriarch to another. Also problematic in the mise-en-scene is the gold luxurious wedding dress Simran is wearing during this exchange. It reasserts the information that she is a middle-class diasporic woman, again concentrating on rich diasporic NRIs audiences. Simran runs towards Raj, finally being able to chase after her love. Raj and Sim’s father, without breaking eye contact throughout the entire sequence, finally exchanges a thumbs up. Raj’s action and corresponding action from Sim’s father means that he approves of what Sim’s father has finally decided on. On the other side, Sim’s father’s correspondence has a hint of him trusting Raj with his daughter. And again, this furtherly undercuts the emergence of Simran’s agency as she is now finally free from the arranged marriage - a highly problematic tradition that has long been imposed in Indian society. The movie, in general, has been a consistence experimentation of the rising agency of the female character, albeit ultimately undercutting this agency with the constant guarding patriarchy of historical