Popularity in Mean Girls is tantamount to power. The characters Damian and Janis, especially in their purple tuxedos at the film's end, represent the spirit of the individual over the norms of the crowd. Ironically, Cady's attempts to become more conventionally appealing drive her love interest away, who is more attracted to her quirks. Both Damian and The Plastics discourage Cady from joining the Mathletes and pursing her mathematical ability, calling it "social suicide." The bylaws of The Plastics in general render all individual decisions subject to the approval to the rest of the group, which makes true individuality impossible. Mean Girls depicts high school as a pressure cooker environment where every student feels compelled to abide by stringent social norms. Unlike the physical conflict that animals wage in order to survive, Cady explains at one point that in "Girl World," survival is instead determined by who can be the sneakiest. The fact that Cady's parents are research zoologists also ties into the film's larger themes about human behavior and animal behavior. The film depicts Cady's first day as essentially a minefield through which she must perform socially fraught tasks like choosing which desk to sit at, and who to talk to at lunch. Cady imagines teenagers as wild animals at several points during the film, which foreshadows the actual chaos that the Burn Book unleashes. Mean Girlsmakes an extended comparison between public high school and the jungle.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |