Mean Girls

Cady Heron

Cady was home schooled after her
parents moved back to America
because she wasn't able to go into
the environment of the American high
school.

Adjusting to the environment was
hard for Cady yet she was easily
influenced by Regina and the plastics
and developed her character and
behavior to fit in with them as well
as changing her cultural norms

American culture

Hollywood vs. Reality

North American high school
culture is portrayed in an
exaggerated way like makeup,
popularity contest, bullying,
dating/sex and school systems.

This high school culture is
popularized and Regina and
the Plastics normalized it.
It was their style of living
and they developed the culture
in school.
include

Cultural Materialism

Influences the development of
a culture which is what Regina
uses in to create the Plastics and
their rules.

Structural materials used in the
movie are like Social structures.
And Superstructure materials are
the values of the Plastics and the
rules they created to keep themselves
isolated in the bubble of popularity.

The Plastics

The plastics included Regina, Karen and
Gretchen. they were considered to be the
popular girls who dresses good and gossiped
and treated others meanly.

Cady's huge desire to be one of the
Plastics gave her a goal to sabotage
the girls to make her way through with them

The movie portrays the Plastics as the group
that many students tended align their attitudes,
beliefs and behaviours to conform. And whenever
a student did not go with their rules they
discriminated against them, for example the
Plastics believed that they were the best and
the others are socially unacceptable.

Regina George

Regina had a deceiving and controlling
personality she was referred to as "queen
bee". She was raised in a wealthy environment
and her mother grew her in the sense of control,
manipulation and superiority.

Students, teachers and the principal of
the school felt threatened of her and were all
victims to her manipulation.

Other students idolized Regina
and followed what she did from
clothing to behavior.

Psychoanalysis

In the movie Cady represented a need
for belonging and friendship. she was new to
the high school and making friends was one of
her biggest priorities.

Looking at Cadys personality through
B.F. Skinner's theory of operand conditioning
the Plastics influence on her shows how they
conditioned her into becoming a replica of
Regina.

The need for a change in self-perception is
another reason why students such as Cady
obey rules that were made my Regina.

Regina needed the sense of self-esteem
and gaining respect from students in her school
she needed the feeling of having strength and status.

Cady Heron

She had trouble adjusting to the
American school system. She was
home schooled and didn't interact
much with others in America she
developed an interest in being
popular and having a "plastic"
life.

While adjusting to the American
student life she watched other girls
like Regina, Karen and Gretchen.
she was amazed by them and was
conditioned to change her lifestyle
to be one of them and conform to
their rules. Cady also feels "uncool"
for being friends with Janis and
Damian because of the schools values

Cady was friends with the "outcast" yet
watching the Plastics she wanted the
social status they had in school. Eventually
the Plastics rub off on Cady till she becomes
into a copy of Regina until she had a
change in heart and comes to her senses

Regina George

Regina talked down to others and
gossiped a lot about people. Her
behavior around the other
students was aggressive and
“mean” she felt superior than
other students.

Regina encouraged the Plastics to
follow her. Her attitude remained
the same within the group or
when alone. The Plastics influenced
other students feelings and emotions.

Gretchen Wieners

she broke her own values in
life to fit in with Regina and be
part of her close friends and when
Regina started not to like her she felt
insecure yet remained loyal to her.

She also replicated her attitude
to match her social status.
This shows how Gretchen was
attached to Regina and being a
Plastic