Dialogue
is a very clear feature used to show the representation of teenage girls in the
media, and how they are represented in this film. The way dialogue is used can
show just how a particular character or person is feeling and bring out their
personality very clearly, which in this case helps to understand the exact
image of teenage girls in this media. One of the most well-known quotes from
Mean Girls is “She’s fabulous, but she’s evil”, spoken by Damian about another
main character called Regina George. The costumes used in this film are very
significant too. The majority of clothes worn by the focusing group ‘The
Plastics’ is pink which brings out a major stereotype in teenage girls. When
the group dresses up for Halloween, one very particular quote represents
exactly what is thought of the situation. Cady, in a voiceover, says: “In the regular world, Halloween is when children dress
up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a
year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say
anything about it.” This shows us how costumes are shown to represent the
different girls in the film and representation we are receiving about them. Language is the final key feature from the
film. This includes the style used by
the characters, and the type of vocabulary which they tended to often speak.
The
representation addressed in this film is that girls are quite bitchy and
backstabbing. It is meant to show it through the eyes of Cady Heron, and it definitely
comes across as we watch her character develop. The effect this can have on
teenage girls is that they start to feel that they have to act in this way, or
they feel they can relate too much to this. The society will start to view
teenage girls as often being bitchy and backstabbing. There is a large focus on
different boys and secret keeping as well, the impact on this being that girls
start to behave in that way themselves, and that it perhaps is okay to act like
that. This particularly is shown as the end is happy, and everyone has it all
sorted out, which doesn’t prove the point that being nasty helps and that being
nasty actually will get you places. This is one very strong stereotype of
teenage girls – that they are all bitchy and backstabbing, instead of being
opposite.
The
reality in this case is that there are always dramas; however the sorts of
drama created in this film are not nearly as bad compared to what they would be
like in true life. The reason for the difference to be shown in this film is
perhaps make the message a lot more clear about being nasty to fellow peers and
friends, in particular with teenage girls. These messages are created in order to almost
prove a point in a way, about teenage girls and the way they behave. The use of
the clothing and the behaviour of the girls in this film reinforce these bitchy
connotations about teenage girls, and the way they all act in a way to gain
popularity, instead of just being known as themselves and not thriving to be
known. This is shown especially through when the different girls from differentgroups represented in the film talk about who the most popular girl is.
The
consequences of these representations of teenage girls in the film Mean Girls
is that society will be able to view teenage girls in this way, it is quite a
strong and important message that comes across. This representation on teenage
girls is quite strong and Mean Girls has a very impacting image making-way of stereotyping
teenage girls. This will always have further impacts on society and also on the
way teenage girls view themselves.