Georgia Dow – 10173403
High school is hard for many teenagers in western society and this movie isn’t making it seem any easier. Mean Girls was directed by Mark Water and released in 2004 and is still seen as a cult film 12 years later. The film’s reliability, humour and brutal honesty that has many people still quoting the movie today. Due to the popularity of this film, it seems that many of the underlying messages goes unnoticed by the majority of people. I will be providing a critical analysis of racial stereotypes, racial profiling and the lack of diversity within the movie. These aspects of the movie can lead to the unconscious internalization of these stereotypes which are then projected into the viewer’s everyday life. It is important to acknowledge that race is a socially, historically and politically constructed term. It has nothing to do with any sort of biological differences, “working from this perspective, analysis of ‘race’ in popular culture would be the exploration of the different ways in which it has and can be made to signify” (Storey 2009 p.168). Although Mean Girls has such a strong following it is important that viewer’s must also acknowledge the multiple flaws in white supremacy, racial diversity, and stereotyping.
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The first racial issue that I will be evaluating in this paper is white supremacy/privilege. The “Plastics” are the popular group within the school. Many of the students idolize these girls and strive to be just like them. This is problematic because the “Plastics” are a group of white females from high socio-economic classes with the ideal standards of western societal beauty. Within the film there is a lack of diversity within the overall cast but especially with the characters who are seen as being cool or popular. The “Plastics” set unrealistic standards for the rest of the high school to live up to, especially Regina George. As Alan Johnson addresses, “On most college campuses, for example, students of color feel pressured to talk, dress, and act like middle-class whites in order to “fit in” and be accepted” (Johnson 2006 pg.60). The film could improve its representation if it were to include different races within the main cast of the movie, not just within sub-characters.
The issue of racial profiling gained a lot of publicity during 2015 through many campaigns such as Black Lives Matter. Racial profiling has become a huge issue all over North America, especially in big cities. Between 2003 and 2013, of all of the people who were stopped and frisked by the New York City police, 54.2% were black (Jones 2015 n.p.). This is even more alarming when contrasted with the entire population, only 22.8% of the population in New York City are black (Jones 2015 n.p.). An example of this racial profiling is also seen in television media. Black people are also “much more often associated with criminality on television new in comparison to whites” (Dixson 2013 p.25). Although this is a huge issue, it is much subtler in Mean Girls. Two of the examples of racial profiling within Mean Girls are Ms. Norbury references to the only black girl in the class the new girl from Africa when it is actually a young white girl named Cady. The other instance of racial profiling is when Cady first tells her new friends “The Plastics” that she is from Africa, Karen’s first response is “So if you’re from Africa, why are you white?”. This racial profiling serves only to further contribute to the embedded stereotypes within western society. Many assumptions are made about who people are and their interests/appearances throughout the movie.
The final and one of the most glaring racial issues within the film is the abundance of stereotypes. The scene where this is most clearly demonstrated is the cafeteria scene in the first half of the movie. In this scene Janis is describing how the tables within the cafeteria are set up and the importance that is placed on where you fit into the groups in the cafeteria.
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Walter, Mark. “Mean Girls – Cafeteria Tribes.” YouTube. YouTube, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
When watching this scene, it is almost impossible not to notice that the visible minorities within the school are placed in groups only with others who are also visible minorities. This contrasts with the portrayal of white people who are in many different groups with different characteristics. The white people within the film have more individuality whereas people with different races have little individuality. Their race is the only thing that is seen by everyone else and you are defined by your race. Another example of racial stereotyping within the film is during the high school fight scene after the burn book is spread throughout the school.
Walters, Mark. “Mean Girls Movie CLIP – Girls Gone Wild! (2004) HD.” YouTube. YouTube, 6 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
The racial stereotypes in this scene are much subtler. When the fire alarm is set off within the hallway and the sprinklers start going off, it is one of the black females who seems the most upset about the water ruining her hair. The politics that surround black women’s hair is deeply embedded into western society. Black women are expected to spend hundreds of dollars to have their hair done in a way that better fits into western society’s expectations. Many black women who choose to wear their hair natural are seen as unkempt (Cooper 2014 n.p.). There are even regulations in the military and other institutions where black women cannot wear their hair a certain way (Cooper 2014 n.p.). This clip in Mean Girls demonstrates how black women are expected to place a certain amount of value in keeping their hair a certain way.
Although Mean Girls has many positive feminist aspects, it is severely lacking with racial diversity. The film is also full of racial stereotypes and instances of racial profiling. In order for this film to be more inclusive the “popular” girl group should include individuals of different races and cultural backgrounds instead of just white girls. The racial profiling should also be taken out of the film along with the emphasis that Cady is white and from Africa. The fact that Cady is white has nothing to do with the plotline and it only serves of force the viewer to think about race in a negative way. The film portrays this as if Cady being white is shocking and basically impossible. Mean Girls is an entertaining and funny film but it is important that this film is taken with a grain of salt. This film must also be talked about more openly with a critical outlook.
Works Cited:
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Cooper, Brittany. ” The politics of black women’s hair: Why it’s seen with skepticism — and a need to discipline.” Salon. Salon Media Group, Apr. 22, 2014. Web. Jan 30, 2016.
Dixon, Travis L. ““He Was a Black Guy”: How the News Continues to Create Fear of Blacks.” Race/Gender/ Class/ Media 3.0: Considering Diversity across Audiences, Content, and Producers, 3rd ed. Ed. Rebecca Ann Lind. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 24-30. Print. [CP]
Johnson, Allan. “Privilege, Power, and Difference.” New York: McGraw-Hill. McGraw Hill, 2006. Web. Jan 29, 2016.
Jones, Tim. “Racial Profiling.” BloombergQuickTake. Bloomberg L.P., Jan 28, 2015. Web. Jan 30, 2016.
Storey, John. ““Race”, Racism and Representation.” Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Essex: Person Education Ltd., 2009. 167-180. Print. [CP]
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Walter, Mark. “Mean Girls – Cafeteria Tribes.” YouTube. YouTube, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
Walters, Mark. “Mean Girls Movie CLIP – Girls Gone Wild! (2004) HD.” YouTube. YouTube, 6 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2016
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