In the movie Mean Girls, Cady Heron is the new girl at school. She first befriends Janis and Damian, two people who don’t belong to a specific clique. As Cady is walking in the cafeteria towards Janis and Damian, a clique called The Plastics invite her to sit with them. They eventually invite her to sit with them for the rest of the week and teach her the rules of being “plastic”. Some of these rules include wearing pink on Wednesdays and only wearing your hair in a ponytail once a week. Gretchen, a member of The Plastics, even explains that “Ex boyfriends are off limits to friends, that’s just, like, the rules of feminism.” Cady is at first reluctant to continue sitting with The Plastics, but eventually gives in when Janice explains it could be perfect sabotage to get back at Regina, the leader of The Plastics.
One example of a racial stereotype in the movie Mean Girls is when Ms. Norbury introduces the new girl from Africa. She automatically assumes it is the black girl in class, but instead the girl is from Michigan. Cady Heron is really the girl from Africa and is white.
Another example of stereotypes are the cliques at school. Some of the cliques include “Cool Asians”, “Unfriendly Black Hotties”, “Girls Who Don’t Eat Anything”, and “Burnouts”.This displays both gender and race stereotypes.
Mean Girls has many examples of stereotypes, as mentioned in the article Stereotypes & Gender Roles.
I like to think that Groves is a friendly, diverse environment. However, I feel cliques are still present; they aren’t as blunt as the ones Janis interpreted in the cafeteria scene, though. When looking for my friends one day during lunch, I wondered how Janis would’ve classified our lunch room. Do you see any of the same cliques or groups at Groves that were in the movie when you imagine the who sits where in the commons or cafeteria? Do you think you belong to a clique or common stereotype?
ReplyDeleteI realized I unconsciously organize people into certain groups and cliques. Just the other day, a peer from my calculus class asked for my phone number so we could work on assignments together. I didn't know him well, but I already was talking to him in a certain way; I was talking to him like he was a member of the slacker crowd. I expected that when he was going to text me, he was just going to try to mooch off of my answers so he could get a good grade without trying. I, however, regretfully gave him my number anyway,
I was surprised to discover that he was not in any way the person I though of him to be. After giving him a chance to talk to me, work on homework with me, and simply hang out with me, he turned out to not be this slacker, but one of the most genuine and authentic people I had met in a long time.
Have you ever had a relationship like that? One that you were hesitant towards igniting, but a preconceived belief towards the person ended up not being true? If not, maybe something the complete opposite happened- someone appearing trustworthy or approachable turning out to be something the complete opposite? Let me know!
I feel as though cliques are present at Groves as well. It is a diverse environment, but cliques still exist. I do see some of the same cliques from Mean Girls at Groves, although they are not as intense. But I also see different cliques.
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't believe I belong to a clique. I don't have an exact group of friends at school, most of my friends are very different from each other.
I think it's great that you were able to get to know the peer from your calculus class for who he really is!
Yes, I've had a few relationships where either I was hesitant at first or trusted them too soon. A friend who graduated from Groves last year seemed like a slacker (similar to the peer from your calc class) and I was extremely hesitant to get to know him. He seemed like a "bad guy" from what I had heard about him, but after our first conversation I instantly knew he was amazing. We're still extremely close and I consider him one of my good friends. Another peer at Groves seemed very trustworthy and accepting, so I became friends with her very quickly. She ended up being very cruel to me and would talk behind other people's backs to me, which is extremely immature and hurtful. Once I saw her for who she truly was, I realized that I did not want to be friends with someone like her.
I like that you brought up the introduction scene. I think it gets forgotten most of the time. It is a clear example of racial stereotyping.
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to the cafeteria scene I was talking about earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8M-howDfWE.
ReplyDeleteI've had many relationships where I have been hesitant at first. And most of my friends felt the same way about me. For example: me and my best friend. We are so completely different. They are standoffish and introverted and hostile, while i am open, friendly, and less of an introvert. But somehow we have the greatest friendship ever. I wouldn't be where I am now if I didn't give people a chance. I wouldn't be with my boyfriend now if I hadn't told him I loved him, even though I was positive he was leagues above me.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome how you have made friendships and even a romantic relationship from getting to know people you normal would not have approached! I had an experience a little like the one you described with you and your boyfriend in relation to the comment "he was leagues above me." There was an older guy in a seminar series I participated in that seemed really fun, but I was always nervous and felt intimidated around him. I normally would have blew him off as someone who was too good to talk to me, but decided to instead break out of my comfort zone and get to know him. I'm so happy I did! Not only are we great friends now, but through the experience I realized that I bring a way of thinking towards some people to a conversation. In this case I thought, "Well, he's older than me so there's no way he'd be interested in anything I have to say." Not only was that not true for this guy, but it turned out to not be true for other people as well. Just because of this one relationship, I found myself more at ease with new people and better able to express myself with new people, even when I'm nervous. In other words, I'm happy we both had something positive happen through stepping out of our comfort zones!
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