It is crazy to look at the movie Mean Girls from the feminist lens. Women in this movie are completely objectified, and women today think it is funny, (I know I thought this movie was funny). You can see from the movie that "the plastics" are the Queens of the school, but this is only because the male gaze objectifies them as queens. For anyone who has watch the movie we know that the plastics are queens because all the guys in the school want to have sex with them, they are objectified. In the Halloween scene Lindsey Lohan dresses up as a modest zomibe bride, but all of the other girls are wearing lingerie and bunny ears because of the male gaze.
The feminist analysis that could be done on this text could go on and on. But the main point I am trying to make is that so many women are completely ok with this text, it doesnt even phase us that we are being objectified by the media. Are we desensitized to this objectification? Or do we just not care?
Jordan-
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your feminist analysis on Mean Girls! It's funny that you chose this movie because I was just about to write a post doing a sociological analysis on the same movie, but now I can get points for commenting on someone's post!
After watching Catfish and talking about how Nev was against the idea of making a documentary about him because he didn't want his back stage to show it immediately made me think of Mean Girls! Cady decided to put on a whole new face and take on a fake identity in order to get in with "the plastics." In order to make this performance believable she had to make a particular selection on what she said and how she acted around this group of girls in order to not blow her cover. Even though the mom in Catfish took on a much more serious fake identity in order to fulfill her needs, Cady did something similar in order to fulfill her friends needs on wanting to make fun of "the plastics."
Jordan and Meghan,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what both of you had to say. Jordan brings up a great point about in the end part of her post by leaving the audience with the question if whether or not women care that they are being looked at in a very degrading light. I think that after watching "Mean Girls" as a young adult you start to see the real messages and lessons that come out of a movie rather than when you watched it when you were a teenager. I specifically remember wanting to watch this movie when I was younger but my mom wouldn't let me at first. She knew the underlying meaning of the film and just looking out for my well-being. I also think Meghan brings up a great point about how Cady puts on a mask and tries to be somebody totally different than who she really is just to be popular. I think both the feminist and sociological views are noticeable throughout this movie. Jordan and Meghan mainly covered that I was going to say about the feminist analysis. The sociological analysis relates to this text because I think Barthes' Pleasure is present in certain scenes of the movie. Cady gets different types of pleasure from joining the plastics and becoming somebody she is not. Regina's mother is a "cool" mom and Cady has never experienced anything like that so she gets pleasure out of having Regina's mother like her and accept her in their home. I think most young girls like the idea of hanging out with popular girls, dressing "slutty", and getting all the attention. This was a great text to blog about! Thanks Jordan!
Jordan,
ReplyDeleteI really like the points you made in this analysis. I like many other females who watch this movie and just find it unrealistic and humorous, but after reading this it made me thing of the message that the movie is unintentionally sending to high schoolers. First, I find it somewhat sickening that this is how the media portrays high school with so much scandal, backstabbing and sex. Secondly, I don't like the image that Mean Girls is portraying of teenage girls. This movie promotes women as sexual objects and makes the men seem so innocent or like they were tricked in to falling in to a woman's trap for status and popularity. I think you made some great points and I also enjoyed what Meghan and Erin had to say above me. I think movies like Mean Girls is desensitizing the subject. If woman gave the movie further thought like we have I don't think they would take the subject so lightly.
I'm glad you brought this up jordan! I was the same way when I was younger... I loved this movie and didn't really think much of it other than, bitches will be bitches. I totally agree with the point you made about how the movies completely objectifies women, yet women tend to be a top supporter of the movie! It makes no sense at all, and I was at fault when I first saw the movie. The scariest part is that mean girls is not the only movie in which we see women being objectified while women support it. I wish there was a way to get this information across to everyone, especially the younger generations of girls
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