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Stereotypes In Mean Girls

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As a society, there are some things that we hold to a higher standard than other. These include appearance, employment and socioeconomic status to name a few. Although disheartening, some believe they cannot achieve everything they deserve without some if not all of these attributes. This tends to be true for adolescence who have been brought up by these ideals. The film Mean Girls directed by Mark Waters, makes it clear that popularity and appearance is all that teenage girls need to get ahead. That females who have these characteristics will ultimately succeed in life. Not only does that give a false hope to those watching the film, but it emphasizes the effect of bullying that is shown throughout the film. Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan, moves to Illinois after being in Africa for twelve years with her parents who are in the zoology field of work. Cady is taken by surprise by public school life after being home schooled and meets up with Janis Ian and Damian who are more of the social outcasts and into theater and art. Cady is …show more content…
Being the mean girl is shown to seem fun and make a joke out of classmates. According to an article titled Stereotypes & Gender Roles, it states, “aggressive cues, an outgrowth of social cognitive theory, are information contained in media depictions of violence and can come to suggest when aggression is appropriate. Furthermore, scholars studying these effects argue that viewers who see justified violence learn that it can be a useful problem-solving device” (Justice, 2013). The idea of bullying comes full circle at the end of the movie with the reveal of the “Burn Book”. A book that contains secrets and rude rumors about the rest of the school. The emphasis on bullying influences those watching and teaches them about both verbal and cyber bullying. It shows that bullying can be used as a stepping stone to get ahead and it is okay to be violent towards

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