It’s enough to make a person wonder just why Mean Girls is so popular and has been for a while since the idea is that it’s another high school movie that proves how mean people can be and how things can change if people are willing to undergo the hardships it takes to realize what their actions and words can mean to others. It does help that Mean Girls was also meant to be comedy since otherwise it would be utterly depressing and bound to be seen as something that’s more problematic than it actually was. But with this in mind, the movie did become something that was an inspiration to a great number of people and even became a stage play as it continued to be seen as a story that people could get behind. Much like a lot of other high school movies, this one decided to go the route of hyper-realism since it did show what can happen, and what does sometimes happen, in a high school setting, but it also took things to a level that’s usually reserved for the most ridiculous storylines since like it or not, high school can be kind of a fun part of life, so long as a person learns how to navigate the experience in a way that keeps them from falling into bad habits that can lead them down the wrong path. Just which path is the wrong one though is something that each person has to find for themselves, as the movie makes this clear in a lot of ways.
The story is one that many high school students might feel is a mirror of their lives, if only somewhat skewed since it’s not real and it’s not the typical high school experience no matter that it’s been replicated in this manner a few different times. Mean Girls isn’t as original as people want to think, but it was definitely a new look at an old idea that’s been brewing for a while and it’s likely that Tina Fey thought that she was pushing something that people were going to want to relate to. That part is pretty obvious and it’s even more obvious that she was right since folks really took to the movie and made it clear that they were entirely approving of it even if there were a few themes that today people are calling racist and problematic. Sadly, this is bound to keep happening since people are looking for any excuse to rip apart one movie or another that might have content that they don’t approve of or simply don’t like. Oh yes, that part is true since like it or not, there are A LOT of movies in Hollywood that can outdo Mean Girls or any other movie that’s been attacked for racist attitudes, even if they don’t get called out for it.
But back to the subject at hand, Mean Girls is not exactly a new idea since high school politics have been ongoing for longer than any of the younger actresses have been alive, to be honest, and as the years keep rolling on one can imagine that things should change and that people want them to change, but the idea of anything actually changing is a slow and laborious process that has to do with a lot of different factors that Hollywood can’t take all the blame for. If one wants to claim that society is the biggest reason that our high schools are where people learn how to divide and conquer then so be it, but while it is a big contributor it’s not the only one that’s to blame. It’s hard to know if there is anyone to really blame or if there’s one source that can shoulder the responsibility for the way our society has turned out, since, and people might not want to hear this, growing up and learning how to treat people is a rite of passage, not always strictly a learned thing. For those that doubt this, think upon what happens when a child is raised by loving parents and somehow still becomes a spoiled and entitled snot. Then think about those that are raised spoiled rotten and somehow become decent, caring human beings despite those around them being absolutely terrible. Like it or not, our learned behaviors aren’t entirely up to our nurture or nature, which is thankful in some cases.
People aren’t inherently bad or good as this movie shows in its own way but are built around the choices they make and the consequences they have to deal with as a result of those choices. High school is the staging ground for a person’s entrance into the main vein of society and it’s here that people tend to find out what they’re going to be like moving forward. Thankfully, there’s time enough for reflection and possible change.
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