Analysis on the narrative structure of the Mean Girls opening sequence.

1. The first shot here immediately shows us
that these four characters are going to be
the main protagonists throughout the film.
This impression is created by the fact that
they are shown before anyone else.
Furthermore, this shot shows an
element of an equilibrium because
the characters seem to be acting in a
normal sort of way. This also tells us
that this is the immediate start to the
film because it relates to Todorov’s
theory of an equilibrium being
established at the very beginning of
the film.

2. The positioning of this character is extremely important to
the portrayal of this character in relation to the narrative.
Due to this character being shown very early on in this
sequence it tells us that she is a very important character.
Moreover, the positioning of her arms tells us that she is a
very bold and perhaps authoritative character.
This shot also gives insights to the narrative through the fact that she is
the first character to be shown on their own. This tells us as an audience
that she is a character who may not need to be reliant on others for
emotional support. Relating to Propp’s character types it is difficult to
label her as a particular character at this point, however, we can guess
that she is might be a ‘hero’ or a ‘villain’ due to the fact she is portrayed
as very self-confident from this early part of the film.

3. In comparison to the other character shown on her
own, these characters could be portrayed in a
different sort of way due to the fact that they are in a
group. This connotes that they are characters who
are less self-assured than the character shown on
her own.
In relation to these characters being labelled as a ‘type’, you could
say that this early stage they are characters who are not as
important as the girl on her own. However, a different
interpretation could say that these character might work together
to overcome the girl shown on her own previous to this slide.
Therefore, this tells us that the character shown on her own could
be isolated from the group that was shown in the first slide.

4. The use of binary opposites in these two shots
create a very strong impression to both of the
characters and give us a much better idea to
what these characters are like within their groups
of friends. The fact that the blonde girl is now
with a boy confirms our thoughts that she is very
self-assured character who is very popular with
others. In contrast, Lindsay Lohan being dressed
as an ugly bride clearly shows her position in
teenage hierarchy. By showing her upset and
disappointed gives an effective use of this binary
opposite because it makes us sympathize for this
lonesome character.

5. From these series of shots we see that Lindsay
Lohan is a protagonist within this film. Although
we cannot certainly say what character type she
is, from my judgment I think that she is a ‘hero.’ I
think this due to Todorov’s equilibrium theory. The
fact that she is unhappy at the start of this film
tells us that she is ‘seeking’ a change
(fundamental quality of a hero.) In addition,
Todorov’s theory states that there is always a
disruption to the equilibrium in a film. This tells us
that she is not going to be this unhappy character
for the whole film and that we should expect her
to change as a character.

6. The mise en scene in this shot is very
important in the portrayal of this character
in relation to the narrative and her character
type. The use of low-key lighting in this shot
portrays this character as negative.
Therefore, this tells us that she is most likely
going to be a villain type character.

7. This shot shows the first hint of a disruption
of the equilibrium in the sequence. The fact
that she is slapping a boy that she is with
shows us that they might have been doing.
Therefore, this shot accurately represents
the narrative theory established by Todorov.
Introducing this character later on
in the sequence tells us that she
might not be as important as
characters previously mentioned.
This shows us that because she is
not a ‘villain’ or a ‘hero’ that she
could be a different character such
as a ‘helper.’

8. Our previous thoughts on thinking that this character is villain is
backed up in this shot by the fact that she is experiencing a bad
situation. This shot may be placed at the end of sequence to show
us that she is going to be a character who is going have her original
happiness destroyed at later points in the film. This again links to
the narrative theory of Todorov where there is a new equilibrium by
the end of the film.