2. Meet the Mean Girls:
Gretchen Regina Cady Karen
Monday, April 28, 14
3. The Plot
Cady Heron has lived in Africa
her entire life with her parents-
who were also her homeschool
teachers. However, when her
family moves to the U.S., Cady
starts her junior year of high school
by enrolling in public school for the
first time. She quickly finds that
North Shore High School culture is
nothing like life in Africa.
Two outcast students decide to take Cady under their wing and they become
friends. The three friends then get the idea to have Cady join the popular
girl’s clique, known as “The Plastics”, acting as a sort of spy. The Plastics are
a group of three “mean girls” that are both hated and admired by their
fellow students. After a while, Cady gets a little too close to the clique and
starts to become just like the girls she disliked from the beginning.
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4. The Communication
“Mean Girls” provides a dramatic example of the
stereotypical ‘mean girl’ clique that seems to exist in
many American high schools.
In turn, the movie
also illustrates why it is
important to engage in
effective interpersonal
communication
behaviors.
The communication between the main characters
of the movie can be used as an illustration of the
consequences of bad interpersonal communication
practices.
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5. Gossip
“Gossip is another easily recognized form of conversation, involving discussion of
people who are not present for the conversation” (Verderber, 2013, p. 229)
Gossip is one of the central type of conversations used in the
film. Most information seems to be communicated between
characters about another person that is not present. Also
commonly known as talking ‘behind someone’s back’, a lot
of gossip seems to be negative and usually untrue. Because
the subject of the conversation is not there, the accuracy of
what is being said is usually not checked.
Here is an example of gossip from the film......
Monday, April 28, 14
6. Interpersonal Power
There are two sources of interpersonal power that are prominent in “Mean
Girls”. Coercive power comes from perceived potential of a person to
physically or psychologically punish another. Regina has coercive power
among her peers at school because they fear that crossing her will cause her
to retaliate and harm them psychologically.
Referent power is the ability to influence others due to likability, respect, or
admiration from others. All of the girls in The Plastics have referent power
because many of the other students admire them and their position in the
social ladder of the school. There are many times in the movie when other
girls copy the actions of one or multiple of The Plastics just because of who
they are.
The following clip is an example of the referent power influence Cady
Heron received from being part of The Plastics...
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7. Persuading Automatic Processors
There are six heuristics that the author describes which
most people use to “automatically process and respond
to persuasive messages...as these heuristics are deeply
ingrained, we automatically respond to appeals based
on them”(Verderber, p. 229). The second heuristic mentioned is
based on the mindset of “Do what others do- follow the
crowd”(Verderber, p. 229). This heuristic is also key to the film
“Mean Girls” and explains why Cady is so easily
influenced by the other girls in The Plastics.
In this clip, Cady in influenced to follow the rules of
“girl world” because that is what all of the other girls
do...
Monday, April 28, 14
8. Control
“Control is the extent to which each person has power or
is “in charge” in the relationship”(Verderber, p. 229).
Control within a
relationship is
established from
many message
exchanges over a
period of time. The
person trying to
establish control is not
the only one that
contributes to the
development of
control over the
relationship; how the
other person responds
also contributes.
A person can either
challenge the controlling
message with a
symmetrical response or
accept the control with a
complimentary response.
In the film, Regina
George is able to
establish control because
she sends messages that
say she is “in charge” and
her peers respond with
complimentary messages.
This enables her to hold
power and control in all
of her relationships,
unchallenged.
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9. Nonverbal Communication
“...researchers have estimated as much as 65 percent of the social meaning we convey
in face-to-face interactions is a result of nonverbal behavior” (Verderber, p. 131)
Many of the main characters in “Mean Girls”
communicate messages through nonverbal cues. The
author of the textbook says, “we use shifts in eye
contact, slight head movements, posture changes,
raised eyebrows, and nodding to tell another person
when to continue, to repeat, to elaborate, to hurry up
or to finish what he or she is saying” (p. 134)
In this clip, Regina uses an eyebrow raise to communicate that
the girls need to comment on what she has just said...
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10. Self-Perception
There are two types of self-perception discussed in the text. The first is independent
self-perception, which is when a person views their skills and traits as internal and
constant, regardless of the situation. People with interdependent self-perception
change their view of their abilities and traits when they are in different settings with
different people.
In the film, Cady illustrates the concept of an interdependent self-perception. In the
beginning of the movie, Cady has an independent self-perception but as the film goes
on, she develops an interdependent self-perception. When she is with The Plastics,
Cady becomes very good at deceiving people and saying what she knows they want to
hear. By changing her abilities and personality traits, she adapts to the different
situations that arise from being with The Plastics, her friends, and her family.
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11. Friendships
Friendships are one of the three types of intimate
relationships discussed in the text. There are five main
communication skills that are identified as key to the
development and support of quality friendships: initiation,
responsiveness, self-disclosure, emotional support, and
conflict management. “Mean Girls” seems to show an
example of why these skills are so critical to maintaining a
good friendship.
Let’s see why...
Monday, April 28, 14
12. Friendships
Initiation:
Someone has to make the first move in order to initiate a
friendship. This involves starting a conversation, or in
some way opening a dialogue that sparks a friendship.
The author of the text says, “Competent initiations are
smooth, relaxed, and enjoyable” (Verderber, p. 410)
Perhaps the initiation of Cady’s friendship with The
Plastics seems so awkward because it is not smooth,
relaxed, or enjoyable. See what you think...
Monday, April 28, 14
13. Friendships
Responsiveness and self-disclosure are also discussed as important
elements of a friendship. Neither of these elements seem to be present
in The Plastics. Responsiveness involves being aware of a friend’s
needs and responding appropriately. Verderber says, “it is difficult to
form and maintain friendships with others who focus only on
themselves..” (p. 411). Almost all of The Plastics (especially Regina)
seem to be most concerned with themselves, which is a major flaw in
their ‘friendship’.
Self-disclosure is important to a friendship because sharing personal
information and emotions with friends is what helps develop the
relationship further. The Plastics only seem to share surface feelings
and thoughts, which is likely why it is hard for any of them to have an
honest, close friendship.
Monday, April 28, 14
14. Friendships
The fourth skill for friendships, emotional support, is all about
empathizing, supporting, and comforting friends emotionally.
There seems to be very little support in “Mean Girls” because
they are almost never honest about how they feel with each
other, therefore, supporting and empathizing becomes near
impossible.
Finally, it is important for friends to be able to disagree with
each other and work through it constructively. Conflict is an
inevitable part of almost all relationships, so handling it well is
key to keeping the relationship strong.
This clip from the film shows the dysfunctional conflict
management of The Plastics...
Monday, April 28, 14
15. Evaluation
I can relate to the movie because I remember being in similar situations as Cady in
high school. There were times with some friends that I was upset with them and I would
tell almost everyone except for the one I was upset with. I thought this would help
eliminate conflict and decrease problems, but as the text points out, conflict is inevitable.
However, I do not think I could deal with the kind of friendship The Plastics had for as
long as Cady did. I enjoy quality friendships that have all of the elements that the
textbook describes. I want to be friends with people I can be honest with as well as
people that support me as much as I support them.
“Mean Girls” is an overly-dramatized portrayal of the behavior and relationships
between high school girls. But, there are elements of truth within the drama. I remember
there being a lot of deception, talking behind people’s backs, and just behaving in a ‘fake’
manner amongst my female high school peers. I think stereotypes and media similar to
“Mean Girls” help perpetuate the dramatic behavior of, specifically, high school girls.
While it likely does not end in such a dramatic manner as the movie does, I think there is
often the great potential of different damaging consequences. This is why quality
interpersonal communication skills are so important to having quality relationships.
Monday, April 28, 14
