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Elizabeth Carrillo
English 114B
Professor Azeem
20 March 2015
Space in Mean Girls
There is a lot one can relate to in the movie Mean Girls, directed by Mark Waters and
screenplay by Tina Fey based in part on Rosalind Wisemans non-fiction book Queen Bees and
Wannabes, especially if one is watching it and they are in the high school years. The movie
might be a bit of an exaggeration compared to a real life experience in high school but
nonetheless the movie reflects a lot of what happens in the real world. Many observations in
reference to personal space, interpellation/ideology, and panopticism can made from this movie
based on the way space is set up in this movie which can reflect on society today. The space in
this movie is made to portray the conformity that exists within society, making one act or dress a
certain way, to make one feel like they fit in or approved.
Everyone has a personal space, which is considered to be the way one truly is inside and
the way one acts in accordance with the way they truly think and feel. Many today alter their
personal space for approval of someone else, just like Cady alters her personal space for Reginas
approval. In the movie there is a big difference in Cadys, the main character, personal space like
the way she is when she is home and public space being the way she is when at school and
around her friends. Cadys personal space is more evident in the beginning of the movie before
she was corrupted, if you will, by the plastic girls in the attempt of sabotaging Regina Georges

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reputation as a favor for Janice by spying on her. Coming from Africa, where Cady was home
schooled she was not exposed to the large amount of gossip or fashion trends in the high school
public system. Cady was supposedly a girl brought up by her parents to be a well behaved,
responsible, and trustworthy daughter. Well what else could be expected of her from her
parents? Cady had not shown otherwise and continued not to even when she was in the process
of becoming a plastic girl herself. The way Cady acted at home when she was with her parents is
considered her personal space but it is soon seen how her personal space transforms when she is
around Regina George and her two friends Gretchen and Karen. Cady becomes a self-absorbed,
backstabbing, pretentious character in order to be accepted by Regina George. The alteration in
Cadys personal space puts into perspective the way people in society today may alter their
personal space for approval.
In a similar way Violet in Feed, by M.T. Anderson, alters her personal space to seem
normal to Titus friends. Violets personal space can be described as genuine knowledge. She
loved to read books and write a lot which enriched her vocabulary that nobody, except her father,
understood. She was well informed of events happening around the world. Whenever she used
her extensive vocabulary or shared her knowledge or information about global issues she was
considered snotty. To prevent such judgement towards her most of the time shekept her smart
remarks or comments to herself. She altered her personal space and used the feed when she was
around anyone that was not her father who is much like her. When Violet when out with Titus
and his friends such alteration of her personal space gained approval of Titus friends for the
most part.
There is a reason why many people alter their personal space for approval of others and
what causes them to partake in such alteration. The cause for such alteration, as seen in the

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movie, is due to the social systems and institutions that mediate the way we act and behave
which is known as the Ideological State Apparatus (ISA). Examples of ISA include family,
friends, school, language, and media. These social systems and institutions surround us all day
every day! At the end of the day these social systems and institutions do have an effect on the
way we look, dress, act, talk, and much more.