Pham 1

Catherine Pham

Prof. Prior

Soc 1

21 May 2017

Sociological Analysis of Mean Girls

The movie Mean Girls follows 16-year old Cady Heron through her transition from

homeschool to high school. Cady befriends Janis Ian and Damian Leigh and they educate her on

the various cliques and the most popular group, the "Plastics." Led by "Queen Bee" Regina

George, the "Plastics" take interest in Cady and slowly incorporate her into their clique. Cady

originally joined as a spy to help Janis's revenge, but she gradually changes how she acts to fit in

and attract her crush and Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron. She soon learns about Regina's "Burn

Book," a journal filled with secrets, rumors, and gossip about other girls and some teachers in

school. Cady had initially forgone Janis's plan but eventually commits once Regina gets back

together with Aaron after learning of Cady's infatuation with him. This sparks a takeover as

Cady steals Regina's power by turning Aaron and the other "Plastics" against her, abandoning

her friendship with Janis and Damian. Regina then frames Cady by spreading her "Burn Book"

around the school and framing it as Cady's journal. The principal quells the ensuing riot between

the girls and, with the help of Math teacher Ms. Norbury, makes the girls confront how badly

they all treat each other and to apologize to one another. Janis refuses to apologize, reveals her

plan against Regina, and mocks her with the support of the entire school, causing Regina to

storm out and get hit by a bus. Cady, alienated by the entire school and an outcast, redeems

herself by expressing her guilt and amending her broken relationships at prom when crowned

Queen.
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When observing Mean Girls, French sociologist Auguste Comte would analyze the

movie using his theory of positivism and through the application of the scientific method to

understand the set laws governing the social world, North Shore High School. Comte would

focus on Cady Heron and claim that she is experiencing a social change due to leaving the

comfort of her homeschool life to become a part of the student body at North Shore High School.

Cady, having acquired no experience or understanding of how high school works, must find the

social laws that control the high school in order to fit in. Cady tries to comprehend her current

situation and searches for ways to make it better. This will require her to make conditions better

for the students and teachers. She is able to learn about the rules of high school through her two

friends, Janis and Damian, as well as through the trials and errors she faces throughout the high

school year.

As for Karl Marx, he would approach Mean Girls through the perspective of the conflict

theory. Marx would emphasize the social divide within the high school amongst the students and

teachers. He would identify the Plastics, namely Regina George as part of the higher class or

the bourgeoisie as they control the resources and believe the teachers and other students should

heed to their every whim and command. The rest of the student body would be part of the lower

class or the proletariat as many students and even teachers have been constantly humiliated and

belittled by the higher class, and seek social change. Not only would Marx view the situation as a

social conflict, he would also view it as social struggle as many of the students want to be

recognized and treated as equals. The Plastics can use their power and influence, as well as

their sex appeal and the insecurity of others, to take advantage of the students and teachers with

little to no interference.
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When mile Durkheim views Mean Girls, she would approach it through a functionalist

perspective and observe North Shore High School as a complex system that Cady must be

introduced to in order to maintain stability and to avoid being alienated. The students, teachers,

and principal perform certain societal functions within the high school that works towards the

good of the whole. After the individuals roles have been assessed, Durkheim would then go on

to identify the social facts such as the norms, values, and structures of the North Shore High

School social system. Social facts like the moral values of the girls or the rules of the school can

have multiple functions in the high school. For example, certain social facts that demonstrate

how an individual may be ostracized through bullying, becoming a target for humiliation and

harassment within North Shore High School. Durkheim would agree with how the power

struggle between the Plastics and the entire school was handled as the disruption of social

order and acknowledgment of the problem led to greater stability and thus maintained dynamic

equilibrium with the school.

I believe social conflict is the most represented sociological paradigm within Mean Girls.

In relation to the protagonist, Cady Heron, her involvement in the tension and conflict between

cliques within the school gave her firsthand experience of how the social structure can be

maintained. The antagonist, Regina George shows off her power and authority by using sexual

coercion and the inferiority of the girls to gain the males attention and destroy all potential

competition for her status, thus creating a divide in social classes. Students and teachers followed

the Plastics commands in a means to gain popularity or a better social standing. Like Marx's

works, alienation is an outcome that appeared within the movie as Cady experiences the height

of power, only to maintain the same social structure of conflict, resulting in a riot.