Analysis Paper #6 1

Analysis Paper #6

Individual Theory Project – Mean Girls (2004)

Trent Sprague

Introduction to Communications

Wittenberg University

May 9, 2020
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Mean Girls (Waters, 2004) is a comedy film about Cady Heron, a homeschooled girl who attends

school for the first time in the competitive social landscape of North Shore High School in Evanston, IL

after moving from the plains of Africa. Cady is introduced to The Plastics; a group of school controlling

queen bees who know everything, bow to no one and set the trends who are led by Regina George.

Cady also becomes friends with Damian and Janis Ian, two artists who rank low on the social ladder at

North Shore High School. Through Cady’s interactions with Damian, Janis and the Plastics, she begins to

understand how the social landscape of a modern American high school can closely resemble the animal

world.

Mean Girls was chosen as my group artifact due to its satirical look at the social dynamics of an

American high school. Most college students can relate to Mean Girls as we have grown up navigating

similar landscapes even if they are not as exaggerated as the one shown in Mean Girls. Mean Girls is

originally based off the self-help book, Queen bees and wannabes: helping your daughter survive cliques,

gossip, boyfriends and other realities of adolescence, (Wiseman, 2002) which helps to ground the film

into the reality that high school is full of underlying stereotypes.

Looking at Mean Girls through the lenses of communication theory can be useful to researchers

for several reasons. The first reason that communications theories can be applied to movies since they

are an exaggeration of everyday life. While my high school may not have had the Plastics, it defiantly

had a group who knew everything and set the trends. This exaggeration of daily life can help researchers

explain a theories active parts to virtually any audience.

This explanation is possible due to the second reason that it is useful to understand

communications theories, movies such as Mean Girls shape culture. Before viewing Mean Girls, I did not

understand where the phrase, “We wear pink on Wednesdays” (Waters, 2004) came from. This common

phrase is only one of many examples of how movies influence culture. With these two reasons to use
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communications theories, my group decided to look at Mean Girls, through the lenses of Cognitive

Dissonance Theory and Group Think Theory.

In Introducing communication theory, Cognitive Dissonance Theory is defined as “feelings of

discomfort resulting from inconsistent attitudes, thoughts and behaviors.” (West & Turner, 2019, p. 105)

Dissonance is the result of elements which are in friction with each other and is uncomfortable to

experience. These elements can be physical or mental elements while cognitions are a person’s beliefs

regarding the individual elements.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory is applicable to Mean Girls as each character has their own

cognitions regarding how they are perceived and their rung on the social ladder at North Shore High

School. The first example of Cognitive Dissonance Theory in Mean Girls occurs early as Cady adjusts to

the rules at North Shore. She attempts to leave her chemistry class and is stopped when she lacks the

lavatory pass. When Cady asks for the lavatory pass, her teacher chuckles and denies her request.

This denial shakes Cady’s personal belief that she is independent enough to go to the restroom

without asking the teacher for permission. Before she started at North Shore, Cady was used to being

trusted by adults. This friction between Cady independence and her teachers distrust creates dissonance

which defines her first few days at North Shore.

On Cady’s second day at North Shore, she is stopped in the cafeteria by the Plastics who accept

her and allow her to sit at their lunch table. When Cady sits with them for the first time, Gretchen

explains the rules to Cady which creates a disconnect between reality and the Plastics perception of

reality. The Plastics held to a strict dress code including wearing pink on Wednesday. Violating these

norms set by the Plastics would result in banishment from the Plastics table during lunch.

Wanting to continue to sit at the Plastic’s table during lunch required Cady to change her style

to fit. This change is at friction with Cady’s normal routine of styling herself without restrictions. The
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Plastics also create friction between Cady’s belief that they are friendly. This occurs when Gretchen uses

Janis and Damian’s table as an example for punishment if the Plastics dress code were violated.

This dissonance that Cady experiences regarding her relationship with the Plastics is increased

after school during a visit to Old Orchard Mall. Regina fakes a phone call to a student’s mother from

Planned Parenthood to punish the female for hanging out with Gretchen’s boyfriend. This faked call

causes the student’s mother to faint as it challenges her ideals of her daughter.

Additionally, Cady’s dissonance between her friendship with the Plastics and her self-worth is

decreased around the 33-minute mark when Regina meets with her in the Hallway. Regina stops a girl

wearing a vintage skirt and complements it. However, when the girl walks away, Regina informs Cady

that it was “the ugliest fucking skirt [she’d] ever seen.” (Fey, 2004) These different opinions Regina

shares creates a dissonance between how others see themselves and how they are seen by others.

Cady uses the Plastics high self-worth against them during the revenge plan which is created by

Damian, Janis and herself after a terrible Halloween Party. Cady sends every Plastics a candy-gram

except for Gretchen. When Gretchen fails to receive a candy-gram and Cady does, the inconsistency

fosters a resentment between her and the rest of the Plastics.

As part of the revenge plan, Cady introduces Regina to Kälteen bars to “help her lose weight,”

while they are to change Regina’s body image. After eating 5,000 calories from the bars for several

weeks, Regina goes to try on dresses for Spring Fling and is unable to fit. When she asks if there is a

larger size, she is told to “try Sears.” This abnormal response shakes Regina as she views herself as the

head of North Shore social ladder and better than shopping at Sears.

Regina is shaken again later when she wears sweatpants to North Shore on a Monday instead on

a Friday. Regina violates the Plastics dress code and attempts to brush it off by calling the rules fake.

Gretchen and Karen rebel this attempted brush off by providing examples of when Regina enforced the
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rules previously. When Gretchen holds fast on enforcing the rules, Regina experiences dissonance as she

is not controlling the group anymore.

This dissonance is compounded moments later as Regina bumps into another student who is

larger and yet calls Regina a “fat ass.” (Fey, 2004) This Irony of Regina being bullied by a student lower

on the social ladder at North Shore creates friction between Regina’s self-worth and how she is currently

seen by others at North Shore.

Another instance of Cognitive Dissonance is after Regina distributes the Burn Book to the

students of North Shore. The Burn Book is a journal created by the Plastics which features every junior

girl and insults them. After Regina discovers that Cady has been using the Kälteen bars to change her

body, she adds herself to the Burn Book and hands it over to Mr. Duvall, the principal of North Shore.

Regina does this to trick Principal Duvall into punishing Cady, Gretchen and Karen.

After Principal Duvall handles the hysteria caused by the Burn Book’s distribution, Cady returns

home and deals with dissonance from her parents who fail to understand Cady’s actions. One example

of this is when Cady’s mother expresses annoyance when she finds tribal vices under the kitchen sink

following a house party at Cady’s house. Another example is when Cady’s father expresses

disappointment when Cady admits to failing calculus. These examples are times when Cady is expressing

inconsistent behaviors from her time in Africa compared to her recent time at North Shore.

Group Think Theory was the second lens which my group decided to look at Mean Girls through.

In Introducing communication theory, Group Think is defined as “a way of group deliberation that

minimizes conflict and emphasizes the need for unanimity.” (West & Turner, 2019, p. 238) Group Think

occurs when groups work together and resist outside influence. Group Think can feature a member of

the group acting as the leader and the rest of the group following along just to minimize internal

conflicts.
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Mean Girls has lots of examples of Group Think including a repeated phrase of “it will be like our

little secret.” This phrase is said by the Plastics and Damian and creates a common bond between two or

more characters to accept unethical behaviors. Group Think can help explain that each member will

likely keep quiet about the issue as they do not want to create conflicts.

During Cady’s second day of classes, she skips health class with Damian and Janis after they

consider themselves as friends. When Damian and Janis reveal this information, they use peer pressure

to convince Cady to stay outside with them. Cady chooses to stay as she will naturally want to be part of

a group.

Later, Cady uses a similar pressure to connect with the Plastics especially Karen. Cady uses her

failing math grade seem relatable to Karen as their failing grades help create a common connection or

homogeneity. This connection makes it easier for Karen to trust and side with Cady when the Plastics

turn on Regina.

This connection stays strong when Karen, Gretchen and Cady are called into Mr. Duvall’s office

and accused of writing the Burn Book. The three unite in naming Regina as the true creator of the book

as they do not wish to receive punishments for taking ownership of the book.

However, when Cady realizes that staying silent creates worse punishment for others, she

speaks up and takes sole ownership of the Burn Books creation. This ownership occurs after Cady

realizes that a united front against punishment can affect others worse than speaking up when you are

wrong.

While there are many examples of both theories in Mean Girls which I did not cover. Both

Theories are interesting however, I feel that looking at Mean Girls through the lens of Cognitive

Dissonance Theory is more appropriate. I feel this way due to the large number and variability of

examples. Group Think Theory appears in large numbers, yet the examples are often the same.
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Looking at culture and Mean Girls specifically through the lenses of theory allow researchers to

create specific criteria which are independent of culture. This independence allows for testability of

culture from a thousand years ago to current day. Communication Theories are all over the place and

understanding them can help explain how and why people execute certain actions.