I woke up and started my day with a healthy dose of Mean Girls. I love the catty-ness the characters bring and it sure did the trick to wake me up. Although I've seen this film a solid 20 or so times, I noticed something this time around that had glossed over my observations in the past. I noticed that the men in this film are either "castrated" or under some type of spell Regina puts on them. It is clear Regina George, the main mean girl has power of men, however I have just recently noticed exactly how much power her and the other girls have. If we look at Gretchen's relationship with her ex-boyfriend Jason, we see her having the power. Regina controls Aaron and brainwashes him into liking her and wearing his hair in a "sexy" manner. I think one of the main reasons many of the guys I talk to about this film don't like it, is because when they watch it, they feel castrated. Most guys don't have a problem watching 30 Rock, also written by Tina Fey, but that's because Alec Baldwin holds the majority of the power in the show. The film comedic to say the least, connotes feminism and although it may be in a unconventional way, I enjoy it and have a new found respect for the Mean Girls. It's interesting to see exactly how accurate that article was when it came to demeaning men and their roles in film. Obviously this film doesn't have a great message to be sending, until the end of the film but the idea that women can hold the power is something that certainly appeals to me. Regina holds the most power not only with guys but the entire school. It is interesting to me to see how when Kady steps up to her, how she then is more respected by the others in school. It appears that people only respected Regina out of intimidation, however that was not the case for Kady.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Mean Girls.... feminist?
I woke up and started my day with a healthy dose of Mean Girls. I love the catty-ness the characters bring and it sure did the trick to wake me up. Although I've seen this film a solid 20 or so times, I noticed something this time around that had glossed over my observations in the past. I noticed that the men in this film are either "castrated" or under some type of spell Regina puts on them. It is clear Regina George, the main mean girl has power of men, however I have just recently noticed exactly how much power her and the other girls have. If we look at Gretchen's relationship with her ex-boyfriend Jason, we see her having the power. Regina controls Aaron and brainwashes him into liking her and wearing his hair in a "sexy" manner. I think one of the main reasons many of the guys I talk to about this film don't like it, is because when they watch it, they feel castrated. Most guys don't have a problem watching 30 Rock, also written by Tina Fey, but that's because Alec Baldwin holds the majority of the power in the show. The film comedic to say the least, connotes feminism and although it may be in a unconventional way, I enjoy it and have a new found respect for the Mean Girls. It's interesting to see exactly how accurate that article was when it came to demeaning men and their roles in film. Obviously this film doesn't have a great message to be sending, until the end of the film but the idea that women can hold the power is something that certainly appeals to me. Regina holds the most power not only with guys but the entire school. It is interesting to me to see how when Kady steps up to her, how she then is more respected by the others in school. It appears that people only respected Regina out of intimidation, however that was not the case for Kady.
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interesting analysis of the film. Does it problematize the matter than all of the women are such jerks. Does it mean women must be bad people to have power or that powerful women are castrating?
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