"Mean Girls"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how groups of adolescents are often particularly preoccupied of defining themselves 'against' others groups, whether members of their own peer group, adults, or both and how they can often be considered the most fertile generators of slang. In particular, the paper looks at how the movie "Mean Girls" shows that language, even seemingly innocent language, can be a weapon. The character in the film called Regina is examined to show how her beauty and social smarts, as well as her generation of cruel words, solidify her top position in high school society and how, only when opponents like Cady speak Regina's language can she compete with the 'mean girl' on her terms. The paper concludes that slang, love it or hate it, as the film suggests, is a necessary weapon for survival in the hothouse culture of adolescence.

From the Paper:

"Slang can seem to derive organically, but it is not part of a long-standing tradition of communication like a fully-fledged language. It is piecemeal, made up of scraps and patches of existing language, but reconfigures that language in such a way to communicate with greater subtly and subtext, so that someone who is not 'in the know' may have trouble interpreting the full meaning of what is being said, unless he or she is entirely socialized to the context in which the slang is used. Or, the outsider may misinterpret the meaning because they know the slang word's usual or denotative use and meaning, but not the connotative use of the word as it is being deployed by the exclusive, slang-using group."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Mean Girls." Directed by Tina Fey. 2004.

More papers on "Mean Girls":

• Analytical Essay # 136779 : "'Mean Girls' and Female Adolescent Development"
• Comparison Essay # 121200 : "Adolescent Girls and Society"
• Analytical Essay # 60391 : "Nan Enstad's "Ladies of Labor, Girls of Adventure"

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