Movie/Video Study
by Angie Heseman-Devoto Clive, IA
Mean Girls
Paramount Pictures
PG-13 (sexual content, language and some teen partying)
Introduction
When I asked my junior and senior high youth what movie they had recently rented they replied, Mean Girls. Not knowing much about it, I decided to choose and review this popular teen movie. When I began watching it I found it leaving much to be desired for a Bible study. After further contemplation, I came to the conclusion that this is what some youth are watching when they are not at church and when they are with their friends. What more valuable tool to give youth than to teach them to review in the context of their Christian faith movies that they are already watching and to assist them in analyzing movies through their ethics and values.
The movie Mean Girls, produced by Loren Michaels, who also produces Saturday Night Live, can be an opportunity for many discussion topics with senior high youth. The movie itself includes some crude, intolerant humor, teenage sexuality, and partying but can provide an opportunity for discussion. The odds are that youth have already seen this movie and talked about it with their friends. I would strongly recommend previewing the movie for appropriateness for your youth
group. Clips of the movie may work best to illustrate
discussions of cliques, popularity, revenge, gossip, anger, and forgiveness.
Movie review
Calling someone else fat will not make you any thinner. Calling somebody stupid will not make you smarter. And you’ve got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it all right for guys to call you that.
(Math teacher Mrs. Norbury addressing the females in the student body.)
school after having been home schooled her entire life. She is quickly introduced to the cliques that exist at school: the “Asian Nerds,” the “Burnouts,” the “Mathletes,” the “Jocks,” and most importantly, the “Plastics.”
The “Plastics,” Regina, Gretchen and Karen, are a group of three girls who run this suburban high school and are the focus of the movie. The Plastics use flattery and manipulative behavior to use people and maintain their queen bee status among the student body. Cady is quickly challenged and accepted by these girls because of her attractive looks and given a set of standards to live by. Her friends Lizzy and Damian convince Cady to infiltrate their group and to sabotage their status from the inside. Cady begins to take on the Plastic status and actually becomes one of the “Mean Girls.”
Discussion questions
Talking about popularity
This movie’s primary story is about popularity and cliques in high school. Ask youth to answer the following questions pertaining to their school and their involvement in it. This can be done before viewing the movie or selected clips as an introduction or after viewing the movie.
Activity
Have everyone form a continuum line from one side of the room to another. You may choose to label it as follows: one end of the line for “Often” and the other end for “Never.” Ask youth to move to where they believe they are in the continuum in response to each question.
I feel pressured to do what others are doing in order to be accepted.
I check with my parents before I check with my friends about difficult situations.
I am a leader in all that I do.
It is easy for me to live out my faith & values when I am with my friends.
When I disagree with someone I usually change my opinion.
I feel pressure to dress a certain way at school.
I act like a different person at school then I do at youth group.
My friends are greatly influenced by the media.
I am greatly influenced by the media.
I feel like I fit in with a particular group at school.
Discussion questions
In the movie, cliques were an important issue and introduced to Cady by Lezzy according to where they sat in the lunchroom.
1. Which character do you most identify with?
3. Do the cliques have names in your school? (e.g., Slipknots, Plastics, Jocks, Geeks, Slackers, etc.)
4. How important is it to be popular in high school?
5. How do people perceive popularity?
6. How do people attain popularity?
Take it further
This discussion of cliques can be used to talk about separation in your youth groups:
1. Why do you come to _______ group? (Look for and draw out the underlying answers and not just what they think they should answer. Be careful not to judge or critique any of the responses (e.g., my parents make me attend, friend talked me into it, I don’t really know.)
3. Would you feel comfortable inviting friends to participate in our activities and programs? What about and other things that go on in our group?
4. How are outsiders or guests welcomed to our activities and programs?
If accountability and forgiveness need to occur, try a trust fall, but make sure you know how to do it first. There are many other activities that help develop group trust as well.
Gossip, anger, revenge, and forgiveness
The Plastics form a log of rumors, gossip, and lies, called the “Burn Book.” At one point in the movie, this book is used to manipulate each other and cause an all-out school fight. The fight results in an all-girl assembly that causes the girls to take accountability for their actions and words and participate in a trust fall led by Mrs. Norbury.
Discussion questions on anger and revenge:
1. Describe a time in your life when you felt like taking revenge on another person?
2. What did you do to release that anger?
3. What are some examples of negative ways to release anger?
5. Was the Burn Book a negative or positive way to release anger? Why?
Discussion questions on gossip and forgiveness: 1. How did gossip play a part in the movie?
2. What are some ways that words hurt people in the movie?
3. How did taking accountability and doing trust fall activities help repair the damage done by rumors and gossip?
4. When have you had to take accountability for your actions in your own life?
Discuss the following ideas and how they apply to the movie and their own lives. Split into groups and discuss them.
Turn the other cheek.
How often should I forgive?
Don’t dwell on someone’s faults
How should we act.)
Accountability for people’s actions.
Be slow to anger.
Watch your tongue.
An action step
Create a simple statement that describes how you will treat each other and guests in your group or club. Ask everyone to sign it and post it in a very visible location. Refer back to the statement when conflicts or issues arise. Use it as a springboard to other discussions about
hospitality, community, outreach, caring for each other, respect for all people, etc.
