Getting Discomfortable with Mean Girls: Part 1

This week’s podcast is actually a video! You can still listen to the podcast version if you prefer, or you can watch the video version below (or here) complete with footage ripped from the classic teen comedy, Mean Girls (2004). I’m not entirely sure this video is legal (fair use?), but it’s for a good cause: Shame Ed.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it was actually my 13-year old niece who suggested I do a video on Mean Girls and I’m glad she did because it turned out to be a cornucopia of shame! So much so that it quickly evolved into a trilogy of episodes. Here’s the first:

I’ve been a fan of Mean Girls since way back in the day when I rented the DVD from Black Dog, the edgy video store in my old neighbourhood, only to be mocked about it by the staff in front of the whole store (talk about shame). But it was worth it. The more I watch Mean Girls, the more I appreciate how well-observed Tina Fey’s script is (its genre conventions notwithstanding) and how terrific both Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams are in their respective roles (again, relative to the genre). That said, you don’t really need to have seen the film to appreciate this series of episodes, but of course, SPOILER ALERT (though it’s not really the kind of film you can spoil). Here’s the setup, as paraphrased from Wikipedia:

Sixteen-year-old homeschooled Cady Heron and her zoologist parents return to the United States after a twelve-year research trip in Africa. Her first time attending a public school, Cady routinely embarrasses herself in attempts to fit in and make new friends.

The film is all about belonging and authenticity (or lack thereof), as well as the inevitable(?) hierarchy and shame of high school. As Cady is thrust into a dizzying new world of social norms, rules, and cliques, she struggles to juggle her new friendships, frenemies, boys, and of course schoolwork. Cady gets caught between the artsy kids and the irresistible gravity of the infamous “Plastics”, the most popular girls in the school who basically just want Cady for her good looks. When Cady develops a crush on the ex-boyfriend of Regina George, the Queen of The Plastics, a shame battle ensues for social dominance and the coveted title of Spring Fling Queen.

The film is also a fascinating demonstration of how shame (often in the form of embarrassment) is at the root of most comedy.

Watch Part 2 here.