Monday, 28 October 2013

Critical Review of Personal Film Spectatorship - The Movie

For my second task within this unit, I have been asked to critically review and analyse my response to a film text of my choice. The movie I have chosen to respond to is the 2004 American teen movie Mean Girls. Directed by Mark Waters and loosely based on the Rosalind Wiseman novel 'Queen Bees and Wannabees', Mean Girls is 97 minutes worth of comical high school drama.


The movie follows the life of Cady Heron and her transition from home-schooled girl to high school student. We see Cady, played by Lindsay Lohan, struggle to find her place in this new world full of various cliques and social standings. Whilst trying to fit in, Cady falls victim to the lifestyle and culture of the "queen bees" of the school, quickly losing her way and becoming like them - a mean girl. As a mean girl, Cady soon realises that despite her popularity, she no longer has any real friends she can trust no-one. And after being thrust into the middle of a huge school scandal, Cady finds that perhaps the popularity, as exciting as it may be, is not worth all the spite and drama that comes with it and soon she finds herself just wanting to be a regular girl again. 


The movie was a huge hit when it came out, grossing over $129,000,000 worldwide. I think the reason for the film's success is due to a combination of a star-filled cast and the relateability of so many of the characters and themes in the story. Whilst the drama surrounding Cady's life is a main focus of the story, it is not the only one. The idea of the different cliques found within a school and how these cliques can shape a school's society is another main theme running parallel throughout the whole film. A lot of other themes and areas typical of a usual high school environment, including teen pregnancy, under-age drinking and bullying are  also touched on - all relateable topics which I think would've boosted the movie's popularity.

No comments:

Post a Comment