In our contemporary society media plays a huge role in defining and denoting different stereotypes, genders and class. It is not often that the media has nothing to say about any given topic especially when it comes to representations of youth. Throughout media young women are commonly portrayed as snobbish, vain and ego-centric queen bee’s or the unfortunate, weak admirers of the reigning queen bees. Characterizations in various movies, literature and social media label teenage girls with stereotypical and offensive titles which inevitably have affected an entire generation of girl’s self-confidences and mental stability and may continue to do so if nothing is changed. Media and authority has used its power to group “teens” together …show more content…
From representations of bitchy plastics such as Regina George in Mean Girls to innocent teens altered in order to become popular such as Sandy Olsson in Grease, we have all just gotten used to the fact that the movie industry has and will continue to portray most teenage girls as bitchy and ego-centric or so unfortunate that they need a life saving makeover in order for them to become a desirable woman. The recurring theme of a marginalized, lower class teen girl gaining popularity by taking on the exact characteristics of those who where popular in the first place can be seen in more movies than you realize. Mean girls directed by Mark Waters is a comedic look into the life of a new high school student, Cady, who would be considered undesirable, boring or just to normal for her own good. With the help of the queen bee, a bit of sexualizing, and a horrifically vain attitude, Cady soon became the one to admire by the whole school. Generalizations such as of Cady’s character and the various other school cliques, especially “the plastics” still effect today’s viewers of the movie negatively as the movie forces the audience to question themselves and their self