Summary Of The Movie 'Mean Girls' By Cady Heron

Interpersonal communication is an exchange of information between two or more people. This can be achieved in many ways and many parts come into play when influencing communication. Many times individuals do not notice these different aspects that influence the way we communicate because they happen so often and so quickly. Movies are a great way to acknowledge these aspects because they are based on communication. In the movie Mean Girls, Cady Heron has lived in Africa her entire life with her parents, who were also her homeschool teachers. Her family then moved to the United States where Cady enrolled into a public school at the start of her junior year. Cady quickly finds that high school and her new life are nothing like what she was accustomed …show more content…
Loaded language is words that are used to give bias towards a specific perception and meaning. Words like geezer or old fogey can slant a person’s perception and cause them to view older people with contempt or pity. However, if you use words like elderly or senior citizen, they will more likely be viewed and treated with respect. Loaded language is used a lot in this movie. They use words such as slut, whore, and skank when they are referring to a girl who is a little more promiscuous than others. A term that is greatly used throughout the movie is “plastic” which refers to the popular girls in the school. Whenever someone mentions “The Plastics,” students are either in awe and want to be like them, or they are filled with disgust. Throughout the movie the term is not really explained. One would assume that it is only because of their physical appearances and being compared to a plastic doll, but there is a scene where Janis tells Cady she’s become real plastic, “Cold, hard, shiny plastic.” She is implying that Cady is now one of the mean girls because of her inability to feel for others. This shows there is so much more meaning attached to the word …show more content…
In interpersonal communication, there are four principles of verbal communication. The first principle is that language and culture reflect each other, which means communication reflects our values and perceptions. Communication also changes cultures by naming things in ways that alter understanding. For example, “domestic partnership” is a term used for gay and lesbian couples as they have become more accepted in our society. The second principle of verbal communication is that the meanings of language are subjective. The meaning of words are never clear or absolute, we construct meanings while interacting with others. The third principle, is that language use is rule-guided, which means that verbal communication is patterned by unspoken but broadly understood rules. We decipher these rules into two categories, the first is regulative rules, which specify when, how, where, and with whom to talk about certain things. The second is constructive rules, which specify how to interpret different kinds of communication. The last principle in verbal communication is that punctuation shapes meaning, which is when an interaction begins and ends and who starts