Let Mean Girls Be Mean
Recently, I saw a tweet on Twitter that declared Regina George was not as mean as we made her out to be—that she was villainized and she was actually nice. I could not disagree more.
When Mean Girls was released in 2004, the teen comedy made a cultural impact with its quotable one-liners, pink fashion, and the most iconic character of the film, Regina George. The spotlight was not on the sweet protagonist Cady, unlike many other teen films. Regina was a highly popular and well-liked character as teens dressed up as her for Halloween and reblogged her snarky lines on Tumblr. With this fascination and secret admiration of this classic “mean girl,” there have been numerous more successors in teen television shows such as Santana Lopez from Glee, Alison DiLaurentis from Pretty Little Liars, Sharpay Evans from High School Musical, and many more. These characters, in my opinion, end up stealing scenes, and oftentimes the audience’s attention and hearts. However, these characters, albeit entertaining, are mean (hence the title “mean girl”). They throw slushies at the “losers.” They publicly humiliate the protagonist about their crush or about their outfit. They bring down others to bring themselves up. so we naturally seek reasons why they continue to be mean throughout the film or show to grasp for a chance for redemption for our favorite character. But why can’t we let “mean girl” characters be mean for no reason?
A lot of times, we like “mean girls” because they’re not only entertaining antagonists but also selfish and determined—they want to uphold a status quo within the high school hierarchy. When we love a character, it can reflect our own personality and style. Someone whose favorite character is Rachel Berry may be different from someone whose favorite is Santana Lopez or Quinn Fabray. We take uQuiz or Buzzfeed quizzes to find out which character we are in an ensemble cast of Genera+ion or the Gossip Girl reboot.
On the other hand, I believe loving the mean character does not mean you, the viewer, would encourage this behavior in reality, even if you tweet you want Monet from the Gossip Girl reboot to continue being mean and blunt. The most important part to remember while watching television is that this is a fabricated reality written by a writing room and brought to life by actors. This is where drawing a line is crucial, because the characters I’m discussing are teenage “mean girls,” and not characters who are truly morally corrupt.
Sometimes, shows will expand on why these characters are mean to the protagonist(s), but will simultaneously tone down their personalities, making them more pleasant and good. This may be because the writers want us to like the “mean girls,” but the appeal is that we like them because of how fun their characterizations are. Protagonists in teen dramas usually are saddled by insecurities such as being the “new girl” or an outsider, which is part of the coming-of-age sequence. The antagonist “mean girl,” on the other hand, has free reign to do and say whatever she wants (even snappy comebacks) because she is at the top of the hierarchy, unafraid of authority and fellow students. We don’t need to reach for justifications on why this character has a tragic backstory that shaped them into the mean girl they are now. This type of story building enhances teen dramas in film and television as it revolves around typical teen experiences and a clear antagonist allows the protagonist to go through a bildungsroman.
People may feel bad for liking the “villain” of the story, but I argue that the “mean girl” is not a villain at all. She’s a teenage girl that is designed to stand in opposition to our precious protagonist and will do anything to stop the progression of the bildungsroman journey. We need “mean girl” characters to bring ambition, a sharp tongue, and entertainment, all while enriching the coming-of-age stories we love.
Cover Photo by Mean Girls. Edited by Madison Case.
