Bibliographic Information: Michaels, Lorne. Mean Girls. Hollywood, Calif. : Paramount, c2004. 1 videodisc (96 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.
. ISBN 1415700141, UPC 097363416043
Genre: DVD
MPAA rating: PG13; coarse language, sexual content.
Curriculum ties: DVD, High school, Teen Drama, Cliques, Social pressures
Producer: Lorne Michaels
Director: Mark Waters
Screenplay by: Tina Fey
Note: Based on the book Queen bees and wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman.
Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler, Ana Gasteyer, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Neil Flynn, Jonathan Bennett, Amanda Seyfried, Tina Fey.
Reader’s annotation: Cady Heron, portrayed by Lindsay Lohan, encounters a new jungle and becomes involved a new test of survival of the fittest. The tumultuous life of teenage girls will bring the animal out of everyone.
Plot Summary: Cady Heron and her zoologist parents leave behind their simple life in the African bush country and move to the United States. Cady was home-schooled by her mother in Africa. For the first time in her life, Cady is attending public high school. Cady receives the harsh lessons of American teen-age culture, queen bees, wanna-be’s, and the importance of fitting in the right group and fashion. Cady befriends two social outcasts. Together, they scheme to overthrow the queen bee Regina, portrayed by Rachel McAdams, and her group. Cady infiltrates the group and acquires status in the high school jungle. To her dismay, Cady is enamored by the power of being in Regina’s group and downplays her intelligence. Eventually, Cady loses her true friends, Aaron, her love interest, and the plan implodes in her face, resulting in public humiliation and being grounded by her parents. Cady develops a strategic rescue plan to tame the wild jungle known as adolescence.
Critical Evaluation: Mean Girls is sassy story about the typical life of teenage girl. High school is portrayed as a war zone, depicting the conflict between the various social groups, such as the plastics, the geeks, and the jocks. Cady faces the conflict of right or wrong. Although she does not agree with Regina’s ways, she follows. She realizes that she has lost her true self when her true friends and Aaron. Conformity and establishing one’s identity are powerful themes in Mean Girls. Adolescence is a critical period for one to establish their identity. Friendships and peers are the primary forces in the teenager’s life. They shape views, values, fashion sense, and formation of relationships.I like how the director made Cady’s character come from Africa and have a completely fresh view on high school life in America. It also highlighted that anyone is able to fall into the social pressures of high school.
Booktalking Ideas:
Discuss How far would you go to fit in?
At this time, which group do you identify with?
Do you think that being part of a certain group makes you more popular or unpopular? If so, which ones?
Challenge Issues/ Defense:
Challenge Issues: Pre-marital sex, sexuality, Social status, Use of alcohol and drugs
Challenge defense ideas:
• Individuals whose strongly held, unpopular opinions are given an outlet may be less apt to resort to violence than if their ideas are suppressed.
Because many decisions in our society are made by the majority, protection of minority rights ensures that the ideas of smaller, less popular groups are not suppressed by the majority. In time, the majority may come to agree with these minority groups.
Why was this book included?: Mean Girls was included to inform youths about cliques and how to avoid them. This author hopes to provide students with a positive influence on establishing their identity, increase self-worth, acceptance, and tools to manage self during these trying years.
Producer Information:
Producer, writer. Born Lorne Michael Lipowitz on November 17, 1944, in Toronto, Canada. Soon after graduating from the University of Toronto, Michaels set his sights on a career in entertaininment, becoming half of a comedy duo with fellow Canadian Hart Pomerantz. He moved to Los Angeles in 1968 to write for Laugh-In and The Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, as well as for a number of Canadian TV shows.
In 1975, NBC hired Michaels to create a show to fill a late Saturday night spot that was currently running reruns of The Tonight Show. After pulling together a group of actors and writers, Lorne debuted Saturday Night Live, a sketch comedy show that was filmed in front of a live audience. In time, the show earned the reputation of having launched some of the biggest names in comedy, incuding Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers and Will Ferrell. With Michaels as producer from 1975 to 1980 and executive producer from 1985 through today, the show has been nominated for more than 80 Emmy Awards and has won 18.
Michaels founded his production company, Broadway Video, in 1979. The company produced such shows as Kids in the Hall, as well as films based on SNL sketch acts like Wayne’s World and Tommy Boy. Michaels is also the executive producer of NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Michaels was married to Rosie Schuster from 1973 to 1980 and to Susan Forristal from 1984 to 1987. In 1999, he married Alice Barry with whom he has three children.
(Producer biography obtained from Biography.com. Retrieved from: http://www.biography.com/articles/Lorne-Michaels-16242370).
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