Mean Girls: Your Very Own Regina George?

This blog post contains spoilers about the movie "Mean Girls."

Sometimes, while I watch movies I have revelations. Occasionally these revelations are important, but most of the time they are silly and meaningless. This is one of those times where the revelation was big (at least for me). I just recently watched the movie "Mean Girls," and I will start by telling you wonderful viewers a quick summary of the film.

"Mean Girls" begins with a girl named Cady Heron moving to America after living her whole life in Africa. She has a very limited knowledge of American school systems and cliques, but she meets two outcasts named Janis Ian and Damien that help her understand the way the school works. Cady is quickly recruited by "The Plastics," a group of "popular" girls at the school, and is enlisted to spy on them by Janis and Damien. The leader of "The Plastics," a girl named Regina George, is cruel and heartless as she pits friend against friend, clique against clique. As Cady falls in deeper with their clique, she begins to become one of them, until she becomes Regina George, the very thing she first set out to stop. Cady begins to realize her mistake as all her friends begin to turn on her, and when she is crowned Spring Fling Queen, she apologizes to everyone about her transformation and everything returns to normal.

The very first thing I took away from this film was found in the beginning. Janis and Damien are so kind to Cady when she first arrives at their school. They do not befriend her because she looks "beautiful," but because they are excited at the prospect of having a new friend. As acceptance is a common theme in many movies, I didn't find this to be quite so mind-blowing.

I've seen this movie dozens of times, and while I pay attention, something new recently caught my attention:

Everyone has their own Regina George.

This was my big revelation. A good majority of people have a Regina George. This is somebody that, no matter how poorly they treat you, you just keep coming back to seek their approval. I know a few of these people, and everytime they harm me, emotionally or physically, I just want their acceptance more and more. My belief is that humans naturally seek the approval of their "betters," whether they think they're better or not. They want to be a part of the crowd, to be popular and well-liked. Perhaps if the Regina Georges of society are taken down a peg, the rest of us won't crave their attention.

I hope this gave you something to think about for the rest of the week. Thanks for reading!