okay i loved this video so much and it also reminded me that i desperately need to rewatch mean girls. as for the plastics vs janis, i feel like the people saying that janis also didn’t get to achieve her goal (destroying the plastics and taking the power for herself) are missing the point. both janis and the plastics clearly put a lot of effort into appearance (both wear heavy makeup, style their hair, wear earrings/hair clips/other accessories). the only difference is that the plastics’ style matches up w ideas of hyper femininity (pink, lip gloss, mini skirts, etc) while janice’s doesn’t. the movie ends w no one achieving their initial goals and everyone “learning their lesson,” but much of that is conveyed through the plastics taking up masculine hobbies (w regina becoming an athlete) and dressing in much more casual, modest clothing. janice’s appearance never changes bc the movie sees hyperfemininity itself as something vapid and negative that needs to be solved

“Janis is a mirror to Regina” YES!!! Regina and Janis were once friends for a reason after all

The fact that Regina is only "good" when she starts doing sport a typichally masculine activity...

When you look at early 2000s teen movies, the "mean girl" is always really feminine which is strange to me. I think this is why many young girls developed this "pick me" mentality or "i'm not like other girls" kind of thing. Because the movies they watched subconsciously made them think that if you were typically feminine at all you would be a mean girl or annoying. This happened to me as a child because my favorite color used to be pink and I loved disney princesses, but seeing villians like Sharpay and Regina George made me reject those things and even shame other women who wore pink and were into shopping. I even began to be "sassy" to others for no reason because I thought it was cool. But I was just a bully. I hated everything I used to like for years because I thought it was shameful to like anything girly. Not until I turned 18 did I finally begin to turn back to pink and girly things that I loved in my childhood

I always loved Totally Spies. They are the cliché of the three pretty girls obsessed with shopping, yet they are not demonized. Clover is the closest example. She is the blonde girl, boy crazy, compulsive shopper, trend follower, who is always figthing mandy,  but she along Alex and Sam are the "good guys" who save the day.

My favorite thing about them were the gadgets they had. The gadgets were usually things that are consider "girly"or"femenine" : compowdesr,  laser lipstick, Data Processor Pendant, Freeze Bracelet, Flashlight Ring, Parachute Purse, anti-gravity gogo boots, etc.

this is precisely why Legally Blonde was such an important movie

This video is awesome, but I think it's important to separate critiquing hyper-femininity and critiquing conformist culture. At the end, the plastics hardly change; they're more so expressing themselves in ways they couldn't before because they had to put in so much effort to portray themselves a certain way. The reason Janis' (and Karen's) wardrobe remained the same is because she was dressing exactly the way she wanted to. Regina taking up lacrosse isn't a positive change because it's less feminine, but because she isn't forcing herself to not do things that interest her in order to maintain her femininity.

So many good points! Tina Fey also parodies the demonization of hyper feminity in her show 30 rock. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) decides to tear down her co-worker's hyper feminine facade and ends up runing her life. The "cool and casual" girl is actually the villain who can't accept an expression of feminity that isn't her own

Winx club was my life. They were so feminine, powerful and such deep women in touch with their own aspects of femininity.

i've always kind of had the opposite perspective, and felt that mean girls, as much as it indulges in some harmful stereotypes, is really quite empowering bc of how strongly and unapologetically it leans into hyper-femininity and teen girl culture. everything you said makes total sense though!! great video!!

Regina is not portrayed as an air head. She is shown to be extremely intelligent. She is not queen bee by coincidence, she carefully manipulates the school political situation to preserve her influence. She doesn’t follow trends, she makes them. Regina is not a good person, but her character is portrayed as a strong woman.

At the end, it’s suggested that both Regina’s hyperfemininity and Janis’s rejection of femininity are both disingenuous. Regina explicitly performs the femininity expected of her to manipulate others for her own gain. Both Janis and Cady have obviously more feminine styles at the end, whereas Regina obviously less, but Karen dresses the same - because the problem isn’t hyperfemininity as long as it’s genuine

I also kind of have the opposite perspective because Karen and Gretchen are still very feminine at the end and don’t change much either like Janice. I felt it was more about the dynamics of female relationships. I read something about how Regina mistakes Janice for being a lesbian because she’s Lebanese. So, I think that is a part of reginas physical transformation because she said janice’s dream was diving into a pile of girls and then at the end of the movie that’s what Regina does. But loved your insight!

Weird, it seems to me that what the movie does is showing how toxic privilege and hierarchy ideologies are, but also how society is super prone to put woman against woman. And how it is always a pleasure to everyone when we can tear down someone from a higher status, even though we may always be prone to make the same, if not worse, msitakes once we grasp the power left in vacuum

A few years ago, I used to be the girl that said she "was different." Because, yes, I had more male friends and liked doing sports and gaming. Nonetheless, I internalized, that 'being feminine' was being weak and boring - straight-up misogyny. By now I understand that being "girly or womanly" is nothing bad. Heck, it is fucking cool!
Your videos are great! Keep going :)

A line I've thought about a lot is when Janis tells Cady "at least girls like me and Regina George know we're mean." Obviously it's not a huge thing, but I think it's a cool little nod to how Janis and Regina aren't that different and are both pretty toxic

Next time you should analyze The Powerpuff Girls and their contrasting personalities. I think that too would make a good video essay on the topic of feminine archetypes represented with a trio of superheroines who are highly distinctive but equally though when it comes to crime-fighting. I haven't seen any videos of it yet.

This is why shows like Barbie and Bratz were (at least to me) really crucial to this era. It shows you that you could still be hyperfeminine but also be whoever you want.

I don't think the movie demonizes hyper-femininity because the femininity itself isn't shown to be the core of the problem.  It doesn't hold any characters back.  In fact, the movie shows how powerful hyper-femininity can be and how it can be used as an implement of power.  That's not a demonization because tools aren't inherently good or bad.  It's how they're used.  Further, the biggest wrinkle to this thesis is Janice herself.  She's not hyper-feminine.  If the movie were demonizing hyper-femininity, it would be putting Janice on a pedestal and showing how her expression is superior to the plastics' and how she's more moral.   But in the end, the audience sees that she's just as bad as Regina and ultimately wants much of the same.  Because Janice is the foil to hyper-femininity but is ultimately revealed to be antagonistic in the end, it's not femininity that's the core issue.  The scene where all the girls express their issues with each other reinforces that.

While I do think Tina Fey's message about mean girls still stands, I can't help but feel like she should've developed the Plastics more. The scene with Cady and Regina in the bathroom would've been more compelling if we learned more about her flaws than just in the third act. Gretchen and Karen could've been more developed too...