I have been practising how to analyse media texts. Here is my essay analysing the camera and mise-en-scene in the film 'Mean Girls'.
Mise-En-Scene in Mean Girls
From the very beginning of the clip that I will be analysing from ‘Mean Girls’, the producers are communicating messages across to their target audience. The clip begins with a grey sports car pulling up to a large house. The house has a front porch with a fountain in the middle and four large pillars outside the front door holding it up. The location can connote that the people arriving in the car are wealthy. As Regina gets out the driver's seat, she does this with confidence as she almost struts. Her body language tells the audience that she is self-assured, and she is at her house. On the other hand, when Cady gets out the back of the car out the back of the car, which can signify hierarchy, she looks confused as if she is not used to seeing this type of wealth. Regina struts through the front door with the rest of the girls following behind her. This tells the audience that she is ‘the leader’ of her group. Cady looks around as if she is in a new unfamiliar environment which contrasts to the rest of the girls, again telling the audience she is not used to being there and that it is her first time at Reginas house. Regina is wearing a black tight leather mini skirt and baby pink vest top. The black leather has connotations of being rebellious and wild giving us more of an insight into Regina’s character. She stands out from the rest of the girls as she is wearing a figure-hugging top. Reginas outfit can be seen to conform to the negative stereotype of girls only wearing miniskirts and tank tops (revealing clothes). The other girls are also in pink portraying Regina as a trend setter that the group want to follow. The 3 girls- Regina Cady and Karen all have perfectly coordinated outfits and hair, communicating that they are invested in their appearance.
In contrast, Cady can be seen to subvert that negative stereotype as she is wearing a baggy pink polo top and a pair of baggy blue jeans which can be seen to be more masculine. This also contrasts to what the other two girls are wearing as they are all in skirts. The bright colours that they are wearing are feminine telling the audience they are girly, and can also signify youth, showing their age. Reginas’s mum then comes in the scene in a pink tracksuit. Her fresh blonde hair and her outfit communicate that she is trying to stay young and is copying Regina, adding to Regina’s popularity and high social status. June has also had surgery, which adds to her trying to stay youthful. Throughout the scene, she remains very smiley which gives the scene a light hearted feeling to it. Her hair is perfectly styled and the fact she is wearing a tracksuit could conform to the stereotype of her being a stay at home mum with ‘nothing’ to do all day except focusing on looking good.
The girls then walk into Regina’s room with Regina leading, again signifying her being the leader, and we see a big four poster bed. The size of the room and bed connote wealth. Cady once again uses facial expressions to show her shock at the size of it. Outside of the big window at the back of the house, we can see the sea which adds to the connotation of wealth. The other two girls, Gretchen and Karen still at this point have not got much focus on and are seen following Regina around. This shows Regina’s social status and portrays the other girls as followers. On Reginas wall there is a picture of her and a boy. This connotes a the teenage stereotype of girls obsessing over teenage crushes. It also suggests that she gets male attention and relates to her popularity status. To add to the teenage stereotype, she has words has words on her wall such as “rock diva” around pictures of her that shows she is narcissistic and self-obsessed. When standing in the room, Regina, Karen and Gretchen all stand in a closed group whilst Cady stands on the other side, telling the audience she hasn’t fully been accepted into the ‘plastics’.
The three girls all stand together and obsess over their selves in the mirror, picking out details about themselves that they don’t like, conforming to the negative stereotype of women only caring about their appearance, but also portraying them as self-centred and feminine. Cady is represented as different and outside the group as she looks confused as to why they do this.
They all turn to look at Cady after obsessing over themselves as if to ask why she hadn't done the same thing, again excluding her from the clique and showing her as an outcast. Cady subverts the stereotype of girls being girly and obsessed with the way they look as she shrugs when they all turn to look at her. She shrugs as if to say she doesn’t do the same and doesn’t think there is anything wrong with her, which emphasizes the divide more between them.
June returns when she comes into Reginas room with a tray full of cocktails. Cocktails are more of an adult drink and the girls do this possibly to feel older and cool. June is represented as irresponsible and trying to please the girls and fit into the group. When June speaks to the girls, Reginas facial expressions communicate that she finds her annoying and is uninterested in what she has to say. June follows orders from Regina, which demonstrates how superior Regina really is as a mum is taking orders from her daughter.
The girls then all gather round the “burn book” where they are mean about other people. They have pictures of peoples faces in this book and write horrible things about them. The three girls all know about this book and created this book together, signifying they have a past together and have been a ‘mean’ group of girls for a long time. The girls put other people down to make themselves feel better which can make the audience dislike the characters they are playing. The girls are shown as immature and are seen to have always been like this as the book is an ‘old memory’. As they look through, they laugh, connoting that they don’t care about the horrible things they have said and portraying them as mean.
The three girls are presented as a clique, which is a common thing to find among teenage girls and conforms to this stereotype. From this short scene, Regina is represented as the meanest and the one who takes control. Cady is out place as she is trying to grasp the ‘mean girls’ concept and fit it. Overall, the scene from Mean Girls, has a light hearted and comedic tone to it due to the use of bright lighting.
