Recently, I watched “Mean Girls” for the first time. Yes, I realize that I am 20 years late to the game. If you watched it years ago and need a refresher, or perhaps you have no idea what I’m talking about, this article is for you. “Mean Girls” is a comedy classic starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. It is a masterclass of commentary about social status and hierarchies that balances a mordantly satirical tone with a heartfelt coming-of-age story. With plenty of memorable jokes and characters, “Mean Girls” is conventionally regarded by many as nostalgic. Given my lateness to the scene, I’d instead like to appreciate its current relevance, especially to Notre Dame.
The plot is fairly straightforward. The story follows Cady Heron, a homeschooled girl who moves from Africa to the United States and experiences public school for the first time. At her new high school, she promptly befriends Janis and Damian, two social outcasts who warn her about a popular, but manipulative group of girls called “the plastics.” The group, led by the iconic, indomitable Regina George, is regarded as the highest standard of beauty and social status. As a part of a scheme to expose the toxicity of the group, Janis commissions Cady to infiltrate the plastics, which backfires when Cady slowly loses her individuality and becomes more like them, adopting their behaviors and status. Eventually, Cady catalyzes the destruction of the plastics and unintentionally unleashes widespread social unrest at the school, which is resolved when she issues a public apology for her gossip and manipulation. The story concludes with Cady choosing to stay true to herself and foster a new, healthier sense of belonging.
Though the plot is set in a high school, the satirical commentary is expansive and salient, especially for college students. Who are the plastics of Notre Dame or your life? Which groups are considered the social outcasts? Why do we divide ourselves, either deliberately or unintentionally, into these groups? In what ways do I personally engage in demeaning actions, like gossip, thereby reinforcing social divisions? Which of my neighbors do I look at with intense envy or contemptuous superiority? These are all introspective questions that, in their most basic forms, Cady Heron asked herself when she decided to take accountability for her actions and break the social divisions that plagued North Shore High School.
On the surface, this phenomenon only seems slightly alarming to most and the motivation for action is minimal. However, I believe it should be blatantly disturbing how these social hierarchies arise and affect the community. This is not to say that I oppose all social hierarchies, but only those that espouse unreasonable social conformity and are reinforced by superficial superiority. If a social hierarchy arises out of voluntary decisions and is predicated on unique, shared interests, then I have nothing more to say. However, this is not usually the case for Notre Dame students. For instance, a social hierarchy that selects salary as a metric for human worth that is led select group of “plastics” who compel their disciples to pursue investment banking or consulting jobs, despite their disciples’ indifference to the profession, is troubling. Perhaps a social hierarchy that contains a majority group of approximately 60 percent, which views all smaller minority groups below a brow of superiority and oftentimes with an eye of predatory sexual fetishism, is troubling. We could entertain many other permutations, but I think you get the picture.
The key takeaway here is one of personal accountability. Breaking down these toxic social hierarchies will not come about by institutional decisions, such as mandating the six-semester on-campus living requirement or deploying “community tables” equipped with puzzles and games in North Dining Hall. It requires an internal examination to identify what the groups are within the social hierarchy of your life and also toward what your social disposition tends. Moreover, you must also ask yourself in what ways you are facilitating or even complicit in the phenomenon, whether it be through your willful ignorance, gossip or other vices. You may not be able to coordinate everyone you interact with into a mass general confession of everyone’s wrongdoings, as what happened in ”Mean Girls.” Still, you can control your actions and not involve yourself with a social hierarchy that is offensive to God and your neighbors.
Jonah Tran is a junior at Notre Dame studying finance and classics. He prides himself on sarcasm and never surrendering. You can file complaints to Jonah by email at jtran5@nd.edu.
