Interpersonal Communication: Case of Mean Girls Movie - Research Paper Example

Mean Girls: Interpersonal Communication Interpersonal Communication: Movie Based Research andAnalysis Paper Introduction Mean Girls is a movie that revolves around a group of mean girls, their plastic life, and the manner in which their relationships take form, develop and change over time. The major characters in this movie are Cady Heron, Regina George, Karen Smith, Gretchen Wieners, Janis Ian Dyke, Damian, Aaron Samuels, Mr. Duvall, and Ms. Norbury. Regina George, Karen Smith and Gretchen Wieners make up “the Plastics”, a group of highly famous and popular girls that re mean to other people. Cady Heron, the new student in school is the new addition to “the Plastics.” The premise of this movie is that human beings do not become better people by undermining others. One does not change who they are by being mean to other people. The basic theme of the movie is that being mean is not rewarding. One can see that Regina George’s life as the Queen Bee did not end very well. Regina amassed enemies (Cady and Janis) who got back at her by making her gain weight and creating conflicts with her clique of A-list beauties. Eventually, she got hit by a bus and fractured her spine. The movie basically revolves around Cady Heron and Regina George as the main characters. The other characters are there to exemplify the two characters. One can see how various concepts of communication apply to the movie through the influences of language and perception on relationships. Perception and language play a crucial role in the establishment, development and cessation of Cady’s friendly relationship with Regina George. The movie is a great representation of the process of interpersonal communication and how various influences are used to generate or change relationships. Analysis Perception Perception is the process of making sense out of ones surroundings. According to Adler and Rosenfeld, the process of perception involves attention and selection based on stimuli, organization, interpretation, and negotiation/dual processing in perception (2013). Within the concept of selection, an individual’s choice is affected by a change in stimulation. In this case, Cady pays attention to Regina George and the Plastics, based on Janis’ hatred speech towards the Regina George’s group of superficial girls. Once the selection is made, the second stage in the perception process is the organization of stimuli into patterns that lead to stereotyping (Adler & Rosenfeld, 2013). Cady Heron’s initial perception of Regina is that she is mean, selfish, evil and bad to other people. Hence, Cady classifies the Plastics into a high profile group that are at the top of the schools popularity ratings. Cady’s perception of Regina is also affected by the way Regina appears to defend her when Jason tries to flirt with her. Regina’s lavish lifestyle and power over people also fascinates Cady. Initially, she is interested in undermining “the Plastics” and exposing their superficial lifestyles. However, Cady ends up being sucked into the lifestyle because she likes the fact that she is liked and talked about by other students in the school. Hence, Cady forms a relationship with Regina. This represents the interpretation stage in which an individual assigns meaning to the observations they make of people. However, their relationship takes a new turn when Cady becomes interested in Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels. Regina promised to talk to Aaron Samuels on behalf of Cady (Mean Girls, 2004). On the contrary, Regina kisses Aaron when Cady is watching, creating hate between them. Cady liaises with Janis and together they make a plan to destroy Regina George. Cady’s perception of Regina had changed. Cady did not see Regina as the nice person she used to think she was and this really changed Cady’s relationship with Regina. One interesting aspect of their relationship to note is that Cady still wanted to be part of the Plastics because she felt more famous around Regina. Hence, there was a need to be around Regina. The perception that Cady had of Regina influenced their relationship very much. Although they did not like each other very much, they still needed each other. Regina is a person that draws pleasure from undermining others and controlling other people. Hence, she needed Cady to be part of the crew as long as Cady played by the rules. Cady on the other hand, needed to be part of the clique because she finally felt important and popular in school (Mean Girls, 2004). Regina perceived Cady as a naïve girl who could be tuned to one of the sycophants in her group. Cultural background and first impression were great contributors to Regina’s perception of Cady. Regina wanted another girl to push around. One common tendency in perception is the assumption that other people’s needs do not matter (Andersen & Coussoule, 2009). Regina prevented Cady from joining the Mathletes because it would be social suicide. Regina also outlined a set of rules that govern dress code within the Plastics that transformed Cady into a totally different person. Within no time, Cady had embraced the Plastics’ ways and even began speaking like them. Cady became a mean girl, always judging people by their negative traits and refusing to own up to her mistakes. Cady judges Regina when the Burn Book is revealed to the whole school but refuses to own up to accusing Ms. Norbury of “pushing” drugs. In the end, Cady realizes that talking ill of people does not make her happier or better. Through empathy, Cady is able to improve her perception of others, apologize for her mistakes and live a normal life with her true friends (Watanabe, 2009). Language Language is the manner in which words are used to communicate a message. Language can be used in different styles to inhibit or facilitate communication. One of the most prominent aspects of language was the manner in which the plastics used language to induce action or imply something (Adler & Rosenfeld, 2013). Regina George was notorious for complementing people and later dismissing her complements by clarifying that the bracelet or skirt is the ugliest things she ever saw. Gretchen Wieners liked using “that is so fetch” to create a notion that something was so great. However, her use of language did not go well with Regina. The mean girls used language either to complement each other, name affiliations, classify, show power, argue or prove a point. Gretchen Wieners used to state that something was “fetch” to express approval. However, Regina George used language to show power. Regina invited Cady to sit with the plastics for the rest of the weeks and before she could turn it down, Regina had already said “coolness.” Regina’s use of the term “coolness” prompted Cady to agree, a show of power. Regina would use intimidation and reverse psychology to get what she wanted and to look “cool” (Gallois, 1993). Regina would tell her mum to go fix her hair to get rid of her, creating the impression that she actually cared when she didn’t. Regina uses sweet words to appear helpful in Cady’s attempts to woo Aaron. On the contrary, her intentions are to sabotage Cady’s imminent relationship with Aaron. Regina also employs divergence to remove the power of individual choice by creating a sort of council within the group, every major decision was to be approved by the group before being made allowable. Following the dismissal of Regina from the clique, Cady became the new “Queen Bee” and became influential in what she did. She told Aaron to come to her “small get-together” and that she wasn’t an idiot to invite Regina, only cool people were invited. Cady had learned to use Regina’s language to influence others (Mean Girls, 2004). Evaluation The relationship between Cady and Regina is not of the best quality because they do not necessarily like each other. Cady is obsessed with Regina and Regina is obsessed with being the Queen Bee. Hence, the relationship does not flourish into a fruitful friendship. There are aspects of this movie that relate to my communication style. One is I almost forgot my true friends because I wanted to fit in. I wanted to be liked, to look updated on current trends in fashion, disregarding my simple friends in middle school and wanting to be liked by the rich kids. However, I realized undermining other people does not make me any better. I realized that I should not judge others based on their negative characteristics. Hence, I found out that true friends are the ones that really care. I would not flourish in the type of relationship Regina and Cady shared. I would not like to be either of them because they end up suffering emotionally because they lack honesty and sincerity in their relationship. I have learned that perceptions really affect how people develop relationships with others. I would like to be more honest with myself and with others. I do not want to be talking about other people behind their backs because it tarnishes potential relationships and creates enmity where it isn’t needed. The future potential for the relationship in the movie is positive because Cady takes it upon herself to mend fences with Regina after she realizes that ruining Regina’s life doesn’t make her any happier (Mean Girls, 2004). Reference List Adler, R., & Rosenfeld, L. (2013). Interplay: The process of interpersonal communication (12th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Andersen, P., & Coussoule, A. (2009). The perceptual world of the communication apprehensive: The effect of communication apprehension and interpersonal gaze on interpersonal perception. Communication Quarterly, 28 (1), 44-54. DOI: 10.1080/01463378009369357 Berger, C. (2005). Interpersonal Communication: Theoretical Perspectives, Future Prospects. Journal of Communication, 55(3), 415-447. doi:10.1093/joc/55.3.415 Gallois, C. (1993). The Language and Communication of Emotion: Universal, Interpersonal, or Intergroup? American Behavioral Scientist, 36(3), 309-338. doi: 10.1177/0002764293036003005 Mean girls [Motion picture on DVD]. (2004). Paramount. Watanabe, A. (2010). The relationship between four components of assertiveness and interpersonal behaviors, interpersonal adjustment in high school students friendship. JJ Pshicho, 81(1), 56-62. doi:10.4992/jjpsy.81.56 Read More