My thoughts on the film 'Mean girls' directed by David Waterman and 'Something Borrowed' Directed by Luke Green field:

STEREOTYPES WITHIN FILMS:

In the film 'Mean Girls' directed by David Waterman there are a range of teen stereotypes shown for instance during scene 3 where Cady the main character is introduced to the cliques of high school and where these groups sit in the cafeteria. Through the use of dialogue and camera shots, Janis another main character tells Cady about the rules of high school when she mentions all of the cliques in the cafeteria "smart Asians, wannabes, burn outs, Jocks,  unfriendly black hotties and the plastics etc". A fast motion camera shot is used to show all of the cliques within the cafeteria with a voice over from Janis describing each of the cliques.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ_qXmxdgGM
This scene has an affect on how teenage girls view themselves and others as quotes like "unfriendly black hotties" display racism which encourages discrimination and bullying. This scene shows how an appearance determines what clique or group you will belong to for example the 'plastics' all appear to be pretty, white skinned and skinny.


 During the start of the film in scene 1 when we first are introduced to Regina a protruding camera shot is used when ever she is present in a scene this type of camera shot focuses only on her this shot is used as she must be the centre of attention. Therefore during the film she is usually always in the middle of a shot. This camera shot enables us as an audience to see how all the characters revolve around her,  during scene 2 we see how she is carried by several guys, almost like she is positioned on a pedestal. Another characters dialogue reinforces this idea when Damien refers to her as being "Teen royalty" hence the pedestal image which is created. This blonde mean girl stereotype is represented by dialouge and camera shots. This misrepresentation does have an effect on teenage girls as the mean girl stereotype makes them want to be like Regina George as they believe if they look and speak like her their life will become perfect. This misrepresentation of teen girls has caused an increase in bullying in high schools, as more and more girls try to live up to the roles of the mean pretty bitchy stereotypical blonde in order to feel cool. This thinking has caused the victims of this bullying to develop depression, suicidal thoughts and even eating disorders. This is all caused from the pressure of the media's interpretation of what you should look and act like based on your appearance. When we first see Regina George she is portrayed as being the queen bee of the 'plastics' we as an audience think this because a close up  slow motion camera shot is used of Regina being carried by several guys. This image shows how she rules the school. The two other plastics Gretchen and Karen both have very revealing costumes on as they try to gain as much attention as possible from onlookers. Regina's costume in contrast is not as revealing as the other two  because she doesn't need to reveal much in order for her to grab peoples attention.
. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHNp7J48JxE

I recently watched another movie called 'Something Borrowed' directed by Luke Greenfield it was a traditional Hollywood Romantic comedy.  Kate Hudson plays the role of a blonde spoilt character called Darcy we as an audience, see from her appearance that she is blonde and ditsy also her costumes are feminine and slutty. This Character is the antagonist in the film as she steals Rachel's true love Dex who she then becomes engaged with. During scene 2 where Darcy first meets Dex we are able to see how she is represented as the mean girl stereotype. Through the use of a protruding camera shot we see how the camera focuses on her when she takes her cardigan off to impress Dex who Rachel secretly loves. Darcy knows Rachel likes Dex and this act shows us how far she is willing to go in order to get what she wants. This blonde mean girl stereotype is similar to Regina Georges character in the film mean girls as both of these films have been directed by male directors. This therefore shows us how male dominated the media industry has become as a female input has obviously not been used when creating these characters. The reason these characters are so similar is because they both have the same stereotype  as males only have one perspective on how females should act and look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuOY4W9QFNI