Mean Girls (2004): Before We Watch

The Great-Power Politics of being a girl in high school

In the 2000s, to supplement my graduate school funding, I supervised a sorority house. I was known formally as a “House Director” and informally as a “House Mom” (so many stories, all for another time). A Mean Girls DVD was always ready for repeat viewing in our basement TV Room. What did the sorority sisters think about this vicious comedy about the poison lurking in young female friendships?

We all live in a world that we didn’t ourselves create. We make our way as best we can within the structures and expectations that shape the kinds of choices we can make. Making our way can be a zero-sum game, elevating ourselves at the expense of others. Or empowering one can mean empowering us all.

Both Great-Power geopolitics and high school popularity contests ask of us two questions: What will you do to get influence and power? And if you get any of it, how will you use it?

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With Savor the View , we’ll watch, think, and talk about movies and the things that matter. A special welcome and thanks to our regular crew!

Each Monday, I share brief, spoiler-free remarks and questions to frame viewing a…