- DEFINE THE GROUP.
- Who are the members of the group? The group in the movie, Mean Girls, is called the "Plastics". They are composed of the "queen bee" Regina George, the rich, but insecure Gretchen Wieners, and sweet, but ditzy Karen Smith. Later on, they invite the new kid in school, Cady Heron, to be part of their clique.
- What are the goals of the group? Being the popular clique at school, the Plastics were considered as the "teen royalty" as Damien (Cady's new friend) described them. The goal of the Plastics is to set the fashion trend at school and dictate what is cool or what is not. For them, they are the epitome of fashion, coolness, and truth, which sets them apart from the rest of the other cliques in school.
- Why should these characters be considered a group? Regina, Gretchen, and Karen can be categorized as a group considering that they are bounded by rules – rules that determine what should be worn on a particular day, who to date, what clothes to buy, and what foods to eat, among others. This was clearly explained by Gretchen when they asked Cady to sit with them for lunch for the rest of Cady's first week at school. As a group, the Plastics believe that they are above the rest of the students, including the groups these students belong to. They think the same way, dress up the same way, and often, feel the same way. If not, the individual who seems to have a different opinion or feeling must change her demeanor to suit the general thoughts and feelings of the rest of the Plastics.
- ROLE.
- Which roles do various group members take on? Regina George plays the role of the "queen bee", which is equivalent to being the leader of the group and all members must follow whatever she says. She dictates what should be done, what should be worn, where to hangout, and who to hang out with. Gretchen Wiener plays the role of the "intelligent" member of the group, but still looks up to Regina as the head of the group. She is one of Regina's assistants in the group. She knows about many of Regina's secrets, but does not share any of them to anyone. Karen Smith is the "dumbest kid one could ever meet" as described by Damien and plays one of the assistant roles in the group.
- How do these roles affect the group's performance? As a group, the Plastics blend well because they share the same ideologies and beliefs. Gretchen and Karen do not seem to mind that Regina plays the role of the boss and are in fact, very much intimidated by her. Thus, even if they do not agree on what Regina decides on, they still play along and follow her orders.
- What are some of the norms of the group? As a group, they follow certain rules such as wearing pink clothes on Wednesdays and jeans or track pants only on Fridays. It also includes fixing the hair differently every day, which means they should not repeat the same hairstyle within the same school week. For instance, if a member already fixed her hair in a ponytail on Monday, she can no longer fix her hair the same way within the same week. They also have rules about who to date, who not date, who to be friends with, where to go, and what clothes to buy, among others. Another important rule is that the group votes among themselves regarding whom to allow to sit with them for lunch, which as Gretchen pointed out, is like being considerate about the feelings of the other members of the Plastics.
- What are the consequences of violating these norms? When any of these are violated, the violator will not be allowed to sit with any of the plastics in the cafeteria, which means the individual will have to associate with and hang out with the members of other cliques. When this happens, it could mean total embarrassment for the violator.
- POWER AND CONFLICT.
- Who is the leader of the group? What kind of power do they have? What kind of power do other members of the group have? The head of the Plastics is Regina, who is the "be-all, end-all" of decisions. She dictates and decides most of the activities and plans of the Plastics, without regard on whether it would hurt someone else or not. She appears to be sweet and caring, but in reality, she is not and only does things that would advance her goals.
On the other hand, Gretchen and Karen play followers and assistants of Regina, thus, they do not have much of a say on whatever Regina decides. They appear to be weak in front of her as they allow her to get away with anything.
- Is the power in the group complementary, symmetrical, or equal? The power in the group is not equal because it is mostly concentrated on Regina. What she says is final and she has the ability to shut up her friends. Even if they try to reason out with Regina, the friends end up clamming up and Regina gets her way. I would think that the power is complementary because within the Plastics, it seems that they need someone to lead the group and followers to execute the plans. In the case of Gretchen and Karen, they do not seem to have the capacity to lead the group because of their weaker personality as compared to Regina's smooth but scheming ways. I would say that Gretchen's personality is in need of acceptance that is why she allows Regina to lead her. At least, by allowing Regina to do so, she gains Regina's acceptance, confidence, and friendship. Karen is a different case because of her naïveté, she does not seem to notice that Regina is already taking advantage of her. Thus, the need to lead (Regina) and be accepted (Gretchen and Karen) is addressed.
- How does the group solve conflict? Conflicts within the group are resolved by giving in to the whims of the leader, through isolation, or keeping the ill feelings inside. When Regina talks, it is always with finality even though other members of the group can air their opinions, thus, Gretchen and Karen stay silent just to avoid conflict and earn the ire of Regina. However, towards the end of the movie, the major conflicts were resolved by breaking up the clique and joining other groups for the coming school year.
- GROUP CLIMATE/CULTURE.
- Is the group's climate supportive or defensive? The atmosphere within the group seems supportive of each other, but in actuality, it is more defensive considering that if something goes against the leader's wishes, the other members experience Regina's wrath. What they have is false nurture of each other because once one's position within the group is threatened, the members tend to question the act and try to get the support and sympathy of other members of the group (against the offending party). This was clearly shown in the scene when Gretchen kept on asking why Regina would give candies to Cady and Karen, but not to her.
- What are some of the indicators of the group's culture? Among the characteristics of the members that indicate the group's culture are dressing up the same using the same color or style, listening to the same kinds of music, setting and following rules that each member must obey, disregard of other people's feelings, judging people through their actions, revealing each other's secrets, and making false assumptions.
- GROUP EFFECTIVENESS.
- Does the group achieve its goals? Initially, the group seemed to be doing fine as they co-existed with other students and cliques at school. Because Regina, Gretchen, and Karen thought and felt the same things, they seemed to be okay. However, Cady's inclusion in the group changed all that because Cady was very different from them especially when it came to thoughts and feelings. Thus, soon after joining, the real cracks within the Plastics' relationship began to surface and this shows how each member were not really happy with how they were being treated in the group.
- Would the group have accomplished the same things if they had worked as individuals? I do not think so because the Plastics had a certain idea about who they are and what role they play in school. They were strong as a group, but was weak as an individual. Their strength lies in the fact that Regina had assistants to accomplish things for her, while Gretchen and Karen had someone to back them up or stand up for them. In fact, during the scene where Damien, Janis, and Cady were having a planning session on how to destroy and get back at Regina, Janis mentioned that without her ex-boyfriend Aaron, her good physique, and her assistants Gretchen and Karen, Regina would be nothing. As for Gretchen, because she was always insecure, not having the approval of the most popular girl in school would add to her insecurities. Thus, becoming friends with Regina and Karen helped boost her confidence. Karen was not so such affected by anything because she was sweet, but her being naïve, immature, and a slow thinker could get her to trouble and taken advantage of. Thus, as a group, they were able to protect each other and address what each one personally needed.
Following the brawl in school, they all began to realize how much they hurt other people and the effects of their actions, thus, the following year, they began hanging out with other people as well.
