evil takes a human form in Regina George
Mean Girls icon Regina George is the
undisputed ruler of North Shore High the
queen of the plastics has all the
trappings of a monarch her name Regina
is Latin for Queen and she wears the
Spring Fling crown 13 royalty but in
fact the tyrant Regina is not a queen by
rights as her arch-nemesis Janis Ian
tells us when we're first introduced to
her Regina George is an evil dictator if
we break down Regina's techniques of
controlling her fellow students we get
insight into the anatomy of a dictator
she's power-hungry manipulative
glamorous angry and totally compelling
that's really interesting and in fact it
makes sense that Mean Girls chooses to
offer up this portrait of a despot in a
high school setting
after all for most of us adolescent
social scenarios are defined by terror
and tyranny mom can you pick me up I'm
scared so if we look closer at Mean
Girls on the 15 year anniversary of Tina
Fey's iconic comedy we can discover a
fascinating analysis of how
dictatorships rule why people help them
maintain their power and how we can
overthrow the Regina's in our lives
in high school and beyond okay let's
rock this [ __ ]
[Music]
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dictatorships thrive on the cult of the
leader and when Katie Heron enters
junior year at North Shore High Regina
George is a near mythical figure in the
school
I hear her hair is insured for $10,000 I
hear she does car commercials in Japan
in addition to being hated and feared
she's revered loved and admired so she
encapsulates the complex combination of
feelings a dictator inspires in her
subjects the weird thing about hanging
out with Regina was that I could hate
her and at the same time I still wanted
her to like me when she's hit by the bus
we're told the more people are scared of
you the more flowers you get Regina
isn't a goddess though her myth and her
rule are entirely calculated and we
start to see the strings when Janis a
political dissident who was once in
favor but has been oppressed by the
current regime her best friends in
middle school I know right it's so
embarrassing
decides to stage a campaign of
non-violent civil resistance how do you
overthrow a dictator you cut off her
resources Janis gives us a logical
dissection of this rulers key resources
her high status man-candy
technically good physique an ignorant
band of loyal followers in fact
academics Johanna scarce uski involve
gain Merkel also framed dictatorships as
resting on three key pillars which are
legitimacy co-optation or co-option and
repression if any one of these is
compromised the regime becomes unstable
and theoretically can be overthrown
so let's look closer at how each of
these three pillars operates in Regina's
reign of terror since a dictator does
not inherit power through a monarchy or
existing laws after taking control they
need to establish the legitimacy of
their rule
Regina's legitimacy is accomplished
through the first two items on Janice's
list her man-candy
Aaron Samuels and her hot body the ideal
partner is an extension of the dictators
carefully curated cult of personality I
here Regina George is dating Aaron
Samuels again dictators regularly choose
attractive outwardly gentle consorts to
soften their public image and appeal to
the masses as a handsome well-liked
athletic senior guy Aaron Samuels
functions like a badge of validity if
this perfect guy chooses her that
reinforces that she is the most perfect
girl in school Regina doesn't actually
appear to be in love with Aaron Samuels
lip gloss privately she's more attracted
to Shane omen but Regina has evidently
decided that Shane is a less ideal
public partner to support her regime and
so she makes a cold tactical choice to
perform romance with Aaron while keeping
her authentic whims private Regina's
technically good physique is also a part
of her legitimacy it's an accepted rule
in this culture that the leader must be
conventionally attractive as she puts it
the Spring Fling Queen is always prey
one of the first things that strikes
Katie about Regina is her glamour I've
never seen anybody so glamorous the
student body finds Regina's physical
perfection aspirational Regina George is
flawless the other girls want to be her
being with the plastics was like being
famous people looked at you all the time
and everybody just knew stuff about you
in many authoritarian regimes the
appealing nature of the life of the
dictator is part of what helps to keep
them in power if North Shore was Us
Weekly they would always be on the cover
because she's so successful at asserting
legitimacy as a ruler like many
dictators Regina enjoys formal and
ritualistic displays of affection by her
public
she's the uncontested winner of popular
votes she always wins Spring Fling Queen
I care and she creates continuity
through traditions that her populous
privately doesn't really like they do it
every year but still feels obligated to
exuberantly cheer the second pillar
co-option is the act of dampening
potential opposition by inviting
prospective challengers to join forces
with the dictatorship okay you should
just know that we don't do this a lot so
this is like a really huge deal we want
to invite you to have lunch with us
every day for the rest of the week and
this is exactly what Regina does with
Kati on first viewing we might wonder
why Regina befriends Katie she doesn't
even like you that much but look at the
context of this first meeting Regina
notices Katie being hit on by Jason is
your muffin buttered what Gretchen
weiners crush whose lack of loyalty
repeatedly embarrasses Regina's number
two and by extension Regina herself you
were supposed to call me last night
Jason you do not come to a party at my
house with Gretchen and then scam on
some poor innocent girl right in front
of us three days later
Regina makes the snap judgment that
Katie's good looks an interesting
backstory or a threat if you're like
really pretty thank you
so you agree what you think you're
really pretty
so she subsumes this new girl into the
plastics to negate the threat and keep
her under close control damn Harris so
much you have asagaya by absorbing
potential opponents into the fabric of
their state dictators get insight into
their preferences and weaknesses have
you seen you guys let you think you're
kicking when Regina finds out that katie
is interested in her ex-boyfriend Erin
she realizes that this potential
coupling with Katie's looks and Erin's
cultural cachet could usurp her
spotlight so she acts quickly to protect
her cult of personality and stop this
symbol of her legitimacy from being
stolen Gretchen weiners and Karen Smith
two are part of the plastics because of
co-option Karen is another pretty face
who could be a problem if not brought
into the fold
regina even says herself maybe crazy
thing is that it should be Karen but
people forget about it because she's
such a [ __ ]
since the Spring Fling Queen is expected
to be pretty karen has a more legitimate
claim to the crown due to being even
prettier than regina bo you [ __ ]
meanwhile Gretchen is a rich heiress
she's totally rich because their dad
invented toaster strudel this reflects
how dictators often give the wealthy
prestigious positions to bring gravitas
and resources to their regime while
minimizing any danger of competition the
magic of co-option is that people feel
invested in the despotic state the more
they participate in it no I bet she
sells drugs on the side to pay for a
pathetic divorce you let it out honey
put it in the book so Regina even makes
the regular citizens complicit in her
rule by drawing on her immense charisma
and ability to make people like her oh
my god I love your skirt where did you
get it the recipients feel special to be
singled out by these brief moments of
attention from the great leader even if
people don't like her they still want to
be involved with her one time she
punched me in the face
it was awesome as the only thing worse
than being in the burn book is not being
in the burn book you're not in it those
[ __ ] co-option has its risks however
once welcomed into the hierarchy of
rulership new members might use that
status to overthrow the dictator was I
the new queen bee and the third pillar
is repression the part we all remember
about dictators the despot keeps her
subjects in line through means of fear
violence and punishment Regina
tasks her enforcers with doing her dirty
work no you can't like Aaron Samuels
that's Regina's ex-boyfriend like
digging for information and resolving
conflicts
Regina's number two Gretchen knows
everything about everyone in their
society that's why her hair is so big
and this might make us think of a
dictators secret police the myth of
Regina as above it all captures the idea
that the popular kids in school don't
even know the names of the little people
but far from being royally removed from
her subjects the dictator Regina has a
on each of them hello
I know your secret Regina is watching
all of the time assessing every movement
amongst the ranks and when a civilian
acts out her punishment is Swift
Regina's rules are Petty and
dramatically restrictive only run your
hair in a ponytail once a week so I
guess today passed down to others
generally not directly but by her
underlings on Wednesdays we were pink
these rules are respected and recognized
by everyone I think I'm joining the
mathletes no no no you cannot do that
that's social suicide even though it's
far down the social ladder you can't
join mathletes it's social suicide
refusing to bend the rules is a vital
part of Regina's strict regime the
meaner Regina was to her the more
Gretchen tried to win or Jeana back but
also her downfall as Regina herself is
the only one who remembers that these
rules are artificial whatever
[Music]
Janice's plan destabilizes Regina's rule
but it doesn't finish her off we
witnessed a violent power grab as katie
however unconsciously makes a play for
Regina's place this challenge leads to a
crisis of leadership that Kitty girl is
hottt she might even be hotter than
Regina George when Regina sees Kati
coming for her spot and discovers Kati
sabotage she resorts to repression to
punish the would-be usurper framing
Katie Gretchen and Karen as the sole
authors of the burn book she then starts
a riot to punish her challenger but the
chaos brings the people together and
Regina's repressive practices are
brought out into the light how many of
you have ever felt personally victimized
by Regina George
even more damaging as Janice's public
reveal of the plot against Regina
we gave her this candy bar things that
would make her gain weight and he turned
her best friends against her as Janice
is carried on the shoulders of her
contemporaries like a revolutionary hero
this truth bomb has punctured Regina's
leader meth up to this point Regina has
been a distant enigma but when the girls
hear proof that she's a fallible human
being like them they no longer idolized
her as an untouchable god slash monster
the movie compares Regina to Caesar my
man he doth bestride the narrow world
like a colossus might translate into why
is he so huge and obnoxious why should
Caesar get to stomp around like a giant
while the rest of us try not to get
smushed
under his big feet just like Caesar
Regina ends up being the last dictator
before a new form of leadership will
emerge and also like Caesar she is so
powerful she needs to finally be taken
down by brute force Regina isn't
actually killed but the moment is
symbolic it represents that while Regina
the person survives Regina the dictators
rule is over notably a school bus also
almost hits Katie on her first day but
Katie
careful and nervous jumps back I'll be
careful here Regina is so sure of her
strength and power that she doesn't even
bother looking before crossing the road
the movie ends with the junior plastics
new freshman wannabe Regina's almost
getting hit by a bus - so this ending
foreshadows that one day when they get
so big headed they stop being careful
their regime will meet the same fate as
Regina's finally did the student body
votes Katie Ann as Spring Fling Queen
signaling that she is now perceived as
the most fearsome figure in the class I
voted for Katie Harris she pushed her
but Katie rejects this opening to
replace Regina upon winning she hands
out pieces of the crown to her
classmates this symbolic gesture
redistributes power among the people as
Regina takes a small piece for herself
she is reintegrated into the student
body her meek thank you and regal waves
signify that she accepts her diminished
role as a figurehead more or less just
another student
[Music]
so what does this elaborate tale of
dictatorship have to do with girl world
and the culture of American high school
Sara Davies writes that Stalin himself
believed in the idea that quote great
individuals are only important to the
extent that they reflect wider social
forces and the unattainable beautiful
wealthy coquettish leaf eminem regina
reflects the social ideals teenage girls
in her culture are expected to live up
to Regina's like the Barbie doll I never
had the name of Regina's group the
plastics neatly encompasses the world of
lavish consumerism these girls live in
[Music]
these teenagers mating rituals take
place at the mall where they pay on
plastic their Jingle Bell Rock outfits
are slick and shiny like plastic regina
is lauded because she has two Fendi
purses and a silver Lachlan the epitome
of conspicuous consumption and both she
and her mother have had plastic surgery
once Katie fully becomes part of this
world
Janis tells her honey you're not
pretending anymore your plastic cold
shiny hard plastic so to be revered as
an elite in this culture you must
disdain the natural the organic the real
and be cold shiny and hard but though
she seems to have everything it's
striking that Regina George is full of
anger
once Gretchen thought Regina was mad at
her the secret started pouring out Katie
cracks Gretchen by making her think
Regina is mad at her which works because
Regina just always seems to be mad
Gretchen stop trying to make fetch
happen it's not going to happen when she
was preparing for the role Rachel
McAdams builds the palpable anger of
Regina George by listening to Courtney
Love's music
and watching alec baldwin's famous
speech from Glengarry Glen Ross you
that's my name
you know why mister cuz you drove a
Hyundai to get here tonight I drove an
$80,000 BMW that's my name so what
exactly is Regina so furious about for
one thing her plastic life doesn't
actually seem very fun she feels she has
to constantly be on a diet to maintain
her physique I really wanted those three
pounds she doesn't have any equals who
can be honest with her oh my god were
you talking about so skinny shut up and
this sharply intelligent strong person
doesn't have much to do besides shop
work on her appearance and manipulate
people
so essentially she's bored as we entered
this teen girl world through the naive
eyes of outsider Katie we get a sense of
all the things that might be confusing
and frustrating for American teens like
antagonistic behavior from adults I had
never lived in a world where adults
didn't trust me where they were always
yelling at me parents who don't know how
to impose healthy boundaries cool mom
right Regina please stop talking
problems at home your parents orally
don't sleep in the same bed anymore if
that's what you mean and mixed messages
about sexuality don't have sex because
you will get pregnant and die which is a
prized aspect of popularity Halloween is
the one night a year when a girl can
dress like a total [ __ ] and no other
girls can say anything about it but also
a source of shame Regina says everyone
hates you because you're such a [ __ ] and
a feature of their lives from a
shockingly young age oh you'll get
socialized all right a little slice like
you most salient Lee Katie observes that
in girl world you're not allowed to
express conflict so this culture of
elaborate oppression is really caused by
these young women's frustration at not
knowing how to express your anger in a
healthy way in the end
Regina learns to harness her anger into
athletics your physical therapist taught
her to channel all hurry
to sport so the lesson isn't that
teenage girls shouldn't feel angry
it's that anger can be redirected
powerfully and for good if we learn how
to find appropriate outlets for our
feelings The Fault dear Brutus is not in
Our Stars but in ourselves that we are
underlings in other words we don't have
to accept being underlings soldiers
don't give yourselves to brutes men who
despise you enslave you who regiment
your lives tell you what to do what to
think of what to feel we the people put
rulers in power and we can take that
power away whether that applies to real
political regimes or the mean girls who
are making us feel like we're not good
enough all the same when we think of
Mean Girls it's not subdued final scene
Regina we remember but mean Regina who
exists as a cult icon celebrated by pop
stars presidents and everyone in between
why are you so obsessed with me there's
still something deeply compelling about
Regina's power her mystery her
manipulation her rage she reminds us
that autocrats can look a lot more
seductive and charismatic than we might
think
and so like a true dictator her legacy
lives on
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[Music]