After 20 years, Mean Girls (2004) got a remake movie, combining the Broadway musical aspects and the original movie’s charm. With more big-name actors, music, and comedic lines, the 2024 rendition of Mean Girls was a box office hit, earning a whopping $28 million on its first weekend. While marketed towards a younger generation, it was still perfect for the original movie’s fans. Despite its fame, it started a controversial commentary that the new movie’s bullying was simplified. We will delve into how the original movie’s message was simplified and why we need its severity now more than ever.
Differences in the Two Movies’ Bullying Message
Mean Girls has been a sensational franchise, having two movies and a Broadway musical, and almost everyone has seen a version of it. The plot overall remains the same. Cady, a girl in high school, transfers to a real school after being homeschooled. She immediately becomes friends with Janis and Damian, who are seen as “outcasts,” but are noticed by the “plastics.” Regina George, Gretchen, and Karen are the plastics and are the popular, but ultimately mean and bullies.
Get in loser, we’re going shopping.
Mean Girls (2004, 2024)
Janis and Damian hate the plastics, and together with Cady, they devise a plan to take them down after discovering that the plastics have a “burn book,” a book of everyone in school highlighting their flaws and making fun of them. Only Cady gets sucked into the drama and becomes a bully herself. The story spirals from there, showing the fallout of how bullying and this burn book impact the school. But what are the differences in the message?
Mean Girls 2004
2004 was a completely different time socially, as certain insulting words were more commonly thrown around to bully someone. In this version, Regina George, the main bully, uses those words to target her friends’ intelligence and the people she doesn’t like. Not only that, but Regina George’s view on homosexuality in this movie was harsher, leading to more bullying of Janis, a character often called a lesbian, in an insulting way. Regina George’s attitude is more passive-aggressive, snake-like, and directly mean. It gave a message that girls are getting bullied just as much, but “secretly.”
Mean Girls 2024
The 2024 version was slightly different. The burn book itself had nicer quotes, taking out words like “slut” and “fugly cow” and replacing them. Sometimes, with other phrases that didn’t make sense. In this new generation, inclusion is more widely accepted, taking out the bullying of identities. Fey said that Regina George knows not to mess with identities like that. Now, Regina George seems mainly outwardly mean rather than the snake-y mean she was initially. However, it focuses on social media’s impact on teenagers, which is important to include nowadays.
The Severity of the Message Was Simplified
Though this is a subjective conversation, the message’s severity was simplified. For a long time, people thought that boys got bullied more than girls. However, over time, it was shown that it was more equal. People didn’t see girls bullying because the way girls were bullied was through small, sneaky comments that tore down confidence, ones often hidden in compliments. It was more snakey and manipulative than what boys dealt with. Words were what was used the most, rather than fights.
Breaking down identities was another way that girls dealt with bullying. With expectations set on us from a young age, identities are a huge part of our growing up. Although the words used in the 2004 version were harsh, they were the reality at the time, and unfortunately, they are still the reality. Although the 2024 version touched on cyberbullying, the comedic effects of the movie made it easier to digest and look past.
Why the Original Message Was Necessary
First, it is essential to understand the message. As stated, it highlighted how girls were being bullied and how easy it was to hide said bullying. It was also there to highlight that Regina George used her bullying to gain followers. People didn’t want to be her target, so they liked her. It also highlighted how certain people were attacked simply based on looks, sexuality, intelligence, and even style. The message hit harder with the less comedic lines, forcing people to look at their friends and see their passive-aggressive comments. Although the movie was dramatized, the harsh words used in the original film are still used today.
Society is sometimes more tolerable now, but that doesn’t matter to bullies. Tearing down identities and using them against someone is still used. In my opinion, Regina George would not think that it is too far to attack identities in today’s generation, just because bullies simply don’t care. It is important to note that in 2024, Regina George did care about her reputation more, and attacking sexuality and intelligence was an easy way to ruin your reputation; however, in 2004, Regina cared about her reputation to an extent. Regina kept her position by putting down others in unacceptable ways, making people fear her, and simplifying that in the new movie, which also tears down that message.
Bullying Has Gotten Worse
This is such an important topic right now because bullying has gotten worse. With the introduction of social media, bullying in school has dropped to 19% from the previous 28%. That 19% being kids ages 12-18. However, the same age group of kids has a reporting of 42% being cyberbullied. People have gone so far as to create online burn books, some of which I have heard about personally. With the anonymity that social media offers, cyberbullying has become easier. Even in comment sections, people hide hate behind opinions, saying things like, You posted this, I have a right to comment on it.”
It not only encourages cyberbullying but also excuses it. Something that the new movie does a good job of, because it was more prevalent, is the hold that social media has on teenagers. Social media is harder to track, giving victims a harder way to seek help and often feel isolated. The message of Mean Girls is important to remember, as backhanded compliments and anonymity make bullying easier and harder to pick up on. We need to realize its severity and just how serious it is.
I believe that the Mean Girls (2024) bullying was lighter, and the message was easily lost in the new movie’s other, still fun, aspects. That does not mean it is a bad movie; the new one is hilarious and fun to sing along to. If someone you know is being bullied, please know that there are resources online and people who will help. It is not wrong to stand up to bullies.
Want ways to combat bullying? Click here to read about picture books that teach kids to stand up to it.
Bullying impacts kids everywhere. Click here for the team’s book choices for positive mental health.
