What day is it? No, it’s not October 3rd, but it is Mean Girls’s 10th birthday! Mean Girls has gone down in history as one of the most iconic and quotable movies. While we all love this movie for its laugh-out-loud quotes such as “Boo, you wh*re!”, “Get in loser, we’re going shopping”, and “If you’re from Africa, why are you white?”, there are also some really awesome sincere moments that we tend to overlook.Through eyes of an outsider, Cady observes how superficial our world is. Through mocking high school stereotypes and pointing out the catty things they say, this movie shows us how to rise above the superficiality with a force that we all know is stronger than the rest: girl power. Mean Girls is actually very inspirational even though we don’t always see it that way. In celebration of the movie’s 10 year anniversary, we bring you a countdown of the 10 most meaningful Mean Girls moments that we’ve learned a lesson from!
10. “You can’t sit with us!”
While this is probably the most quotable line in the movie, there’s also a lot of meaning behind it. Up until now Regina George thinks she’s above the law, and she’s finally learning that you can’t live life that way without suffering the consequences. What goes around comes around so don’t be a hypocrite!
9. “Oh, God, honey, no! What kind of mother do you think I am? Why, do you want a little bit? Because if you’re going to drink I’d rather you do it in the house. “
Mrs. George serves the girls drinks. Cady mistakingly believes that they’re alchoholic to which Mrs. George deflects but then poses the counteroffer of getting the girls alcohol. While Mrs. George is undeniably an irresponsible parent, she is also looking out for the best interest of the girls. She’s not stupid; she knows that they’re already drinking at that age so knowing that she can’t put a stop to it, she offers a safer alternative.
8. “We should totally just stab Caesar!”
Gretchen had suffered under the corrupt reign of Regina George for long enough! She is sick of this abusive friendship and finally considers putting an end to it just like Brutus did to his and Julius Caesar’s. If you’re unhappy in any form of relationship, stand your ground!
7. “I have really bad breath in the morning”
The girls all point out each and every flaw on their body and expect Cady to naturally join in. It’s so expected for us girls to naturally see ourselves in a negative light and be upset with our bodies. There’s nothing wrong with loving ourselves and the way we look. Instead of looking at yourself and seeing your insecurities, look past them and start to compliment the way you look. List all the positive attributes and you’ll see that list is a lot longer!
6. “There are two kinds of evil people in this world. Those who do evil stuff and those who see evil stuff being done and don’t try to stop it”
Janis raises a great point here when trying to convince Cady to join her crusade in taking down Regina George. There are plenty of cruel people out there who do horrible things and treat people the wrong way, but what is just as bad are the people who notice it and don’t agree with it but choose to do nothing about it. This is what gives the “evil” people power and allows the corruption to ensue. If you don’t like something or someone, fight to change them!
5. “In the real world, Halloween is when kids dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it.”
While Halloween is the opportunity for people to dress up like something they’re not, many girls feel like they have to uphold the high standards that society holds for us. Halloween has become another opportunity to sexualize women. While there’s nothing wrong with being proud of our sexuality, there’s nothing wrong with taking one day off of worrying whether or not we look good. Just have fun! That’s what Halloween’s about!
4. “See? That’s the thing with you plastics. You think everybody is in love with you when actually, everybody HATES you!”
The Plastics have power beause they’re privledged and embody society’s model of the perfect girl—not who they truly are. Since they have power everyone’s nice to them, but that doesn’t mean everyone likes them. While Janis isn’t the one that gets to go to all the cool parties and kiss cute guys, she isn’t jealous because she gets to be herself and know that people who like her like her for who she really is. All people know of Cady is the fake plastic version of herself. Be yourself just like Janis does and people will like you for who you are!
3. “I know having a boyfriend might seem like the only thing important to you right now, but you don’t have to dumb yourself down in order for a guy to like you”
Ms. Norbury has been around the block. She has had her own Aaron Samuels just like many girls have and has learned that guys like him are not worth selling herself short for. Don’t allow a guy to like you for anything other than your true self. While guys come and go, you will always have yourself!
2. “Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn’t make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George’s life definitely didn’t make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you.”
After living the life of a Plastic, Cady realizes that tearing others apart in order to build yourself up is no fun. She decides it’s time to do what’s really best for herself: not constantly worrying about what people say about her appearance. Being mean to others doesn’t make yourself any better.
1. Ok, so we’re all here ’cause of this book, right? Well, I don’t know who wrote this book, but you all have got to stop calling each other sl*ts and wh*res. It just makes it ok for guys to call you sl*ts and wh*res.”
This one puts a nice big ribbon on the importance of girl power. If we unite and support each other, we’re a force that’s not to be messed with. Mean Girls show that we can use girl power to tear each other apart, or we can use it to improve the world around us.
With that said, thanks, Mean Girls, for giving such meaningful messages to aspire towards this past decade! Happy Birthday! May you inspire many more decades of girls!