<p>UCLAri--whoops. sorry :D. i have a hard time reading expression online. </p>
<p>so generally, private schools are more likely to have less of a mean girl in them than huge public ones....? and they have that attitude in fourth grade??? wow...</p>
<p>Ya I go to one of the two schools based off of Mean Girls and Mean Girls is pretty much like our school. I go to New Trier and it's basically rich preppy kids being too good for anyone else. But there are def groups. Like we have a Theatre hallway, Art hallway and then the student lounge where the stoners are. Oh ya Tina Fey went to our school so that's why she based Mean Girls off our school. Mean Girls is def an extreme but parents buy their sons or daughters anything they want. It could be designer bags or a Mercedes. Everyone gets limos for Prom and that's prob why we think we're so much better than everyone else. Don't get me wrong. New Trier is one of the best public schools in the nations because of all the intense studyers (Mostly Asians). We call them "The Asians" cause all the AP's are stacked with Asian kids</p>
<p>^My sister is in 8th grade at the other school Mean Girls is based on. There are "popular" girls, but she says that she and her ("nerdy") friends usually ignore them. (For the record, my sister is white, thin, blonde, and pretty. She wears Polo and North Face, and pairs miniskirts with Uggs. This may reduce her credibility.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
parents buy their sons or daughters anything they want. It could be designer bags or a Mercedes.
[/quote]
I definitely recognize that. I had this conversation with my sister last week:</p>
<p>R: [Name] wore that really cute argyle sweater from J. Crew today.
Me: The $200 cashmere one? And she's 13? Some of these kids are so spoiled.
R: [name] isn't like that at all! She's really nice!
Me: It doesn't matter how nice she is. She's in middle school and owns a $200 cashmere sweater. She's spoiled. End of discussion.</p>
<p>Of course parents are allowed to decide what to buy their kids, if they can afford it--that's not the issue here. It's the "taking privilege for granted" that I'm having trouble with.</p>
<p>i think that all high schools have cliques, but the cliques at my school are not as intense as those on Mean Girls. I think it was slightly exaggerated for comedic effect.</p>
<p>'Exaggerated' probably isn't the right way to describe Mean Girls - try "comedified". It made real situations very funny and ridiculous, when in truth, yes, at many highschools there is a popular crowd, and yes, they all are beautiful and have perfectly straightened hair and yes, they are terrible and mean and don't want to associate with "nerds". </p>
<p>But I think at most highschools you will also find variations on the theme: people who are pretty, popular, and nice; people who watch only indie films, dye their hair strange colors, and may or may not be popular and nice; nerds who are popular; jocks who are nerds...etc. etc.</p>
<p>Of course there are cliques like those in Mean Girls. At the two high schools I've attended I haven't seen as much of the stratfied relationships between some of the cliques, but there are definitely undercurrents, of course, I seemed to hang out with everyone...I think the social otucasts and those at eitehr ends of teh extremes for the cliques defintiely feel that there is a disparity in high school groups. But many people "cross" and hang otu with a variety of groups and people. I can't say tha my experience is totally great sicne I ahve been at very diverse high schools. </p>
<p>Also, I think most of the people posting on this thread are either caucasian or asian, and if not, are quite privileged or smart as an URM. Thus, their view of the worl may be very skewed. Mean girls only describes a very small slice of Americana, mainly the rich, WASPy types. I'm sure that if you went to an inner city school, witha majority black or hispanic population you might get a different impression of the state of American education. I happen to attend on of those types of schools, which is 60% black, and I have to say that people care less about what group they belong to, since from what I've experienced the black community in my city is extremely close, and it seems like everyone is a cousing to someone else. Kids at schools where msot don't graduate or go to college are less concerned with cliques and mor with finding a job and REAL life. Seriously, high school likfe matters very little to those outside of high school and if you are a social otucast in high school, that can easily change later in life. No one gives a damn about who you were in high school, and what clique yuo belonged to. </p>
<p>American movies are made to be entertaining. If you are basing any impressions of American teenagers off of one movie, then either you are incredibly naive or just have no idea of how life is in America.</p>
<p>OK as for all the people claiming that Mean Girls is based on YOUR school, you're probably wrong. There have been a ridiculous amount of rumors, however it's generally agreed that it's based somewhat on NCS in DC (my sis' old school) and Brearley in NYC. But the point is, nobody REALLY knows, and everybody loves to think it's their school.</p>
<p>meestasi, of course the op has no idea how American life is, that is why they asked the question. </p>
<p>And, i slightly disagree with your statement about inner-city high schools. I am African-American and i have attended a school with black and hispanic students as their majority. and, the cliques were extremely defined...</p>
<p>Well, I am ignorant again. I'm asian and I talk to many different blakc girls at my high school and I haven't seen too much of evidence for cliques. But then, I can't really say I'm apart of the culture so, I'm sorry if I offended you with my ignorance.</p>
<p>oh, i'm not offended at all. i just think that you shouldn't make sweeping statements about all inner-city high schools. i mean, every school is different.</p>
<p>And, i don't think you are ignorant at all.</p>
<p>Yeah, I shouldn't make sweeping statements or make stereotypes but I hate being politcally correct, and I was trying to offer a contradicting view to what most of the other posters have said about high school.</p>
<p>
OK as for all the people claiming that Mean Girls is based on YOUR school, you're probably wrong. There have been a ridiculous amount of rumors, however it's generally agreed that it's based somewhat on NCS in DC (my sis' old school) and Brearley in NYC. But the point is, nobody REALLY knows, and everybody loves to think it's their school.
I don't know if you directed this at me, but yes, my sister attends National Cathedral School in Washington, DC.</p>
<p>here's my impeccable classification of my school population:
skids (skater kids) - hoodies, long hair, lethargic face expression at all times, skateboard in the halls during class
'azns' (asian gangstas) - sports puma or north face puffy jackets, black gloves, wife beaters
koreans (korean fobs) - american eagle, European clothing, shaggy hair cut, baseball hat
hongers (hong kong fobs) - very colorful clothing (orange, yellow, lime green etc.)
wannabe 'gangstas' - like gangstas without an actual gang
wannabe 'fobs' - whitewashed asians who long to share the culture they once had
the 'kappa krew' (italians) - comes to school to advertise the kappa brand, sometimes puma
'school spirit' students (extracurricular excelling people) - the only people in the school who care about the school
honor / AP students (some are also under 'school spirit') - need i say more</p>
<p>oooh, i like this. here are the cliques at my school:</p>
<p>skaters
stoners
jocks
wanksters
preppy kids
lifeguards
goths
popular kids
nerds (smart kids)
geeks (math, science, computer geeks)</p>
<p>the ap students fall into each of the above categories. as a matter of fact, most of the kids at my school are in at least one ap class, so there are stoner ap kids and popular ap kids.</p>
<p>I agree with CLeighDrie way back there, that movie is a lot more like middle school than high school. high school's more chill. in middle school we were making **** on purpose just to see peoples reactions and to do something for fun, but it's a phase we've grown out of. </p>
<p>i think that anyone that thinks it still goes on now is pretty dillussional and out the loop or whatever there cause people dont make "drama' or for no reason, if they do, then there's probobly a reason for it, or they're just immature.</p>
<p>now i'm relieved i'm not in middle school anymore...</p>
<p>Well, "Mean Girls" is an example of the high school i go to (and i'm not kidding at all guys). I think my school is copying the movie because there are people called "plastics" in my school (I think it's ridiculous) and I'm the "U know what" in the movie, of course the Asian Nerd boy who eats an apple and talks with the other Asians. I do have a crush on one of the plastics in my school, but i wouldn't have game. I'd be like that Indian dude in the smart contest who wouldn't have game.</p>
<p>my school is like this:</p>
<p>surfers
dramageeks
intellectuals
asians
sports players
druggies</p>
<p>yea my skool got definate cliques too, but its not like u cant be in a club or sit at lunch w/ ppl not in ur clique</p>
<p>same at my school, Jin. there are cliques, but anyone can sit anywhere.</p>