The 10 Most Awesome Things About 'Mean Girls'
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Frances Bridges
Ten years ago today, “Mean Girls” opened in theaters, and it has ruled our hearts and the internet ever since. Of course the 10th anniversary of the greatest movie ever made is on Wednesday, living proof that God loves” Mean Girls,” and that he/she wore pink today. How do you know [...]
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Forbes
Ten years ago today, “Mean Girls” opened in theaters, and it has ruled our hearts and the internet ever since. Of course the 10th anniversary of the greatest movie ever made is on Wednesday, living proof that God loves” Mean Girls,” and that he/she wore pink today.

How do you know when a movie has found it’s way into the heart of the masses? When a throwaway line like, “On October 3rd he asked me what day it was, ‘It’s October 3rd’,” floods every social media feeds on October 3rd, and on Halloween girls caption all their costume photos with, “In girl world, Halloween is the one night a year where a girl can dress like a total slut, and no other girls can say anything about it.”

Every time I watch the movie, (I admit I might be in the triple digits at this point), I notice something new that’s subtle and brilliant. I watched it twice to write this post, and the second time, I noticed after the big assembly for the “Burn Book,” Cady’s dad says, “Your mom doesn’t hate you, she’s afraid of you.” This movie has proven that it’s not just for the decade, it’s for the ages. I can’t name a movie that combines comedy and sociology like this one.

In honor of its 10 year anniversary, here are 10 awesome things about “Mean Girls”:

It’s Smart

It could have been another dumb movie about teenagers, with girls competing over a guy and popularity; the good girl wins in the end (because duh), but that’s not what this movie is at all. It’s about insecure kids trying to navigate high school, their friendships, and figuring out who they are. The lesson? Don’t be mean or you will get hit by a bus. Kidding.

The Catchphrases

“On Wednesdays, we wear pink”

“You can’t sit with us.”

“I mean, that’s just like, the rules of feminism.”

“We have ESPN or something.”

“Is butter a carb?”

“That’s why her hair is so big, it’s full of secrets”

“I hear her hair is insured for $10,000”

“So fetch”

“My breasts can always tell when it’s going to rain.”

“Don’t have sex, ‘cause you will get pregnant…and die.”

“Four for you Glen Coco, you go Glen Coco!”

“You have your cousins, then you have your first cousins, and then you have your second cousins.”

“I don’t think my father, the inventor of toaster strudel, would be too pleased to hear about this.”

“I’m sorry that people are so jealous of me, but I can’t help it if I’m popular .” “She doesn’t even go here!”

They speak for themselves.

The Popular (Plastics) Group Isn’t For Everyone

Everyone wants to be in the popular, beautiful crowd, because that’s how everyone wants to see themselves: as beautiful and popular. Cady learns that the first friends she made, the “art freaks,” are the best friends she could make. Sometimes art freaks are more fun than queenbees. They liked her for who she was, the weird, home-schooled, white girl from Africa (“But if you’re from Africa, how can you be white?” I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself), and those are the people who should stick with.

It Makes Mean Girl Psychology Fun

This movie is a really hilarious story about why people are mean to each other, it has pretty brutal “girl-on-on girl crime,” as the movie calls it, but makes it approachable. It’s hard not to rub your hands with glee when Regina starts getting fat and her boyfriend dumps her (she had it coming). The good news is at the end, even though some people get hurt, everyone is OK, makes the right friends, and comes out a better person.

Great Guys Like Smart Girls

When Cady dumbs herself down for Aaron Samuels, all she gets is a Mathletes membership so she can earn extra credit.

A pro to joining mathletes? Aaron Samuels finally kissed Cady at the Spring Fling after she won the mathletes state championship. See girls! Smart girls get the guy!

All Girls Are Capable Of Being Mean

It’s not just the plastics. As the “Burn Book” proved, there’s a mean girl inside of every girl. Every girl is capable of being a manipulative, hateful person, it doesn’t matter what clique they’re in.

Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated

“You have to stop calling each other sluts and whores, it just makes it OK for guys to call you sluts and whores.” -Ms. Norberry aka Tina Fey aka God.

High School Students Are Just Like African Wildlife

What’s the difference between high school girls and big African cats? High school girls are much more subtle, and don’t just kill you. They ruin your life and make you live through it. Or as they say in the movie, “In girl world, all the fighting had to be sneaky.”

The Importance Of Apologies

Apologizing in high school is the worst. You're already insecure enough, and then when you're blatantly in the wrong and you ahve to stand up in front of the whole school and say so? Total nightmare. I don't blame Cady for chickening out on the apology/trust fall exercise at the girl assembly. But when she chickens out, is when she realizes the only way to fix all of her problems is to be accountable for her actions and apologize for them.

It’s Positive

Before there was a lot of discussion and documentaries about bullying, there was “Queen Bees & Wannabees” and “Mean Girls.” They were ahead of the curve on this whole social movement. Cady’s ultimate epiphany at the Mathletes’ Championship is, that she can’t build herself up by tearing other people down.

“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,” she concludes.