Readers have been quite adamant: they really liked the first movie review of Maeve’s that I shared here last month, and wanted more. Some I know have already gone to Maeve’s blog and read much of it; I strongly encourage more of you to do the same, as Maeve writes very insightful yet easy to read movie reviews, which as explained last month I feel is due to a combination of the clarity with which she expresses herself but also because she doesn’t feel the urge to write using big words and complicated sentence structures.
I chose to share her review of the quintessential mean girl movie of the same title as the phenomena, Mean Girls, starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Tina Fay. For one, it features from wickedly quotable material. But most importantly, it provides food for some very interesting discussion on gender stereotypes, relationships, and the real meaning of power.
Mean Girls — The Tongue is a Smoldering Fire, by Maeve
Synopsis (from IMDB):
Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) has just returned to the United States with her parents after growing up in Africa. Cady is a teenager, who has been home schooled her whole life. Her first day in class as the new girl will be her first encounter with the public school system. As the new girl, where will she fi
t in? Cady first makes friends with two geeks (Daniel Franzese and Lizzy Caplan). Then she makes friends with the most popular and beautiful girls in the school, known as `The Plastics’ (Lacey Chabert, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried). Cady wants to fit in and now she has friends from two different worlds. To keep them as friends she must do things she has never done before, such as being deceitful, scheming, and finally untrustworthy. She discovers who her real friends are in the end. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)
My Thoughts:
Mean Girls is a case study in the importance of trustworthiness and loyalty, as well as a warning against the ills of gossip, backbiting, and vanity. Instead of being preachy, it approaches these topics through the lens of Teen Comedy, showing us the problems these vices can cause. However, don’t be fooled by it’s glitzy and amusing nature, this film is tackling some heavy issues that all teens, and in fact all people have to struggle with throughout their lives. And through “coming of age” we can gain some wisdom as to what the more important things are in our lives, but the challenge of gossip by no means ends when you walk out that door with a diploma, and the politics of high school can quickly become the politics of one’s life if left unchecked. I think that is why the Spiritual Leaders of World, have given us councils, in order to help us navigate these tumultuous waters. One quote that I find supremely fitting is:
“That seeker must, at all times, put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, must detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. He must neverseek to exalt himself above any one, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vain-glory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endureth a century.” ~