Mean Girls

In order for any film to make sense it needs some sort of organization, a base. That is why there are three types of narratives: classical tragedy, alternative, and three act structure (which is the one we see the most.) "Mean Girls," one of my all time favorite movies, is organized by the three act structure. It is basically about a girl, Cady Heron (protagonist), who goes from being home schooled in Africa to attending a public high school in America. It is not very hard for her to adjust to the change as she is accepted right in with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school. Than she makes the mistake of falling in love with Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George, which leads to major conflicts.

The film has a very interesting syuzhet. The first act begins with an establishing shot as Cady takes a look at what will be her new high school. As the fabula evolves we can see that Cady forms a strong friendship with The Plastics, that would soon lead to trouble. The rising action of the film begins in 14:55, when Cady tells The Plastics that she is interested in Aaron Samuels. Regina, his ex girlfriend, offers to help her out with him, which turns out to be a total lie.

Stakes escalate in the second act as the climax approaches. In 28:15 Cady spies Regina kissing Aaron, they boy she was interested in, after she had told her she would help her out with him. A close up shot is used to reveal how Cady feels after seeing this; she feels betrayed and is filled with anger. She decides she must do something about this to get revenge on Regina. After brainstorming different plans she finally decides to target the only assets she has, her body and her "army of skanks." She than follows through with her plan for revenge, which is consisted of several dramatic plot points.

The third act of the film introduces the end act. In 76:24, the falling action begins when Regina gets hit by a school bus. After Regina gets hit by the bus, the cattiness between the girls stop and they decide to make peace. As the film uses a modern cinematic style, it ends with a happy ending.