Spring Break
Social butterflies stay caterpillars
by Margaret Goldberg
Op-Ed | 9/9/08
Posted online at 3:02 AM EST on 9/9/08
I suppose, though, the idea of change is at the heart of that far-fetched, though extremely entertaining, series of events. Regina changed. If a mean girl doesn't stop being mean, people are going to get sick of it eventually.
Noticeably, focus on the queen-bee mentality is waning and giving way to mildly nerdy and loser esque characters. Though shows like Gossip Girl and The Hills still endure (both of which I am and will always be in love with), popular movies such as Napoleon Dynamite and Juno have begun to change the face of "teen movies."
The reason for this can be found as the basis of part of the popularity study. Students were asked if they would rather be stuck with the nice, likeable nerdy kid or the popular one, and the majority preferred the nice, likable kids.
As movies like Superbad come out, people enjoy watching these characters in wacky schemes, such as their quests for beer, not merely because of the humor, but because the kids are genuinely pleasant, if not somewhat misguided. I mean, honestly, who didn't absolutely love McLovin? He got a fake ID from Hawaii, chilled with the cops and got with a girl in the end and his name was McLovin! That is hard-core.
It's always interesting to see how the stereotypes actually play out, to see how the "in-crowd," the hot guys and the popular girls function and how the not-quite-losers spend their time. But the hot guys don't always stay hot, there's no one to call the girls popular once high school's done and the losers may never have really been losers in the first place.
And really, who would you rather be stuck with, Regina George pre-freak bus accident or McLovin?
Noticeably, focus on the queen-bee mentality is waning and giving way to mildly nerdy and loser esque characters. Though shows like Gossip Girl and The Hills still endure (both of which I am and will always be in love with), popular movies such as Napoleon Dynamite and Juno have begun to change the face of "teen movies."
The reason for this can be found as the basis of part of the popularity study. Students were asked if they would rather be stuck with the nice, likeable nerdy kid or the popular one, and the majority preferred the nice, likable kids.
As movies like Superbad come out, people enjoy watching these characters in wacky schemes, such as their quests for beer, not merely because of the humor, but because the kids are genuinely pleasant, if not somewhat misguided. I mean, honestly, who didn't absolutely love McLovin? He got a fake ID from Hawaii, chilled with the cops and got with a girl in the end and his name was McLovin! That is hard-core.
It's always interesting to see how the stereotypes actually play out, to see how the "in-crowd," the hot guys and the popular girls function and how the not-quite-losers spend their time. But the hot guys don't always stay hot, there's no one to call the girls popular once high school's done and the losers may never have really been losers in the first place.
And really, who would you rather be stuck with, Regina George pre-freak bus accident or McLovin?
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