Mean Girls
Mise-En-Scene and Cinematography
I will be analysing the opening scene to Mean Girls starring Lindsey Lohan,
Rachel Mc Adams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried. The main character
Cady Heron raised in Africa is removed from her roots and dropped into a
different lifestyle, as well as attending an American high school for the
first time. We see Cady struggle to find the perfect identity suited for the
best possible school life among the jocks, cheerleaders, mathletes and the
various subcultures in the school body. I will explore the components of
cinematography and mise-en-scene, considering cause and effect created for
the audience.
Interestingly, the first character we see in the film is not the protagonist;
rather it is Cady’s parents. They are shown using a low angle two-shot,
making them appear unnaturally large and suggesting that they are talking
down to Cady and have authority over her. This is then followed by a tilt
giving an over the shoulder shot of Cady, conveying her point of view, which
shows spectators that the director wants us to connect or empathise with
Cady. The use of cinematography here conveys an introduction to the
storyline as well as an insight into the characters, for the audience.
The mise-en- scene of the parents is suggestive of the modern time they are
living in; it shows they have conformed to ideas within their new society and
subverted from their African zoologist roles. Cady’s father is wearing a
chequered shirt, a black suede jacket and is clean-shaven. This formal attire
is suggestive of their new setting and life and possibly a new job. His wife is
wearing lipstick, black leather jacket long green dress and t-shirt. They are
very much prepared for their stay as they have an idea, whereas Cady does
not, hence her costumes in my analysed clips.
A voice-over from Cady is run alongside scenes explaining her story and
current situation. The use of cinematography and mise-en-scene supports
this part of the clip. One could say Cadys naivety to her new lifestyle is
shown through her clothing, as unlike her parents she has stuck to what she
wore in Africa, as this is what she is accustomed to. As a home schooled
student she is aware of perceptions made of her and drafts an idea of a
young girl with braces and glasses at a spelling competition. A variety of
shots highlight the characters’ differences as seen from the journey into
the school building and into the classroom. This is conveyed through a midshot and two close-ups to show her reaction. Also Cady dashed out into the
road and was nearly hit by the school bus. This shows how foreign she is to
her new life; it contrasts with possibilities of roaming freely when in Africa,
so she acts no differently in a new place.
The mise- en-scene of the schools location is easy to identify with many
objects that are significant. From Cady’s entrance into the school a crowd of
students involving in play are in front of the school building, which is a
typical convention. There is a shot of the school bus passing by and the
children participating in a range of activities i.e. bicycles, play fights,
American football and playing around with fire. These are in some cases
factual representations of school children. This reinforces the modernity of
this film as the children’s behaviour is that of teenagers today. This is also
continued once Cady has entered her first class. The props in the room show
it is a classroom, we have viewings of the black board, students at tables and
chairs, teacher’s desk at the head of the classroom, pictures and apparatus
for subjects on a display board, bookshelves and computers. These are
shown through the various shots that capture Cady almost as if she is being
sized up to what she has to face. The use of the props and cinematography is
so the audience are able to identify the setting or genre and also relate to
what is taking place, especially as the age group is similar.
The classroom has stereotypical stock type characters: the bully, who says
“talk to me again and I’ll kick your ass,” the isolated individual, the couple,
other friendship groups and the students who structure the rest of the
classroom seating plan. This idea is related to ideas by the theorist Vladimir
Propp who believed that there is often a villain, donor, helper, princess,
dispatcher, hero and anti-hero. In this case Cady will be the princess. The
many different characters in the classroom, is to encourage a response from
the spectators as we meet them individually.
The mise-en- scene of the teacher Mrs. Norberry is conventional in the
portrayal of teachers. We see Ms. Norberry wearing glasses, watch, many
assignments in her hand and with a cup of tea or coffee; her clothing is
informal but simple and plain. The teachers clothing and props shows her
position to be something below. When the principle enters the room he is
wearing a shirt, tie and v-neck which is more formal and shows spectators he
is in a position of power. There are a variety of shots used in this scene; tilt
shot to capture the clash between Cady and her teacher as well as the
spillage, close-up shot to show the reactions on their faces and a two shot of
the support after the incident. The camera movement enhances the collision
and aims to startle the audience as it is not expected.
Stereotypes of mise- en- scene and colour represents narrow minded
perceptions made today. For example; when Ms. Norberry is told there is a
new student from Africa joining their class, she immediately assumes it is
the only black girl in the class. The characters mise- en- scene however did
reflect this because of her afro hairstyle and printed clothing which looks
tribal.
I enjoyed reading your essay Rennee – you make some great insights, especially about
mise-en-scene, which you describe accurately and in detail.
This essay does need extending to 1,500 words, so there is still quite a lot more work for
you to do! Please read through my comments – I do think that you need to focus more on:
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Audience response, for example: what expectations do they bring to the film
based on its genre and how are these conformed to or subverted? what does the
opening of the film suggest to the audience about how the story might develop
(you could use this to expand your section about Propp and the characters in the
story – do they perhaps point to a conflict at some point in the story, for
example?)?
Cinematography – please watch the clip again and list all the shots used and
possible effects of these shots and try to incorporate these chronologically into
your essay.