I was scrolling through TikTok when I noticed people drumming up excitement for the new “Mean Girls” movie.
My mutual friends were busy making edits to a new song from the movie by Reneé Rapp, who plays the character Regina George. I knew how big of a deal it was for Rapp to argue that Regina George was a lesbian, since there are so few lesbian main characters in films today. I was also aware of the harmful stereotypes against Asian Americans that Tina Fey, the writer, had perpetuated decades earlier in “Mean Girls (2004),” as well as in her other projects like 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
As a queer Asian American person, I felt torn about watching the new movie.
The original Mean Girls movie inspired a 2017 Broadway musical, which led to this film adaptation, “Mean Girls (2024).” It stars Angourie Rice as Cady, the main character who transitions from homeschooled life into a traditional American high school. Rapp was a natural choice for Regina George in this adaptation because she played the same role in the Broadway production.
During one scene in “Mean Girls (2004),” Janice introduces Cady to the school cafeteria seating arrangement. The jocks sit at one table, the Asian nerds at another (they have glasses and are playing a card game) and the cool Asians at a third (they’re the ones who wear more revealing clothing and have piercings). Later, two angry Vietnamese women fight over how many guys they can get together with.
You can see why I’m hesitant to watch “Mean Girls (2024).”
Still, I was curious to see if the representation of Asian Americans in the new version was better than the original. I talked to Beau Hopkins, a second-year at Western Washington University, who is of half Filipino descent and has seen both movies.
Hopkins said that, while “Mean Girls (2004)” is not a…
Read the full article here
