This week our high school season has reached the cultural zenith (no shade: it’s a culturally important film!) of MEAN GIRLS (2004). After some reviews, we talk about meta-commentaries on teenage slang, the refreshing absence of strong male characters, and why this might be a film about leaving the limitations of high school days behind.

Next Time
Our next film in the high school genre is the 2007 version of ST. TRINIAN’S.

Recent Media
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019): Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (2017–) Bryan Fuller, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones

Recommendations
UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT (2015–19): Tristram Shapeero, Ellie Kemper, Jane Krakowski
SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009): Guy Ritchie, Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law
MACHETE (2010): Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez, Danny Trejo
500 DAYS OF SUMMER (2009): Mark Webb, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel

Footnotes
Rob mentions a test for female representation, which is described here: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Sexy_Lamp_Test. But that then sent me down a rabbit-hole of online descriptions of other tests, like this: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Bechdel_Test and this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mako_Mori_test. After that, it was a short step to reading other stories about gendered and racial representation on film, and scanning articles about the GamerGate and FakeFanGirls controversies, and then I realised that it was ten to 11 and I’ve got work tomorrow. Ho-hum. On the subject of teenage slang, any list like this https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g4589/slang-word-meanings is automatically going to sound like Amy Poehler as a mum in about 6 months, which has what has happened with this one, so it would be really unfair to laugh at it…wouldn’t it…oh well: life’s not fair. Finally, for anyone with a passing interest in steampunk, or Sherlock Holmes, or graphic novels, or Alan Moore, Sam’s lecture on all of this is available here: https://prezi.com/n2nbdgzs1gof/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share.

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