Who is Regina George?
By Simone Gonzalez
Regina George is regarded as the best villain in teen movie history. Isn’t that fascinating? You’d think perhaps Sharpay Evans from the beloved High School Musical Movies would be given that title. Well, Regina George is on top.
If you haven’t seen Mean Girls, think of your own experience in high school. What was the nastiest thing a bully has ever done to you? Have you wanted to change your identity because of how they were treating you? Or do their words entirely take up all the thoughts in your brain? Even now, by writing this article, I can’t stop thinking about her (just kidding). I want to please her by writing this article about her. She consumes my thoughts and I want her to like me more than anything (sorry I’m just getting in the mood).
If you’ve never seen Mean Girls, I’ll give you a quick summary (you should watch the movie before you read this article). Mean Girls follows Cady Heron, a teenage girl navigating the treacherous social hierarchy of high school after moving from Africa to the United States. She befriends two outcasts, Janis and Damian, who warn her about the school's most powerful clique, led by the oh so powerful Regina George. As Cady infiltrates Regina's group, she becomes entangled in a web of gossip, betrayal, and teenage drama. Along the way, she learns valuable lessons about friendship, identity, and the consequences of trying to fit in at any cost.
Regina strongly believed her plastics would never betray her. In her mind, they wouldn’t even think about it. Regina George is a dictator, a narcissist but also the star of Mean Girls. She knew the power and impact she had on everyone in that school and she loved it. To me, that’s why she wrote the Burn Book in the first place and had no shame in showing Cady. Her confidence became all ego, she thought no matter what, her power and influence was untouchable…until that all came crashing down in this movie. If we’re going to figure out who exactly Regina George is, I think we should start with the fact that Regina is regarded as such an evil character because she takes action, right in your face then seems to not regret it.
For example:
The craziest part about that scene is that all Regina does after she calls Susan’s mom pretending to be Planned Parenthood is laugh. For a brief moment, she looks elsewhere (who knows what she’s thinking) then nonchalantly walks on going about the rest of her day. Now, that is a different level of Mean Girl. Throughout the movie, Regina brutally insults Cady, Gretchen and Karen not thinking twice about the impact her words have. Thoughtlessly, Regina sabotages Cady’s chance with Aaron just because she knows she can.
The website, watchmojo.com is where I found the claim that Regina George is the most villainous character in teen movie history. The site states:
“Showing a remarkable talent for pinpointing a person's insecurities, Regina's natural beauty and inherent drive for authority help establish the antagonist as the school's icon, one adored and despised by the majority of the students. While villainous in nature, Regina's popularity is quite easy to accept.”
With all of that in mind, let’s go the complete other way. I think that’s most important in order to uncover who Regina George really is. Is Regina George as villainous as we think? What is the reason for it?
Regina George…not so bad?
Bustle states that:
At the end of the day, Regina was a flawed human being just like everybody else. She wasn't the best, but she also really wasn't the worst. So although it might be tempting to write the character off as being a totally bad person, remember that there is always more than meets the eye at first glance.
I understand that this is…an interesting take to have because in this movie, Regina George uses slurs and basically body shames Karen and Gretchen. Yet, I’m interested in how Bustle can perceive Regina George as a “not so bad” character.
“The movie showed a lot of Regina's personal life, which looked amazing on the surface, but had some serious cracks. Underneath her family's wealth and beautiful house was a tumultuous home life characterized by overly permissive parents and a struggling marriage. Underneath her popularity was the fact that she was constantly being watched and appraised by her peers who valued her primarily for superficial reasons, like her car and appearance (even Janis noted that one of Regina's main commodities was her "hot body"). So, although Regina was not blameless for her poor behavior towards others, in a lot of ways she was truly a product of her environment. Yeah, I'll say it: Regina George wasn't that bad.” -Bustle, 2016.
Let’s go on with some of what else Bustle uses to defend Regina George:
Regina George aka Fearless Leader
As bad as she can be, Regina George is a fearless leader. The whole school idolized her and would even be willing to be punched in the face by her. Bustle argued that if Regina could use her leadership skills for good, she could become a hugely influential politician, activist, or other kind of changemaker (makes sense to me).
Her Quotes have Withstanded The Test of Time
Get in Loser we’re going shopping is one of most popular meme ish gif ish phrases or even…is butter a carb? or boo you whore…her quotes are just too good that I definitely agree with Bustle…
Does Regina George always welcome new students?
Regina George had no reason to talk to Cady let alone let her in her group. The plastics even admit “We don’t do this a lot”. To this day, I’m not sure why she did it. It could have been because she considered Cady to be pretty. The first thing she does is compliment Candy. Nevertheless, Bustle is right in saying that this small act of kindness done by Regina (whatever intention she may have had behind it) is what gets the plot rolling.
Her Confidence Needs to be Studied
Bustle strikes again. Even as Cady messes with her, Regina George never truly doubts herself. She gets mad at Cady, for sure, especially about the protein bars. However, whatever Regina does to keep her confidence in tact is something I definitely need. The greatest example of Regina’s confidence is when everyone is freaking out except her.
Regina George is brutally honest
The things Regina says in the movie aren’t great. Bustle does believe that someone had to tell Gretchen to stop making fetch a thing but Regina’s honesty goes much deeper than that. Regina even uses her honesty as a form of manipulation to get people to trust her. When Regina finds out Cady likes Aaron, she asks her “Aren’t you so mad at Gretchen for telling me”? (manipulation at it’s finest). Although Regina’s brutal honesty comes off plain rude, it could be helpful in some situations, especially ones where we need to be honest with people.
Regina Refused to Let Guys Mess With Her Friends
The very moment Regina meets Cady, she’s saving her from an awkward situation (Jason is asking her weird questions). When Gretchen gets done dirty by Jason, Regina makes a quick phone call that solves the problem immediately. I’m sure if anyone messed with Karen, Regina would defend her as well. This is definitely one endearing thing about Regina George.
Regina George was a victim of Body Shaming
Whether you like it or not, Bustle is right in saying that Regina George was a victim of body shaming. No wonder she placed so much importance in her weight and appearance because…I think even her mom makes comments about her weight in this movie. Of course, the whole Kalteen bar situation with her Cady and Janice was mean as well.
She showed up to Spring Fling in a neck brace!!!
Regina George getting hit by a BUS was karma to the extreme. Bustle gives her props for showing up to prom despite a serious injury. I’d be wrong to not give Regina props as well.
Regina George is Wiser than you think
I’ll mention this scene later on. In summary, Bustle uses a deleted scene from the movie to prove that Regina George is extremely wise. In the deleted scene from "Mean Girls," Regina offers Cady advice about the dangers of becoming too fixated on revenge. This moment truly reveals Regina's complexity as a character. So, the deleted scene humanizes our mean girl Regina as someone capable of growth and wisdom.
Despite it all, Regina George’s assertiveness, leadership skills and confidence are parts of her that can be admired. It’s crazy how after The Plastics break up, Regina is told to “channel all her rage into sports” by her therapist. Underneath it all, like most bullies, it seems like Regina’s life at home made her into the mean and rageful girl she was.
After writing this article, I’ve come to the conclusion Regina George’s character was as extra as can be so that we can learn from her and the movie’s overall message. I think this sums it up best:
Cady has this realization at the end of the movie as she’s reflecting. It is important to mention because I believe Cady is not the only one that has this reflection, I believe Regina does too. Perhaps she realized it when she got hit by a bus or fought with Cady but the dynamic between Cady and Regina is an interesting one because they wouldn’t have learned this without meeting each other. The dynamic between them is so interesting because really, they could have been friends despite it all. In fact, there’s even a deleted scene between the two that provides us with even more depth on Regina George:
Regina’s character can seem one dimensional but that’s the exact trick the movie is setting you up for. In reality, people are complex and the traits of fictional characters are something we can relate to. Regina George is mean, aggressive, and confident. Yet, throughout this movie, we never see how she’s impacted or feels, we only see Cady’s side of everything. There is a soft side to Regina and I think that is shown the most in this deleted scene. Regina George is what happens when you get lost in power, in revenge and in being satisfied of others fearing you.
(skip ahead to 5:58)
Cady and Regina don’t end up friends. The nod between them at the end of this scene tells us they can at least coexist without burn book pages flying everywhere. These ending scenes of Mean Girls can make us reflect on our own high school experience, reflect about how we have treated others and how we want to treat others going forward. I suppose it’s all up to you. Do you have a Regina George in your life? Are you Regina George? Either way, that is so fetch (it’s kinda not but yes let’s make fetch a thing for Gretchen come on guys)
Links
An Analysis of Power And Social Dynamics In 'Mean Girls'