Amrita Week 9; The Powerful Plastics
The Powerful Plastics
When I discovered that “Mean Girls,” a movie most know and love, was getting a remake, I was thrilled, as one should be. When I discovered that Karen was going to be played by a South Asian woman, Avantika Vandanapu, I was already opening my computer to buy tickets for the movie.
While this may seem like an ordinary matter of casting, this choice is a larger deal than it seems. In the original movie, though Karen proves to be a loyal and funny friend, it is clear that the focal point of her character is her cluelessness and dull-mindedness. The writer of the movie revealed that Karen is “not the smart one of the group.”
With these qualities of Karen being canon, it is no surprise that those producing the remake of the movie preserved them. What is surprising, and unexpectedly powerful, is the choosing of a South Asian woman to portray them.
Often referred to as the “model” race, Asian people are consistently and stereotypically expected to come out on top in all things academic and intellectual. As a South Asian person, I have experienced the pressure of excelling in my academics within my own community. I’ve had Asian friends feel similarly. I’ve had non-Asian friends make jabs at me when I fail to meet those expectations on tests or assignments. I’ve internalized the idea that “success” is defined by getting amazing grades and into a prestigious college. The pressure to be second to none is one that constantly overwhelms me.
The casting of Vandanapu as Karen in the 2024 “Mean Girls” remake is important because it directly combats the stereotypical concept of Asian intellectual superiority. Watching a South Asian embrace playing an unintelligent, dull-witted character made me feel powerful.
Placing stereotypes on and making generalizations about a given group of people takes power away from them by restricting their perception of what is allowed for them and what is not. For me, I have felt powerless living my life believing that only a select few paths are acceptable for someone who looks like me. When I see people in media defy these norms and create their own acceptable path, it makes me feel like I have the power to do the same.
Hi Amrita! I love the title of your blog! Like you, I was also excited for the remake of Mean Girls, as it was one of my favorite movies as a child. The brief description of Karen’s personality allows people who have not watched the movie to understand your blog more clearly. I like how you connect your blog to some of your personal experiences and how the casting of Avantika Vandanapu as Karen has given you power to break through stereotypes. Everyone has their own pressures, but sometimes, I feel like I have so much more expectations to uphold as an Asian. Due to stereotypes, we have to be good at math and become a doctor or an engineer. Seeing an Asian woman portray an “intelligent, dull-witted character” is definitely refreshing to see on the big screen. I have yet to see the remake of Mean Girls, but I look forward to seeing a new take on the legendary movie and Avantika Vandanapu’s portrayal of Karen.
ReplyDeleteHey Amrita! I also heard that a new musical rendition of the Mean Girls movie was released! As a South Indian as well, I am extremely interested in the decision to cast Vandanapu as one of the main characters of such a classic movie!
ReplyDeleteTypically, I am against the changing of well known roles for renditions due to the recent influx of Disney movie remakes. For me, classics should remain as they are and if a live action movie is made, it should be starring new characters and new storylines.
However, since the integrity of the characters was maintained during the rendition, I fully support the decision to remake the film to fit the newer generations of viewers. The Mean Girls is an amazing movie that deserves to be shared with everyone!
As you said, the specific decision to cast Vandanapu as a main character has had a huge impact on the Indian community. Like you mentioned, racial stereotypes can be extremely harmful in any situation and are influential when they are continued on screen. Many Asians and Indians feel the need to be perfect and perform well in school due to the perception that they are extremely smart. In real life, there are many ways that this stereotype could negatively impact students. Firstly, kids who are not performing to the level that stereotypes say they should might feel pressured and insecure. On the other hand, kids who perform well are often not given the recognition they deserve because their good grades are attributed to their race instead of the long nights and hard work put into studying. The decision to maintain Karen’s funny and unique personality instead of going with typical Indian characteristics is truly powerful and shows that we are making progress to defeat stereotypes in the film industry.
I agree with your point about stereotypes about the Asian community. Many people like reinforcing the idea that "all Asians are academically inclined," "all of them get into good colleges and succeed," etc. Now although these stereotypes are true to an extent, I think it's quite damaging to view a whole group this way. And while people defend these stereotypes because they're "positive stereotypes," these misconceptions about our people are damaging to everyone within the community. In a society where all of us are already expected to succeed. the societal pressure to uphold the stereotypes that they place onto the people is crushing. It genuinely hurts people physically and mentally to keep up with what everyone conceives us as, and it hurts knowing that we still try to uphold these standards, even when we don't want to. I like the idea of diversity, not in the typical sense of "oh we added a minority," but in the sense that we shouldn't have everything about a specific group be based off of a stereotype that isn't true most of the time. Of course, I will concede that all groups will have someone who perfectly fits that stereotype that everyone talks about, and that will be true for a long time, but these "model minorities" do not represent the beauty of the diversity within groups of people, whether that be in looks, academics, and more. I think that's what I appreciate about roles in movies that don't go with cliche or stereotypes; it allows us to see more of what the world is actually like.
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