Stereotypical Popular Girls in Films

A female antagonist ally will also be one of the main characters for our film and this is the popular girl, Stacey. In order to portray the right type of character and to give off the right image, we needed to research into other films with popular female characters to see how they are portrayed. Like the geeks, this research will enable us to create an original character without coping them from films we have looked at. Characters of popular girls will also have aspects of verisimilitude and social realism in order for the audience to identify with her character and, like geeks again, will be used in films used for entertainment purposes and do not require much deciphering. However, since we have decided to include a hidden, geeky side to Stacey's character, we will need to use the mise en scene such, as props, to portray this hidden side through the enigma code. We will ensure that the signifiers we use will make the audience as the right questions about Stacey's character.


Likes/Dislikes

A topic that appears regularly throughout films with popular girls is boys. Whether they have an obsession with trying to win their crush over or improve their image to impress him, boys will be mentioned in one form or another. As a result of this, the plot tends to be centred around this. Popular girls also appear to like stereotypically 'female' things, such as the colour pink, gossip, cute animals, hair and makeup, etc. If they do any sport, it will be something competitive such as cheerleading and gymnastics to assert her dominance and impress others. They may also have a problem with eating and body image though these issues are tackled lightly in the comedy genre to keep the light atmosphere. Typically, a popular girl will not like anything different to keep with their popular persona and will not mix with those who do. They will also usually be squeamish and emotional, taking a dislike to stereotypical fears such as spiders or insects.

Appearance

The popular female characters tend to be seen in films as slim with perfect skin, usually with make up, fake nails and thick hair that's placed exactly where they want it. They also wear a lot of bright colours and pink (since it tends to be their favourite colour) as well as designer clothing and accessories connoting wealth and the stereotypical 'daddy's girl' persona. They're also more likely to wear heels and unsuitable shoes to school, short skirts and low cut tops. A good example of this is the character 'Shapay' from High School Musical (2006).


Roles/Characters
The popular girl is also known in films as the 'bitch' and often bullies and victimises other girls at school for not being like her. She has a close circle of friends who are similar in personality and they tend to rule the school. Popular females are also usually cheerleaders or athletes in one form to show their strength and dominance over others. There are rarely any variations of these characters, though some may turn against their friends and become opponent allies.


An example of popular girls are the characters of 'Cady', 'Regina', 'Gretchen', 'Karen' and 'Janis' from Mean Girls (2004). They're the sterotypical characters we'll take inspiration from when creating the character and costume for the character of 'Stacey' but we will be aware not to copy them.

 Charlotte Morrison