mean girls trailer analysis

Mean girls is aimed more at a female target audience than male but still follows many of the teen comedy film conventions. The setting of the film is set in high school which is very conventional of the genre which is often set in high school and/or with characters of high school age, this allows the target audience to relate to the characters as the audience will be of similar age and will be able to relate to high school life. The different costumes worn in different groups represents the social cliques, which is conventional in many teen comedies to contain many social cliques and focuses specifically on social clique, this is also seen in films like american pie and Superbad. The new kid at school is a convention used in teen comedies dating back to ' A rebel without cause' and often contains a love interest for the new kid in which the story is based around. A wide shot is used of the school canteen to show the different social cliques of school which is conventional of high schools to have many separated social cliques. lots of fast paced editing is used during the high school scenes to show how hectic the school day is and suggests youthfulness which appeals to a teen audience which is conventional of teen comedies. The clothes worn by the students are high school are similar to what a teen audience would wear which helps the film appeal to them, as there are many social cliques represented this helps the film appeal to a mass audience. An extreme wide shot is used of the four popular girls walking down the corridor and shows how the other social cliques move out of their way which represents the popular girls as dominant. the trailer shows a scene where Regina is on the field and cuts to show different people all looking at her, this shows that she is popular and the centre of attention, the audience will be able to relate to this as most are high school age and there is usually a most popular kid at all high schools. The scene where Kady falls into the bin whilst walking with the popular girls show that she doesn't fit in with that group, it is a common convention for a kid not to fit in at high school and often used in teen comedies. Another common convention used in mean girls is the idea of everyone looking for romance which is a common trait of teen comedies and something that a teen audience, specifically female in this case easily relate to. An over the shoulder shot is used in the trailer of Kady talking to the popular girls which helps the audience relate to the main character, this is a typical teen comedy convention as often the film wants us to relate with the main character(s). The popular girls are shot with low angle shots

The shot of Regina above everyone else represents her as dominant and more popular than the other kids, this is also shown as one of the kids is looking up at her. There is also better lighting on her in the shot which shows she is considered more important.

An over the shoulder shot of Kady and Regina, this allows the audience to relate to kady which is conventional for teen comedies to make the main character relatable for the audience. The shot also contrasts the clothes of the two characters as Kady is wearing a chequered shirt which isn't very feminine compared to Regina who's shirt is pink and buttons opened to make it look sexier.

The wide shot of the popular girls walking down the corridor and Kady falling into the bin, this shows that Kady doesn't fit in with the popular girls. Its a comedic moment for the audience and would appeal for them to see the film if they see parts that make them laugh in the trailer. The fact that she feel into the bin shows that she is not used to school and is seen as a social 'reject'. The setting of the high school corridor allows the audience to easily relate as its set out like a stereotypical high school that most audience members would attend.

A wide shot is used to show the different social cliques separated in the lunch hall. The clothes worn by the jocks is stereotypical and conventional for teen comedies where the jock clique are often featured. The lunch hall would also be easily relatable for the audience as its a stereotypical layout that a teen audience would be familiar with.

 The wide shot shows that Kady is isolated and doesn't fit in with any social cliques as she is walking with Janice and Damian but there is a big gap between them which shows that she is isolated. The clothing that Kady is wearing also shows that she doesn't fit in with any of the social cliques. Again the setting location is relatable for the audience.