Janis Ian in Mean Girls personifies the unpopular mean girl. The resident social outcast is actually a lot like her nemesis Regina George. Both are fueled by rage, never spare anyone’s feelings, and share a genius for psychological warfare.
“And we gave her these candy bar things that would make her gain weight, and we turned her best friends against her”
Almost right after Janis meets Cady, she tricks her into skipping class, and manipulates her into pretending to be friends with other girls to spy on them. So it’s Janis, not Regina, who’s truly responsible for corrupting Cady into a mean girl.
“You know what, you’re the one who made me like this so you could use me for your 8th grade revenge”
Janis’ story disproves the old teen-movie narratives that all geeks are good guys while cool kids are villains and that being unpopular is automatically good for your soul.
Modern Family: “They can’t be bullies, they’re nerds.” “Don’t pigeonhole us. We can be both”
Janis is scarred by her peers’ cruelty, which has given her detrimental habits she’ll have to overcome. So wherever we fall on the totem pole, we all have to be careful not to perpetuate the meanness.