I think a more interesting question is: How do cliques form? If you think about it, when we are all little kids, we don't group ourselves and sever friendships because someone isn't "cool." So where do we learn to become cliques? I think most people would say that our groups form because people have similar interests but I'm not sure that is entirely true. It may even be more of an excuse as to why we feel some people are worthy of our friendship, while others aren't. For example, in mean girls, Janice and Regina were friends and then they weren't. And now, because they have gone down separate paths, it is like they can never find the same road again. Just take the cafeteria scene in the movie, I bet in kindergarten, an "Asian Nerd" was friend's with one of the "Unfriendly-Black-Hotties." I just think that it is interesting to consider where things broke off and it became embarrassing to be friends with certain people.
The movie Mean Girls produced by Tina Fey, who used to be a popular actress on Saturday Night Live and now stars in the ever popular show, 30 rock. In the movie the clique known as the “plastics” are the people that everyone looks up to and basically thinks of them as to be royalty but at the same time everyone hates them. I definitely think that high school cliques affect students and their social interactions. The clique that you’re so called in defines who you are and people make prejudgments about you by the clique that you associate yourself with. Cliques have been around forever and sadly still do exist at high schools around the world. If you’re in a certain clique it can be frowned upon if you talk to someone in a different clique. Which is morally wrong and for instance in the movie Mean Girls Cady, pronounced like Katie, is in the plastics and loves math and since she has a strong interest in mathematics. She brings up to her friends that she wants to join Mathletes and Gretchen, the owner of Toaster Strudel’s daughter, say that’s considered social suicide. I feel like even today this is still true a student may not join a club or an organization such as knitting club because that could be seen as being nerdy and people could judge you for this. People need to stop caring about what others think about their every move, and if people did what they truly had a passion for they would meet so many people they have common interests with outside of their clique.
Laura I totally agree with you. The bigger issue with cliques is how they are forming. Cliques limit the people who are in them, and they disclude certain people because they don't fit the criteria of the clique. This starts to make students feel bad about themselves, and are more tempted to attempt changing their physical and sometimes mental apperance to be accepted by a group. Girls especially could are a lot more vulnerable to actions such as these. Girls are constantly worrying about their body image, and it is in our nature to want to be accepted by others and having cliques just enforces the urges for girls to be perfect. I think that there maybe a slight confusion with a "group of friends" and a "clique"... How do you guys define the two?
I think cliques are a bad influence on high school students. They put pressure on teens to act a certain way. They may also intimidate some student not to talk to people they don’t know. This makes it harder to make new friends and interact with other classmates. It’s like having a bunch of cults forced to interact. You have to be “accepted” in order to be affiliated with the students in the clique. These pressures can cause students to do poorly in school, constantly worrying about the way they look and act, who they talk to, and even their views and beliefs may be criticized if it interferes with the “clique”.
High school cliques affect many people in different ways. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a clique or not, you are still effected by them. Being in a “clique” or just having a close group of friends is great. You get to know people well and you can make some great close friends. This is an example of positive social interactions that happen while being part of a clique. On the other hand, not being in a clique or not having a close group of friends can leave students feeling left out. Cliques usually seem to be the same groups of people and some act like they are better than others or seem unwelcoming. This is bad for the school environment as everyone should feel welcomed and not have to deal with negative social interactions. In the end, cliques can cause positive or negative effects on students depending on the people in them and their attitudes.
I think a more interesting question is: How do cliques form? If you think about it, when we are all little kids, we don't group ourselves and sever friendships because someone isn't "cool." So where do we learn to become cliques? I think most people would say that our groups form because people have similar interests but I'm not sure that is entirely true. It may even be more of an excuse as to why we feel some people are worthy of our friendship, while others aren't. For example, in mean girls, Janice and Regina were friends and then they weren't. And now, because they have gone down separate paths, it is like they can never find the same road again. Just take the cafeteria scene in the movie, I bet in kindergarten, an "Asian Nerd" was friend's with one of the "Unfriendly-Black-Hotties." I just think that it is interesting to consider where things broke off and it became embarrassing to be friends with certain people.
ReplyDeleteThe movie Mean Girls produced by Tina Fey, who used to be a popular actress on Saturday Night Live and now stars in the ever popular show, 30 rock. In the movie the clique known as the “plastics” are the people that everyone looks up to and basically thinks of them as to be royalty but at the same time everyone hates them. I definitely think that high school cliques affect students and their social interactions. The clique that you’re so called in defines who you are and people make prejudgments about you by the clique that you associate yourself with. Cliques have been around forever and sadly still do exist at high schools around the world. If you’re in a certain clique it can be frowned upon if you talk to someone in a different clique. Which is morally wrong and for instance in the movie Mean Girls Cady, pronounced like Katie, is in the plastics and loves math and since she has a strong interest in mathematics. She brings up to her friends that she wants to join Mathletes and Gretchen, the owner of Toaster Strudel’s daughter, say that’s considered social suicide. I feel like even today this is still true a student may not join a club or an organization such as knitting club because that could be seen as being nerdy and people could judge you for this. People need to stop caring about what others think about their every move, and if people did what they truly had a passion for they would meet so many people they have common interests with outside of their clique.
ReplyDeleteLaura I totally agree with you. The bigger issue with cliques is how they are forming. Cliques limit the people who are in them, and they disclude certain people because they don't fit the criteria of the clique. This starts to make students feel bad about themselves, and are more tempted to attempt changing their physical and sometimes mental apperance to be accepted by a group. Girls especially could are a lot more vulnerable to actions such as these. Girls are constantly worrying about their body image, and it is in our nature to want to be accepted by others and having cliques just enforces the urges for girls to be perfect.
ReplyDeleteI think that there maybe a slight confusion with a "group of friends" and a "clique"... How do you guys define the two?
I think cliques are a bad influence on high school students. They put pressure on teens to act a certain way. They may also intimidate some student not to talk to people they don’t know. This makes it harder to make new friends and interact with other classmates. It’s like having a bunch of cults forced to interact. You have to be “accepted” in order to be affiliated with the students in the clique. These pressures can cause students to do poorly in school, constantly worrying about the way they look and act, who they talk to, and even their views and beliefs may be criticized if it interferes with the “clique”.
ReplyDeleteHigh school cliques affect many people in different ways. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in a clique or not, you are still effected by them. Being in a “clique” or just having a close group of friends is great. You get to know people well and you can make some great close friends. This is an example of positive social interactions that happen while being part of a clique. On the other hand, not being in a clique or not having a close group of friends can leave students feeling left out. Cliques usually seem to be the same groups of people and some act like they are better than others or seem unwelcoming. This is bad for the school environment as everyone should feel welcomed and not have to deal with negative social interactions. In the end, cliques can cause positive or negative effects on students depending on the people in them and their attitudes.
ReplyDelete