The most catastrophic and disarming relationships these girls have are with each other, and these relationships are simultaneously their saving grace and ultimate downfall. They bring an edge and a hardness to elements often associated with diminutive girlhood, be it bold lipstick, pink mini skirts, or red scrunchies.īut even more central than the distinct visual motifs are the female relationships at the center of these movies.
These movies are united in iconic fashion and specific visual palettes that play with the popular aesthetic conventions of their respective time periods. This subgenre has a wickedly fun time with the conventions of teenage girlhood, especially when it comes to the design choices. They have more bite than in cozy rom-coms or nostalgia-fueled coming-of-age films, and often, the girls are out for blood, be it through social sabotage or literal murder. The Heathers, The Plastics, you name it: Each generation has a movie dedicated to the beautiful mean girls of high school. No one crosses them, because crossing them would mean certain death - or worse, death of social status.
They walk down the school hallway in slow motion, perfect outfits, hair billowing in the draft.
