Culture Chat: Mean Girls, old and new

Life and Art from FT Weekend

Forhecz Topher

Tv & Film, Arts, Society & Culture

4.6 • 601 Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2024

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, we take on the remake of the 2004 teen movie classic, “Mean Girls”. The original “Mean Girls”, starring Lindsay Lohan and written by Tina Fey, was a phenomenon. It’s been called one of the most quotable movies of all time. This new musical remake, based on the original film and the Broadway show, is in theatres now. What did the original film represent for us? Did we need this new version? And what generation is it for? Lilah is joined by the FT’s US financial editor Brooke Masters and Life and Art producer Lulu Smyth to figure it out.

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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap, where she’s posting a photo of Breen and his burn book. You can email us at [email protected].

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– “Mean Girls”, written by Tina Fey, is out in cinemas in the US and UK now.

– The FT’s review of the film is here: https://on.ft.com/3Snt7yJ

– Brooke is on X @brookeamasters

– We also loved this piece by Miranda Green on modern “Mean Girls” and the impact of social media (June 2023) : https://on.ft.com/48ZWRHy

More or Less:

– Lulu wants to see more respected male actors in romcoms: specifically Joaquin Phoenix in the next “High School Musical”

– Brooke wants to see fewer universe expansions and more original content

– Lilah recommends reading new plays – and if you’re in New York, seeing Appropriate”, starring Sarah Paulson. The play is written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. You can read it online here: https://hilsee.com/ApproPlayText.pdf

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Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart

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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Clips courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Life and Art from FT Weekend. I'm Lila Raptopoulos, and this is our Friday chat show.
0:07.1	This week we are talking about Mean Girls in theaters now, which is a musical based on the 2014
0:12.5	movie classic starring Lindsay Lohan and written by Tina Fey. The original film was a phenomenon.
0:19.3	Mean Girls has been called one of the most quotable movies of all time.
0:22.7	You have probably heard the phrases,
0:24.5	on Wednesdays we wear pink.
0:26.3	She doesn't even go here.
0:27.9	That is so fetch.
0:30.0	Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen.
0:32.5	It's not going to happen.
0:34.4	It was so popular that in 2018, a musical adaptation came out on Broadway, and then
0:39.1	that did so well that they've released in theaters now a film adaptation of the musical adaptation
0:44.3	of the 2004 movie. It has a very similar script as the original and songs from the Broadway show.
0:51.0	So today we are talking about the mean girls phenomenon, what the original movie's legacy
0:55.7	is and whether we need this new version. Let's get into it. I am Lila. My hair is full of
1:00.8	secrets. Joining me in New York is Brooke Masters. She's the F.T.'s U.S. financial editor. And for her,
1:06.8	the limit does not exist. Hi, Brooke. Welcome. Hi. Also with us from London, she's wearing
1:13.8	sweatpants so she can't sit with us. It is producer of the Life and Art podcast and occasional guest
1:18.6	host Lulu Smith. Hi, Lulu. Hi, sweatpants is all that's all that's me right now.
1:25.1	Okay, Mean Girls. As a refresher for listeners, Brooke, how would you describe what happens in the original film?
1:31.0	Basically, Lindsay Lohan's character, Katie, comes from having been homeschooled while living in Kenya to your basic average American high school in Illinois and discovers the horror of life with clicks.
1:45.0	And it's all about her navigating all these different groups and trying to fit in.
	...

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