The Mutated IP of the Mean Girls Reboot
The Mutated IP of the Mean Girls Reboot  
Podcast: Culture Study Podcast
Published On: Wed Jan 10 2024
Description: This week I’m joined by Michelle Cyca to talk about the trailer for the Mean Girls reboot. You might think: wow, that’s a very small thing to focus on, what could you possibly talk about for 45 minutes… but just you wait. WHY are they hiding that it’s a musical? WHO do they think is the actual audience for this movie? What happens when millennial content is rebooted for Gen-Z audiences without context? And why is Tina Fey apparently uncancellable? We cover it all.Show Notes:THE TRAILER IN QUESTION:Some context about studios shying away from marketing musicals as suchRevisiting Queen Bees and WannabesI misremembered how Drive Me Crazy is integrated into the movie — it’s more like the movie is integrated into the video for the Britney song???Julia Stiles’ unforgettable modern dance routine at the end of Save the Last Dance:Mean Girls 2 did in fact existJust in case you forgot Laura Dern’s style from Jurassic ParkRe: the Barbie Marketing Campaign (via Variety)The piece I wrote back at BuzzFeed News after seeing Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: “It’s Time to Stop Apologizing for Tina Fey”All about Michelle Cyca!!!Follow Melody on Instagram and follow the show on Instagram!We’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:SITTING. Is it that bad? How do you feel about how much you sit? Do you do anything to sit more or less?The cultural force that is/was Contemporary Christian MusicMoms for LibertyThe appeal of the ACOTAR seriesGoodreads (what has made it so bad, a particular trend you’ve observed, should you go to Storygraph, you can take this anywhere you want)Very Contemporary Architecture Trends (like ‘modern farmhouse’) and/or wtf is going on with Chip & Joanna Gaines these days, why is their new show so banalWhatever Bradley Cooper’s deal isYou can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (and here’s the subscriber-only priority form)Would love to hear your thoughts on the Mean Girls trailer (and the movie if you see it) — come join us in the comments!