i really have to agree with what sarah says about fitting into stereotypes. furthermore, i would like to point out that it does not just apply to the individual. i think that i've had my fair share of
"individual stereotyping"
an example i come across all the time:
short=cute
fayth=short
therefore,
fayth=cute
you won't believe how sick i am of people using solely my height to determine that i am adorable.
AND I'M GONNA GROW UP AND TAKE OVER THE WORLD, BY THE WAY. ISN'T THAT CUTE HUH???
ahem
soooo,
as i was saying, sometimes i don't know if i get sugarrushed because i took sugar, or if i'm simply trying to fit in.with myself.
that doesn't make much sense.
ok, let's say that i'm cookie dough, and the stereotype is the cookie cutter.
when the cookie cutter is set, the dough can't come out of it.
i hope you get what i'm trying to say.

as i mentioned earlier, cookie cutter stereotyping happens all over. i mean in books like the princess diaries etc. there is always a hierachy of the cliques. also, the most popular girl in school is always, always bitchy . the protagonist is always the downtrodden underdog who always gets picked on by aforementioned popular girl.
we see these stories being retold in slightly different forms in real life, with kids complaining about how they are picked on by the popular people in school, popular-people-get-what-they-want-and-not-what-they-deserve. and how this clique is nerds and the other is cool.etcetera.

i wonder, is the pop culture getting to everyone so much so that they have to unwittingly "conform" to this cookie cutter stereotypes? do "cliques" and "popular" exist only because we subconsciously want/need them to? basically, is the book in question reflecting what the state of popularity is like or is society conforming to what it THINKS is the norm?(but actually a rather exaggerated, over dramatized version of reality.gosh that's scary)

ok, either our modern society as we know it is majorly glitched OR it's all in our minds. firstly, it is true that people of similar interests do come together(cliques), but to say that these groups are either inferior or superior to one another is pretty weird. it's like saying football is better than photography.with no justification or basis.hmm.

secondly, the popular people of teen novels are always mean. however, in real life, shouldn't the nice people be the popular ones? who wants to be friends with someone who is rude and constantly rolls their eyes? honestly. yes, there are the leeches, the fake friends who cling on. however 1) there only can be so many and 2) they cling on to get popular.so
if mean people=unpopular, why would they want to cling?
if i may point out an example:
earlier on i met a girl that fit our stereotype of the popular girl. however, she was not well received. so, technically, it's not true that mean people will be popular.
yet we cannot deny there are mean people who ARE popular, whether they be exception or not.

my conclusion from all of this is that whether it be solely in our minds or if the stereotypical society is indeed true, the world is very messed up indeed.
haizz.