High School and Popularity

Question

How come in every single teenage movie & teenage t.v. show the popular kids are always mean and the nerds are always the nice ones? From my experience of high school, most the kids that are popular just dress well, are charismatic, good-looking, and they actually participate school activities. They are usually in student government. I don't see why people think all popular kids are mean? I've known so many mean nerds. Besides what does who are you classified in high school have anything to do with your personality.

Answer 1

I thought about this going into high school.  "I can be anyone I want. I can be popular!!"

But then I'm like hmm...I can be popular...or i can be me and have fun

So I did just that.  I be myself.  I only care about the opinions of my boyfriend and 2 best friends.  I stick to my morals of not drinking, doing drugs, or having s*x. i'm going into my senior year this fall, and I've had (and am having) the time of my life!

Its not your status that makes you nice or mean.  Its your outlook.  I know popular people who are mean and nice, and likewise with the not-so-popular.  It just depends.

Answer 2

cuz its from a nerd's point of view, nerds are just frustrated with life

Answer 3

And haven't you ever noticed how immature, and often downright STUPID, some of the "popular" kids at your high school and in these movies generally are?? I can speak from bitter personal experience here, because I went through h**l at the hands of my classmates when I was in school. One of them ALMOST DROVE ME INTO taking MY OWN LIFE when I was 17 years old, in fact- so yes, how you are classified and treated in high school DOES MATTER. It can determine whether your passage through school will be relatively pleasant, or if it will be like mine was, and leave you with scars that may never heal, no matter how much time goes by. What did I do to earn such treatment? I HAVE NO IDEA- and I may never really learn the truth. What's even sadder is that I have never had any chance or opportunity for closure or healing- so the pain is still with me. It's as much a part of me as my hand or my foot.

Maybe some day, when my classmates are all in their dotage, I will be able to ask the ones who tormented me so much what they were thinking about when they did it. But until then, I will just have to live with the pain.  

Answer 4

they just try to make the movies more dramatic so people can watch them

Answer 5

steriotypes

Answer 6

i agree! not to be stereotypical - but a lot of 'geeks' at my school i guess have bad confidence(?) so they're usually a little more tenser and more likely to fight back.. or in your case meaner. the 'popular' kids seem to be worried about what everyone thinks, so they tend to be on good behavior. they dress well, they are charismatic, not always good looking - but confidence does a lot to help out. i don't know what i'm trying to say besides the fact i agree that movies/tv shows are putting out a false message. even though movies like Mean Girls are extremely funny and great :)

Answer 7

im so glad theirs no popularity contest at my h.s. i thought it would be huge like it was in j.h.but worse but everyone is way more mature and their is no need for popularity  

Answer 8

I think it's just a common stereo type.  In most high schools the "popular" kids are the ones who are in the groups (student body president, football, cheerleading, etc) and many do get good grades, but many do snub, or act too good for the average student.  Now many "nerds" or "poor" kids are treated the worse and get picked on the most so many of them do get very "angry" acting from going through all this.  How you are classified has nothing to do with your personality, your personality makes you who you are.  There are some people in all groups that are nice to everyone and some that are mean to every.  It's just been for some many years this is how the common stereo types are because of the ones that make the biggest impact at most schools in each of these groups.

Answer 9

Very interesting question. I think the people making those teen movies are looking at the popular kids from a one way, immature, and exaggerated perspective. I remember when I was a kid, the popular people were normally the rich, the super charismatic, pretty people, and alot of kids "under" them hated that, therefor they didn't treat them with any particular interest or respect, and the popular kids merely read and acted upon the signals they were given. I was probably towards the lower, middle line of popularity myself, but I was never really picked on by the popular kids. It was always those within my own "order" that tormented me the most. Now that I look back at high school and all the "clicks" they had, it's almost embarrassing to think I was actually part of that silly stuff. It's just children figuring out who they are, trying to fit in, and judging each other, fairly or not.

Answer 10

Because people can find themselves more as the nerd or the loser in the school in the movie. Everyone wants to be popular. But not everybody is. Unlike that most of the people in high schools were either nerds, losers or plain nobodys. So by watching a movie about how the nerd got the girl he wanted or how the biggest loser in school became prom king we find ourselves in the characters and its more interesting to watch

Answer 11

They're just movies.  You ever notice in movies, when there's a pregnant woman, she goes into labor by her water breaking all over the floor?  That RARELY happens in real life!

Answer 12

i dont pay attention to all that stuff last year i was pretty much the school stoner evrybody thought i was hilarious haha