What do a Catholic cardinal and Regina George have in common? According to fans of this Oscar-nominated hit movie, there are actually a lot of unexpected parallels between the Vatican and high school
Many of us have spent decades searching for the perfect movie to fill the gap that 2004 teen drama Mean Girls left. Now, finally, TikTok believes it has arrived – only this time, the mean girls are cardinals. With Conclave’s eight Oscars nominations, it has drummed up a perhaps unexpected viewer base.
Conclave’s extreme popularity among Gen Z may come as a surprise. After all, it’s a two-hour political thriller about selecting the new pope in the modern-day Vatican. Instead of miniskirts and pastel knits, the cast are dressed in flowing Catholic robes. In place of the ultimate blonde designer-clothed mean girl Regina George, we have (an equally fabulous) Cardinal Lawrence, played by Ralph Fiennes.
But film fanatics on TikTok have been quick to point out the similarities between the two. While high school and the papacy may not immediately have much in common, there is something about the “survivor style” process of competing to be the next pope that has reminded the internet of teen girl drama.
One of the most immediately notable is the fact that many of Conclave’s scenes – we can assume unintentionally – replicate the most dramatic moments of Mean Girls. One viral video, posted by @ashleepradella, captioned “Conclave is just Mean Girls with Popes!”, shows Regina George ripping up the ‘burn book’, filled with her friend group’s worst secrets, before throwing the pages around the school hallways and watching the drama unfold.
This is then contrasted with the scene in Conclave where Cardinal Lawrence copies slips of paper revealing another priest’s treachery. These are then laid out on the other cardinals’ breakfast tables with the intention of wrecking havoc.
One TikTok reviewer, @indiranovaa, even referred to the movie as “Mean Girls for white men above 60”, due to the intensity of the political maneuvering that is displayed while these older men vie for power.
Unlike with other historical or even modern political dramas, where men usually use physical force to assert power or shift the hierarchy, in the world of cardinals, men must resort to verbal tactics more commonly used by adolescent girls to establish themselves.
The styling of the movies has also drawn parallels. Just like the OG mean girls were serving Y2K “Plastics style”, TikTokers have also been clamouring over the cardinal’s wardrobes. “After watching conclave I am DESPERATE to know the fashion budget within the catholic church. there are so many outfits? and they’re always coordinated?” one user captioned their vid.
Just as in the “girl world” of Mean Girls, priest’s outfits denote power and resources. The cardinal’s bright red robes, meant to symbolise the blood of Christ, symbolise their high ranking within the Catholic church.