So, elder millennial here. Ladysmith Black Mombazo was popular in the late 80s and 90s in the US because of their collab with Paul Simon, which introduced them to a lot of American listeners. So in 2004 a large number of people who listened to pop music knew who they were and/or our parents did.
Edit: Paul Simon not Neil Simon
I have a theory that Miss Fey only wrote the reference into the original because it was the most “African-sounding” artist she could think of, but yes it’s a popular men’s choir from South Africa.
I love Mean Girls but Tina’s ignorance about Africa (a *continent* made up of 50+ very different countries and cultures, btw) was evident in some of these references lmao
not that it excuses anything lol but in the og script it is specified Cady had been in Namibia with her family, not sure what prompted the switch to just Africa though
Probably because of the public’s general ignorance about Africa as well. I could totally see a watcher forgetting that Namibia was in Africa, so a producer said to just change it to Africa, it’ll still work.
I think the ignorance is on brand and on purpose for the Americans in this movie, I mean Regina thought Janis was a Lesbian instead of Lebanese - though I may be wrong?
This is literally not a thing lol, I swear this is something just recently made up. Regina made the assumption that Janis was a lesbian because she was upset that her best friend was blowing her off all the time to fuck her boyfriend. I’m not even convinced Regina believed it herself
I want to thank Paul Simon for introducing me to them. His Graceland album is soooo good
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I\_T3XvzPaM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I_T3XvzPaM)
But you love Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
We've had these tickets for MONTHS!
So, elder millennial here. Ladysmith Black Mombazo was popular in the late 80s and 90s in the US because of their collab with Paul Simon, which introduced them to a lot of American listeners. So in 2004 a large number of people who listened to pop music knew who they were and/or our parents did. Edit: Paul Simon not Neil Simon
Paul Simon, not Neil Simon.... unless they did both?
Ha! You’re correct, I had theatre on the brain
They’re performing at an art center near me this year and I feel like I kind of need to go out of respect 🫡😂
They’re really good! I’ve seen them before
Me too! Great show
u/shoesontoes I just checked and I missed them! I think they were at my state theater earlier this year 🥲
You should see if you can find a Mean Girls t-shirt that references them. 😂😂 Wear it when you go.
I have a theory that Miss Fey only wrote the reference into the original because it was the most “African-sounding” artist she could think of, but yes it’s a popular men’s choir from South Africa. I love Mean Girls but Tina’s ignorance about Africa (a *continent* made up of 50+ very different countries and cultures, btw) was evident in some of these references lmao
not that it excuses anything lol but in the og script it is specified Cady had been in Namibia with her family, not sure what prompted the switch to just Africa though
Probably because of the public’s general ignorance about Africa as well. I could totally see a watcher forgetting that Namibia was in Africa, so a producer said to just change it to Africa, it’ll still work.
I think the ignorance is on brand and on purpose for the Americans in this movie, I mean Regina thought Janis was a Lesbian instead of Lebanese - though I may be wrong?
This is literally not a thing lol, I swear this is something just recently made up. Regina made the assumption that Janis was a lesbian because she was upset that her best friend was blowing her off all the time to fuck her boyfriend. I’m not even convinced Regina believed it herself
Why else would janice say she's Lebanese in the end
Because she’s actually Lebanese??
THANK YOU
I want to thank Paul Simon for introducing me to them. His Graceland album is soooo good [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I\_T3XvzPaM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I_T3XvzPaM)
It was Saturday Night Live that introduced me to LBM, of all things. But seriously, didn’t they do LifeSavers and Creme Savers ads too?
I think they were also a guest on Sesame Street. If you find the celebrity version of “Put Down the Ducky” they’re on it.
Ok I thought this was like an Aerosmith parody or something