| Young Adult Literature and Multimedia—Resources |
TEEN MOVIES
By: Kristen C. Hoard
Dimondale, MI
ìThe stories of
most teenpics are about the intense, suspended moments between yesterday and
tomorrow, between childhood and adulthood, between being a nobody and a
somebody, when everything is in question, and anything is possible (Julian).î
The teen movie, also called the
teenpic, is a genre that has been around for many years and based upon the
interests of teenagers. The target
audience for teen movies is usually ages 12 ñ 20 (Shary). The popularity of teen movies began in
the 1930ís and attendance grew throughout the 40ís and 50ís. This may be because, ìteen films tend
to have good box-office potential and lower production costs (Bain).î The 1960ís brought the beach films and
the ìGidgetî movies. The 1980ís
and 1990ís addressed real problems that teenagers were facing (Harlan,
Loertscher, McElmeel). Teen films
of the 1980ís are largely associated with writer/director John Hughes. His movies include such titles as ìThe
Breakfast Clubî and ìSixteen Candlesî.
ìThe consensus is that Hughes understood the awkwardness of being a
teenager, he didnít shy away from real emotions, and he cast actors that looked
the way teens look ñ acne, braces, unwieldy bodies and all (Deziel).î Films in the 1980ís tended to be about
middle-class suburban high school students struggling to come of age (Bain).
Teen movies of the 1990ís went on to focus less on friendship and more on
dealing with how to fit in (Asher).
ìThe number of youth movies has increased dramatically during the last
two decades of the 20th century and constitutes a highly profitable
source of income for the film industry (Shary).î There are several categories that teen movies can be broken
into including; teens in school, delinquent teens having fun and getting in
trouble, the teen horror film, and teen relationships and first loves.
Since teenagers spend their days in school it makes sense that high school is the setting for most teen movies. ìThe school setting is a place where young people spend a significant amount of time, learning social skills, defining their identities, and striving for social acceptance (Shary).î The movie teenagers are usually nerds, rebels, popular students, and/or sensitive athletes. ìThe Breakfast Clubî is an example of five very different students together in detention. During the course of the movie we learn about the hardships that each character has had to face and they are brought together through this experience. This movie showed how all the teens shared similarities even though they were in different social cliques (IMDB). ìMean Girlsî is another teen movie in the school setting starring Lindsay Lohan as Cady. ìIn clambering up the social ladder, she unwittingly suppresses the most genuine, moral and interesting parts of herself (Zacharek).î ìMean Girlsî shows the importance of staying true to yourself and your friends and not getting wrapped up in being popular. ìVarsity Bluesî would be yet another example of a movie in the high school setting.
The next category, delinquent teens having fun and getting in trouble, are teen movies focused on breaking the rules and going against parents in order to help find themselves (Shary). An early example of the delinquent teen would be ìRebel Without a Causeî, which ìtells the story of a rebellious teenager who comes to a new town, meets a girl, defies his parents, and faces the local gang (Wikipedia).î ìCrazy/Beautifulî is another example starring Kirsten Dunst as Nicole, the rule breaking, emotionally troubled teenage daughter of a congressman (IMDB). ìFerris Buellerís Day Offî would also fall into this category. Ferris decides to skip school one day to spend the day in downtown Chicago along with his friend Cameron and girlfriend (IMDB). The principal, not trusting Ferris, spends the day looking for him. The three friends spent the day breaking the rules but also discovered a little bit of themselves along the way.
The teen horror film is another category in the teen movie genre. There are two very popular storylines in these movies; young people being stalked and killed or young people dealing with the supernatural (Shary). Many of the successful films have sequels. ìScreamî is an example of this category and stars Neve Campbell who is being stalked by the person who killed two of her classmates. ìScream 2î and ìScream 3î followed the first movie. ìI Know What You Did Last Summerî was the story of 4 teenagers who tried to cover up a hit and run. This movie has two sequels, ìI Still Know What You Did Last Summerî and ìIíll Always Know What You Did Last Summerî. Other examples of popular teen horror movies include ìThe Lost Boysî and ìThe Craftî.
The final teen movie category is teen relationships and first loves. This is probably the largest category that makes up the teen movie genre. ìPlots often revolve around teens who, while internally confident in their love, must overcome exterior obstacles preventing its fulfillment (Shary).î ìPretty in Pinkî is a popular love story of the 1980ís starring Molly Ringwald. ìRingwald plays a sweet girl from the wrong side of the tracks who has to choose between the richie, played by Andrew McCarthy, and her loyal pal Duckie, played by Jon Cryer (Weisberg).î ìA Cinderella Storyî stars Hilary Duff as Sam, a not so popular tomboy who ends up with the popular football star despite others getting in the way and a series of mishaps. ìSheís the Manî starring Amanda Bynes as Viola, is a twist on Shakespeareís Twelfth Night using soccer as the background, to which the director says, ìthereís a great deal of Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire happening (Puig, Oldenburg, Gundersen).î In the end, Viola makes the boys soccer team and also falls in love with fellow soccer player Duke also overcoming several obstacles along the way. Other examples include ìSheís All Thatî, ìThe Prince and Meî, ìthe Princess Diariesî, and ìSave the Last Danceî. The characters were forced to overcome obstacles, but were in a happy relationship by the end of the movie.
ìTeen movies are constantly updating or introducing new ideas concerning attitudes, values, fashions, music, or behavior (Julian).î Teens are looking for authentic movies where they can escape into a world where things are exciting and anything is possible (Orwall). This is also true for teens and the reading of young adult fiction. Many teen movies today are based on literature. This is very useful since teens can read the book and then see the movie or vice versa. I do this often in my own classroom and the students enjoy writing about the similarities and differences between the movies and books. Examples of books turned into movies include: Emma by Jane Austen and the movie ìCluelessî, ìCruel Intentionsî and the French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, and Holes by Louis Sachar, among others (Weisburg).
There have also been many popular teen movies based on the writing of William Shakespeare including: ìRomeo and Julietî with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio, ìSheís The Manî which is based on the Twelfth Night, ìOî a version of Othello, and ì10 Things I Hate About Youî, which is based on the Taming of the Shrew (Weisburg). Being able to connect the young adult literature that is being read in the classroom to a teen movie is a great asset to teachers. Other ways to use teen movies in the classroom and inspire student writing could include having the students re-write a scene from an older movie showing how the scene may be different in 2007, or having the students write a scene from a different characters perspective.
The different categories of teen movies gives young adults a variety of movies to choose from where then can explore growing up and dealing with the hard teen years. I remember enjoying teen movies when I was growing up, some of my favorites being ìGirls Just Want to Have Funî, ìDirty Dancingî, ìCanít Buy Me Loveî, ìMy Father the Heroî, and ìCluelessî. I find myself enjoying some of the recent teen movies that have come out which also helps me better relate to my students. The teen movie genre provides teenagers with a glimpse into the exciting lives of characters that deal with love, romance, and friendship as well as teenage problems. ìTeenagers are looking for cool versions of themselves in movies that are authentic (Orwall).î These ìcoolî characters can be found in many teen movies and is the reason why they were successful in the past and continue to draw the teen crowd in today.
REFERENCES:
Asher, N. (2004, December 7). Not Another Teen Movie. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://media.www.dailytargum.com/media/storage/paper168/news/2004/ 12/07/ InsideBeat/Not- Another.Teen.Movie823374.shtml?sourcedomain= www.dailytargum.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
Bain, A. L. (2003). White Western Teenage Girls and Urban Space: Challenging
Hollywood's Representations. Gender, Place, and Culture, 10(3), 197-213.
Deziel, S. (2006). The Man Who Understood Teenagers. Maclean's, 119(45), 7.
Harlan, M., Loertscher, D. V., & McElmeel, S. L. (2006). Young Adult Literature and
Multimedia (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research & Publishing.
Julian, R. (n.d.). Teen Movies: A Case Study of a Form of Popular Culture. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.ptc.nsw.edu.au/scansw/teen.html
Orwall, B. (1997, December 17). Baby Boomlet Boosts Teen Films Into Hits. Wall Street
Journal, p. B1.
Puig, C., Oldenburg, A., & Gundersen, E. (2006, February 17). 'She's the Man'
repackages 'Twelfth Night' with a kick. USA Today, p. E1.
Shary, T. (n.d.).Images of Young People in Film. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from
http://www.clarku.edu/activelearning/departments/vpa/shary/sharyD.cfm
Teen Film (n.d.).Retrieved January 30, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_
film
Weisberg, J. (1999, March 14). High School Confidential: The Eternal Appeal of Teen
Movies. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.slate.com/id/21663/
Zacharek, S. (2004, May 9). No More Little Miss Nice Girl. The New York Times, p. 1.
ADDITIONAL LITERATURE:
http://www.hollywoodteenmovies.com (past and most recent popular teen movies)
http://www.mtv.com (includes a link for movies)
http://www.teenhollywood.com (movies, music, television, and news/current events)