A Comparison of Modern Teen Films and Those of the John Hughes Era Young adult or “Teen Movies” are a genre of films largely popularized by Director and Writer John Hughes during the 1980’s. Hughes wrote and directed such films as Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and The Breakfast Club - which are considered to be era defining films. In the modern era, however; their direction has shifted from films about leaving high school, young love, or the characters simply realizing they are about to enter adulthood to films that glorify teen drinking and drug use, sex, and partying. The first major difference between films of the John Hughes and the modern films is the glorification of teen drinking and drug use. In almost every modern film directed at young adults there’s at least one party scene and the use of marijuana or other drugs is rampant. The 2012 film Project X provides a great example of this glorification because the films entire plot …show more content…
Take the film American Pie for example, the major plot points of the film feature a group of high school students trying desperately to lose their virginity. This is actually such a common theme throughout modern teen films that it is even parodied in the film Not Another Teen Movie, which was essentially a parody of all the modern teen films which were out at that time. The films of the John Hughes era, on the other hand, never glorified underage sexual acts to the extent that the modern films did. His films still viewed the subject as highly taboo and in that time period the most risqué thing you would see in one his films is two teens kissing or in Ferris Buelller’s Day Off, for example the most risqué scene in the entire film is a scene in which Ferris Buellers girlfriend, Sloane is seen swimming in bikini. This shows how the view on what was once considered a highly taboo subject can change of time to become more accepted by a wide
“High School Confidential”, an article written by film critic David Denby for the New Yorker in 1999, accurately disputes and criticizes that high school related movies get their genre clichés from other high school movies that are out, as well as emotions of writers from their own high school years. Denby backs this claim up with multiple examples showing the stereotypes of high school movies, and explaining how those stereotypes are incorrect, such as the stereotypical princess in the school, the standard jock-antagonist, and the outsider/nerd character, and then he shows that all of these examples stem from the “Brian de Palma masterpiece Carrie”. David Denby’s purpose is to show readers how most high school movies are over-stereotyped
The movie portrayed marijuana as a drug that lured innocent teenagers into using it. Once under the influence of the narcotic, the teenagers went on to engage in many different acts of amoral behavior such as sex and other related crimes. During the 1920's and the 1930's, the media believed that violent behavior resulted from marijuana consumption. Of course there will always be extreme cases where these stereotypes do indeed take place, but for the most part the extent of the issues that this movie covered were extremely exaggerated and built up. It seemed as though the movie was made by bystanders that had never experienced the drug and had only done minimal research. Marijuana is in fact illegal and for reasonable cause, but it is proven that marijuana has therapeutic value and is unlikely to cause the moral dilemmas displayed in the movie. Often used for pain, in reality marijuana has mellow effects not accounted for and explained in the film.
In “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies” David Denby criticizes movies portraying high school. He writes “The most commercial and frivolous of genres harbor a grievance against the world” (426). In many movies starting in the early 90’s you began to see an extreme amount of disrespect to adults from teenagers. High school movies are filled with unruly
‘Lad flicks’ or ‘lad movies’ is a type of film genre that emerged in the late 1990s. They are defined as a “‘hybrid of “buddy movies”, romantic comedies and “chick flicks”, which centre on the trials and tribulations of a young man as he grows up to become a ‘real man’. ‘Lad flicks’ respond in part to the much-debated ‘crisis in masculinity’” (Benjamin A. Brabon 116). This genre of film explored what it meant to be a ‘real man’ in the twentieth century and in order to do so, they would have to grow up and leave their juvenile ways behind to enter the heterosexual world. Gender relations in ‘lad flicks’ portray masculinity as a troubled, anxious cultural category hiding behind a humorous façade and also rely greatly on a knowing gaze and irony. The two ‘lad flicks’ that will be analyzed are The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005) and Role Models (David Wain 2008).
Generations of kids have now grown up with John Hughes's teen movies, and they continue to speak to teenagers. John Hughes was able to create realistic teen dialogue in his movies, but more importantly, he was able to capture real teen dilemmas. It's no wonder that his films could transcend individual generational experiences.
Have you ever met someone who acted just as teens are stereotyped? Not many people have because they do not exist. Real teens are poorly portrayed in the media and are the complete opposite of their stereotypes. Books and TV shows make teens out to be wild or crazy, irresponsible and out of control. One hardly ever hears about teen-heroes. Instead, newspapers and magazines are plastered with stories of teens and crime. And while looking at commercial billboards and other related media, the regular teen seems to be sex-crazed and image-obsessed.
Since that time, the recreational use of drugs, particularly marijuana, has been a constant aspect of youth culture in all social classes.
Youth have a certain quality and charisma that has made making films about them not only an interesting endeavor but also fundamental to cinema (Shary, 2002). Representative of hope and change, children are viewed as the future. Youth culture, with its ‘here today and gone tomorrow’ kind of dynamic, suggests that children are also the future of film. For decades the film industry has relied on young audiences for patronage and also looked to youth for inspiration and just the kind of material that makes a relevant and refreshing script (Shary, 2002). Youth-oriented film has subsequently become a genre all its own (Shary, 2002). A history of American youth cinema would indicate no different. It is thus interesting to explore youth-oriented films and how films across time, namely Lolita (1962), Marathon Man (1976), Rain Man (1988), Kids (1995), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), have depicted youth culture, specifically the theme of “Coming-Of-Age.”
This essay will look at the different ways in which young people are portrayed in the media. It will focus on how the idea of childhood innocence has been challenged by the media and rather than ‘little angels’ children are now seen as ‘little devils’ in the public eye. By looking at ‘The Bulger Case of 1993’ we can see where the idea of ‘little devils’ and children as evil beings began. It will examine why media stories of young people are focused much more on negative aspects such as crime and gang culture rather than positive ones. It will also look at how television programmes such as ‘Teen Mom’ and ‘Skins’ portray the youth of today and whether these programmes come across as a positive or negative portrayal of teenagers. The idea of a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ will also be examined and whether the way the media portrays children can be harmful to the construction of their identities and possibly lead to alienation.
one's life. These attempts have been made to enlighten society about a taboo topic that is rapidly forcing itself into the lives of all.
Come the end of World War II, the Americans were anticipating the terms of a hope-filled future, in which they believed it meant they could venture off into the great beyond of space, teleport from place to place and that everything and anything was powered by nuclear material. No one had even contemplated the rise of Rock’n’Roll, an endless Cold War and the supremacy of entertainment by the constant uprise of youth culture. From this, it blossomed into a new kind of film for a new breed of teenager: the juvenile delinquency film. In this essay, I will be discussing the role of the juvenile delinquent within the two movies, Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and Vince Everett in Jailhouse Rock (1957) and the impact of relevant industrial,
The 1950s was a time when the term “teenager” was popularized. They all shared some similar characteristics and were grouped into one single cohort. Once they became a term, people began to find ways to label them. With the rise of psychology, they assigned specific emotional and developmental characteristics for them. With that in mind, society constructed an image of teenagers and teenage culture.
For the first time, the characteristics of Generation X were embodied in a film that dramatized their condition as self-consciously postmodern individuals, hyper-aware of their place in history, and obsessed with popular culture (Green, et al., 2014). The absence of a link to history, the cynicism, and the irony of the characters spoke perfectly to the generation’s disenchantment with the world. “We loved Pulp Fiction. Not just because it’s uproarious or filled with classic dialogue or outrageous situations, but because it is sympathetic to its characters and cares about their fates” (Green, 2014). It was the first film to seemingly understand and sympathize with the GenX condition.
The purpose of this research paper is to answer the question of whether teens over 13 years of age should be allowed to watch R- rated movies. This subject is important because there is a debate about if teens under 17 are developed and mature enough to watch R- rated movies and can handle what they see. I did research by reading online news and educational articles. Some people seem to believe that 13 is too young because such movies could contain nudity, graphic violence, offensive language, or anything otherwise unsuitable for young teens. Others say that if teens can't watch movies in theaters, then teens will find a way to watch the movies elsewhere and that teens can experience much more graphic and traumatic things online, so should be able to handle a fictional story.
An issue that has, in recent years, begun to increase in arguments, is the acceptability of homosexuality in society. Until recently, homosexuality was considered strictly taboo. If an individual was homosexual, it was considered a secret to be kept from all family, friends, and society. However, it seems that society has begun to accept this lifestyle by allowing same sex couples. The idea of coming out of the closet has moved to the head of homosexual individuals when it used to be the exception.