Teen FilmsBy: Alexandra Fogarty

Background•Film genre that began in 1950s, where teens gained more power and independence than ever before•Targeted for teens (mainly in high school) because they demonstrate the struggles that teens face in high school•Common themes include coming of age, rebellion, young love, teen alienation, and issues with parents

Youth in the 1950s•People started to be aware of the differences between teens and adults

•Introduction of Rock ‘n’ Roll: made parents concerned with their children’s behavior because of the controversial lyrics & it made them act like “juvenile delinquents”

•Economic boom: teens had jobs and large allowances, resulting in more independance and freedom from their parents

•Increase in youth crime rates and death: drag racing, fighting, and joining gangs were common

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)•Teens are seen as violent: they get into fights and drag races that result in their own deaths

•Peer pressure: main character (Jim) is forced into a fight after being called “chicken”

•Parents use their son to run away from their own problems by constantly moving into new neighborhoods

•Jim and his friends suffer from alienation (not belonging) and they try to escape to an abandoned mansion in order to hide from both their parents and their other friends

“If I had one day when I didn’t have to be confused and I didn’t have to feel ashamed of everything. If I felt I belonged someplace.”

Youth in the 1980s•Generation X: desired rules, more practical, anti-authority

•Wealth and materialism (The Reagan Era): Families became wealthier

•The increase in the amount of success families got led to parent’s having higher standards for their children (more pressure and stress on teens)

•High school cliques started becoming recognized/expressed more

The Breakfast Club (1985)•Each character characterized and made fun of by their cliques; after spending time together, they learn that they are all very similar

•Forcing each other to share private info (being a virgin, relationships with parents)•Adults are seen as selfish and controlling: principal threatens them and takes total control over them; parents either abuse their kids, ignore them, uses them for selfish reasons, or puts too much pressure on them to be perfect (in sports and school); the only adult who is likable is the janitor who is not an authority figure

Film Clip - The Breakfast Club

Youth in the 2000s•Beginning of phone and internet use: start of cyberbullying - bullying became a worse issue•Social hierarchy: certain social groups/cliques considered “better” than other groups •Adults were more understanding/close to their teen

Mean Girls (2004)•Silent bullying: insulting people behind their backs (phone conversations, “burn book”)

•Female teens: viewed as insecure of their bodies, “sluts on Halloween,” desperate for popularity

•Sex, drinking, and partying are seen as huge parts of teen life

•Main character (Cady) feels superior to others when with the plastics, leaves her other friends to become a plastic

•Adults were seen as supportive (math teacher) and “fun” (Regina’s mom)

Similarities 1.) Peer Pressure:

•Rebel Without a Cause: Jim was forced into frag races and fights by the other guys by calling him “chicken” - he wanted to prove them wrong

•The Breakfast Club: Each character was pressured into sharing private info with each other

•Mean Girls: Cady being forced to wear pink on Wednesdays in order to be a plastic

Similarities

2.) Popularity/fitting in (male vs. females):

•Rebel Without a Cause: Male popularity was about toughness/masculinity

•Mean Girls: Female popularity was about body/image and the clothing they wear

Differences•Forms of bullying:

•Rebel Without a Cause: Physical bullying (beating each other up)

•The Breakfast Club: Verbal bullying (insulting someone in front of them)

•Mean Girls: Silent bullying (insulting someone behind their back/on the phone)

Differences•Portrayal of adults (parents & teachers):

•Rebel Without a Cause & The Breakfast Club: Adults are viewed as either selfish, abusive, or putting too much pressure on child

•Mean Girls: Adults are viewed as friendly and supportive

BibliographyBouchard, Jen Westmoreland. "The Breakfast Club (Film, 1985)." Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. ABC-CLIO,

2015. Web. 10 June 2015.

The Breakfast Club. Dir. John Hughes. Perf. Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson. 1985. DVD.

"Film: The Breakfast Club." TV Tropes. TV Tropes, n.d. Web. 10 June 2015.

Fox, Killian. "Whatever: A History of Teen Movies." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Ltd., 21 Mar. 2009. Web. 10

June 2015.

Mean Girls. Dir. Mark Waters. Perf. Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey. THEVID Technicolor Distribution Services, 2004. DVD.

Rebel without a Cause. Dir. Nicholas Ray. Perf. James Dean, Natalie Wood. Warner Bros., 1955. DVD.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Culture in The 1950s." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 10 June 2015.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Culture in The Reagan Era." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 10 June

2015.

Slocum, David. "Rebel Without a Cause." Senses of Cinema. N.p., 23 June 2011. Web. 10 June 2015.