Instrumental Relationships And Adolescent Relationships

While high school in reality is full of surprises and twisty roads, teen television shows and movies are based off a strict set of conventions that allude to other teen films. In David Denby 's "High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies," he describes the typical movie storyline and characters: the blonde, superficial cheerleaders that make up the popular crowd, along with the buff, handsome jocks versus the social outcasts comprised of geeks and freaks. Denby continues to explain the nature of these two social standings, including how the “cool group” bullies anyone below them. Denby goes on further to discuss how a particular outsider usually becomes the hero or heroine of the story, despite their social discomfort or awkward

1985 and 2004 may seem like two very different eras, with different problems and views of life. The films The Breakfast Club (TBC) and Mean Girls (MG) are quite different from one another, however, they seem to grasp the same concept and problems faced by youth. Although these films somewhat mirror one another, the films also have many differences such as, the topic of sexuality, attire, and ethics and morals. MG and TBC portray youth in similar ways, however are in two very different time periods. Characters in the films are portrayed very differently from one another, however some of these characters both share the same thoughts or morals despite being from two different eras. Generation change between these movies are very different from

We’ve all know what it feels like: walking down the halls in middle school or high school while you feel like you’re being watched…analyzed…critiqued. It would almost seem like every person you passed would be silently judging you for what you’re wearing, how you applied your makeup, how you did in the last soccer game, or what they heard you did with Jonny. The passerby’s in the hallway would place you on the high-school-hierarchy-of-coolness scale based on superficial characteristics even before getting to know you. Adolescence is a time of learning and forming an identity but it’s also a time where you are constantly being watched and evaluated by your peers, sometimes even put down by physical or verbal means. Bullying has always been

Identity; Romance; Segregation; Beauty; Friendship; Within the film industry’s classic interpretation of female adolescents, these elements of teen culture are typically represented. A film’s demonstration of themes such as relationship tensions or social status struggles are that which attracts the popular viewership of female adolescents, for they are personally dealing with similar experiences. Furthermore, in continually representing the aforementioned traditional elements of teen culture, the film industry seems to make it so films’ story-lines and characterizations adapt to and directly reflect the era in which the film is set. This adaptation is significantly demonstrated in the popular teen films The Breakfast Club (1985), Clueless (1995), and Mean Girls (2004) as they each clearly and diversely characterize young women based on the distinct time period and the cultural attitude towards teen girls of that time. The Breakfast Club (1985) details five high school students in Illinois, a nerd, a jock, a bad boy, a weirdo, and a

In an essay published in the New Yorker in May 1999, entitled “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” writer David Denby analyzes movies targeted towards teenagers and the stereotypes associated with them. He begins his essay by describing the archetypal characters in high school genre films: the vapid popular girl and her athletic male counterpart, and the intellectual outsider and her awkward male counterpart. He then describes the reality of teen life, and compares it to the experience depicted in these films. Next, he analyzes the common theme that the geeky characters are the protagonists, and suggests there are such because of their writer's personal experience and a history of geeks being ostracized. Finally, Denby analyzes the tropes in

It has not been too long ago that I still remember my adolescent years. I always remember the unintelligent things I did that I wish could change, but this Psychology class made me realize that all adolescents go through the same things I experienced. Adolescents are known to try to find their identity, go through peer pressure, make mistakes, and try new things. The move I picked that closely represented what adolescents go through was “Mean Girls”. Some of the scenes in the movie seem a little exaggerated, but it has happened in certain high schools even though I had not experienced it personally.

High school, the best times of our lives. But in every situation others don’t experience it as the time of their lives. In specific, the so called, “Loser, Nerds, Outcasts." Sometimes the perception that most high school movies convey for this certain group are the reality. In this article "High school confidential: Notes on teen movies" by David Denby, He describes the functions of an everyday American high school. David Denby uses very effective language and rhetoric to provide the minds of the opposing side. A sample of the rhetoric skills he uses is stereotypes, ethos, and pathos.

Despite the large amount of people that feel confident and comfortable in expressing themselves freely, many adolescents have a deteriorating concept of self because of the belief that they should have to conform to their peer’s ideals. The identities of these children are being dictated by a need of acceptance from prominent social groups in their environment; however, teenagers must realize one’s own individuality as something beneficial and recognizing that conforming can become problematic in certain situations.

“In our media-intensive culture it is not difficult to find differing opinions… The difficulty lies in deciding which opinion to agree with and which ‘experts’ seem the most credible” (Espejo 11). The perceptions of one age group in society of another age group are built upon assumptions that are made through what is visible. However, rarely is anyone willing to understand the reason behind someone’s actions. Sibling rivalry, the death of a loved one, moving to a new school, competition among peers, and the reputation adolescents have today often end up giving a misperception of society to teens and of teens to society, thus damaging the relationships between society, as illustrated by J.D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye.

“Mean girls, jocks, band nerds, geeks, and freaks” are all terms used to stereotype and group teens in the 2004 movie hit, Mean Girls. This film created controversies in the content that it delivered. The credibility of adolescents is questioned greatly in this film. Mean Girls taught us that popularity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, in fact, they taught us that it’s actually meaningless. Through extreme character development, this movie shows the viewer that at the end of the day, all of the teens are the same. They all struggle to fit in, and that’s really the moral of this hilarious, but raunchy story. Mean Girls captures the struggle that every teen seems to have at some point of where they belong and how they relate to everyone around them. The film takes those stereotypes and melds them into what all high schools should aspire to be: a community.

I still remember that grades and academic achievements have been the highest priority in a student’s life when I was high school, as they were much more important than one’s appearance and even families’ economic status, because having a perfect grade means going to a good university, which would be the key to a successful life and a higher social status, otherwise, this student would feel like a loser. Consequently, it is a particularly competitive environment for the high school students. However, as most teenagers in this world, jealousy among girls was inevitably existing in my high school as well, but it was not that fierce as what was depicted in the teen-based movies because the romantic relationship was forbidden for high school students

In the essay, “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” David Denby argues that teen movies reflect each other and lack originality. To prove his argument, Denby illustrates the majority of teen movie’s typical characters and events such as the antagonists that are the popular rich girl with long blonde hair, a dense quarterback, the geeky protagonist who is usually an outsider with family and/or friends struggles, and the importance of prom night. His purpose is to expose teen movies for having a pattern of cliches and in order to convey his this, Denby addresses the stereotypes and lack of creativity. Denby addresses teenagers and others who had similar experiences in their high school career and appeals to them by using a casual,

The “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies” presents the author’s perspective on the admissibility of teen movies and precisely the extent to which they represent reality as opposed to dramatizing feelings and thoughts (Denby, 1999). The author introduces two characters, a blonde, who is always the center of attention in high school movies and a male counterpart, muscular and dumb, who are used to design the social conflicts within the movies’ settings. The author highlights that a greater proportion of high-school movies utilize this design to help the audience visualize the social environment in schools. Besides exploring other characters on which teen movies can be set, he distinguishes the striking difference in social structure

Perceived socioeconomic status is as influential a cause of adolescent mental illnesses as objective socioeconomic status is. Adolescents are the most susceptible demographic to stressors such as peer pressure, relative poverty, and pressure to succeed academically. Subjective social status within a school environment is a cause of psychological distress for youth. In a survey conducted by Kate Hunt, an adolescent psychologist, and Helen Sweeting, a specialist in sociology, school social status (SSS) was measured using three criterions: SSS-peer, SSS-sports, and SSS-scholastic. The results of the survey of 2,503 adolescents aged 13-15 revealed that low self-reported SSS-peer, SSS-sports, and SSS-scholastic status were all directly

If “seeing is believing”, then how youth is represented in popular films is all true, right? Partying hard, drugs, promiscuity and sour attitude – wrong! The problem is not the unacceptable and risky behaviour, because it only applies to a minority. The real issue is that the way teens are represented on movie screens is unrealistic and over-dramatized which benefits film makers, not the reputation of teens. Right now all we’re seeing are the fictional teens and the false realities that seem to be attached to our popular films.