The Duff: Lack Of Self Esteem

He was bullied immensely through school because he was a big nerd. Even his dad would tell him to go play outside or stop working. The only friend Duff really ever had was his computer. As a result, Duff became a “techie” and would make computer programs and design games. Duff even looks like a nerd. He wears jeans, is skinny, wears glasses, and is tall. (pg. 9) Another character trait of Duff is that he is very self centered. For example, when his parents were telling him, right before leaving off for California, that If he ran into any problems, to call right away. Duff responds saying that he already knows and does not need any help. Duff responds like this to other people in the book. This shows that Duff is self centered because he never wants to take anyone else’s opinion or at least value what they are telling him (pg. 2). Finally, Duff is also a coward. We can see this when he states “He wished he had the chance and the nerve to have a little conversation with Flynn [Duff’s bully] before they left school” (DuPrau 16). From this we are able to see that Duff has no courage because he won’t stand up to bullies and defend himself. All in all, Duff is a nerdy, self-centered, and cowardly main

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

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 the film “Mean Girls” there were many types of peer relationships expressed. Friendships are described as a reciprocal liking, trust, and loyalty between all participating dyadic parties. An example in the film is the relationship that Damian and Janis hold because they are loyal to each other and the liking is mutual. Peer acceptance is to the degree one is liked by their peers. In the film Aaron Samuels is very much liked by his peers. Perceived popular is a child that is considered popular based on their peers’ perceptions. Regina George is a prime example of teenage girl perceived as popular. When students described Regina George in the film these type of comments were made, “Regina George is flawless”, “One time she punched me in the faced. It was awesome.”, and “she always looks fierce.” Cliques are polyadic social groups that are voluntary. A main clique in the movie is “The Plastics” which consists of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. These forms of peer relationships are a lot more complex than just a group of friends, these relationships of dynamic in early adolescence.

It’s a very difficult thing for adults to write accurate and believable teenage characters. Often times, people my age are written to be significantly too stereotypical. Apparently, the middle aged white men who write most of these movies think every single teenager in high school is either an athlete with no passions other than sports or a nerd who has never looked up from a book. As someone who has only been out of high school for 6 months, I feel pretty confident in saying those stereotypes rarely exist in real life.

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.

The film The Breakfast club illustrates how a person’s identity can be influenced by conflict he or she has experienced. First, Claire Standish she gets everything she wants, her dad treats her like a princess and she can’t do anything on her own. For example , She skipped school to go shopping but her dad didn’t really care cause he used to all ways get her out of Sunday detention but this time he couldn’t. Everybody looked up to her like she was god because she was pretty and had popularity. Andrew Clark he can’t really think for himself because his dad was mainly running his life as if it was his because he wanted his son to be like him. For instance, Andrew taped some kids booty together everybody else thought it was

The author of the essay “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” David Denby, purpose was to explain the stereotypical high school movie genre. Most teen movies follow certain criteria that some may feel has little reflection on what high school is truly like while others may feel these movies are exactly what high school is like. In typical teen movies, there are usually the cool kids, the popular cheerleader with the jock boyfriend, and that outsider nerd or outcast. Where that cool kids control the playground and the outcast just try to fit in and be part of the cool clique or stay as far away as possible and avoid humiliation. The film “Easy A" proves to follow this exact pattern that Denby speaks of, just as stereotypical as any other teen film.

The movie Mean Girls is a comedy that came out in 2004, which was written by Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters. The plot of the film is that it is in a high school setting and it focuses on cliques. Regina George, Karen Smith, Gretchen Wieners, and Cady Heron are the main characters that make up the “Plastics” and are the most popular girls, the “Mean Girls”. There are many cliques at North Shore High School, the high school in Mean Girls that range from the “Plastics” to the jocks, to the band geeks, to the art freaks. Cady Heron, the main character, who used to live in Africa with her parents, was home schooled for sixteen years of her life, and was a girl who did not care for fashion or what others though of her. Out of know where during lunch one of the girls from the “Plastics” asked Cady to join them and she does get accepted into their group. Even though Cady does not want to be part of the clique at first, she joins and later on she changes dramatically to fit in with the “Plastics”. In my opinion this demonstrates gender roles and finding your identity. Also, when a person is in high school that is usually the time when young girls are finishing

Having a strong self-image is difficult for young girls. I myself found my middle school years extremely challenging for this very reason. Being successful in a classroom is easier when one has confidence and evidently, that was the one trait I unfortunately did not have. I did not thrive like my peers, nor could I process or focus on what was being taught at what seemed like a rapid pace. I will never forget hearing the word “retarded” under a boy’s breath when he saw my quiz grade in seventh grade math. Having experienced embarrassment and moments like this, I can see why August in Another Brooklyn felt insecure in many parts of the novel. Similarly, August had moments where she felt like she didn’t fit in and struggled to feel comfortable

At the beginning of the movie, it showcases a very confident girl who walked with her two pretty friends, Jess and Casey, and never felt out of place. She is that type of girl who would oftentimes wear comfortable clothes at school such as pajamas. She doesn’t care about what other people think of her, as long as she is happy, she is fine with that. Bianca’s self-concept was defined as her own identity, perception of self and who she thinks she is. She used to have a great concept of herself by believing that she does belong. However, the development of her self-concept was greatly affected by reflected appraisals which refers to self-concept that reflects the way we believe others see us. This involves judgements made by other people especially significant others that

Erik Erikson created eight stages in psychosocial development that are categorized as crises that a person will experiences at some period during the life cycle (Steinberg, 2014). In Hannah’s case, she is experiencing the fifth and sixth stage of psychosocial development. The fifth stage is Identity vs. Identity Diffusion. In this stage, adolescents are trying to discover a sense of identity (Steinberg, 2014). As an adolescent matures, he or she starts to realize and think about their place in society. For example, they start to reflect on how people view them and the different opportunities they have for their future. In order for adolescents to develop a sense of

With their support Bianca gained more confidence on how she looked and how she felt about herself. This was shown as a scene near the end of the movie. The story writers and the director Ari Sandel specifically chose this parallel structure to show the audience, such as teenagers who can relate through times when friends can benefit them for their own good by changing one’s ugly past to an improved present which was shown through Bianca’s

Research has offered that students who feel self-complacent are more likely to succeed. As learners, we have all experienced this feeling of being confident of our capacities to do something, and this of course, has to do with the great desire, especially in academic setting. Thus, it can be said that SLA has a relation with psychology. Self-esteem is a psychological expression used to reflect someone’s overall evaluation of his/her own worth. It refers to the evaluative and affective aspects of the self, to how "good" or "bad" we feel toward ourselves. It is the outcome of the self’s capacity for reflexivity; that is, the capability to look at one’s self and to evaluate what one sees. Actually, self-esteem is a very important factor in SLL and academic achievements because when learners do not trust in their capacities, or have the so called “low self-esteem”, this will lead to “academic failure”. Thus, it can be said that, its absence produces the suspicion on learners’ own abilities which lead them to perform a low outcome due to lack of self- confidence. (James1890; White, 1959; Coopersmith, 1959, 1967; Rosenberg, 1965, 1979; Branden, 1969, 1994; and Mruk 1999, 2006). Over and above, students who have low self -esteem are more likely to experiment anxiety. Consequently, it can be said that anxiety is the motive of low self- esteem.