Teen film

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (May 2008)

The teen film (also called teen movie or teenpic) is a film genre targeted at teenagers and young adults in which the plot is based upon the special interests of teenagers, such as coming of age, first love, rebellion, conflict with parents, teen angst and alienation. Often these normally serious subject matters are presented in a glossy, stereotyped or trivialized way. Films in this genre are often set in high schools, or contain characters that are of high school age. Sexual themes are also common, as are nudity and crude forms of humour.

Contents

[edit] Types of teen film

As well as the classic teen film, which is similar to a romantic comedy, there are hybrid genres including:

  • Teen Sci-Fi
  • Teen Horror
  • Teen Drama
  • Teen Comedy
  • Teen Musicals

There are many more types of Teen Film which can then be divided again into sub-categories. This can be found at List of teen films.

[edit] Codes and conventions

Codes and conventions of the teen film genre vary depending on the cultural context of the film, but they can include proms, alcohol, illegal substances, high school, parties and all-night raves, losing one's virginity, relationships, social groups and cliques, and American pop-culture.

The classic codes and conventions of teen film come from American films where one of the most widely used conventions are the stereotypes and social groups. The wide range stereotypes most commonly used include:

Apart from the characters there are many other codes and conventions of teen film. These films are often set in or around High School as this allows for many different social cliques to be shown. This is different in hybrid teen films, but for the classic romantic comedy teen film this is almost always the case.

[edit] Beach films

Early examples of the genre in the United States include the "beach films" of the 1950s and '60s, such as the Gidget series and the Beach party films.

[edit] John Hughes

The genre gained more credibility during the 1980s with the appearance of writer/director John Hughes. His legacy of teen films (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, etc.) proved to be popular not only with audiences, but with critics also.

[edit] Noteworthy actors

Teen films also include actors such as Annette Funicello and Hayley Mills in the '60s and '70s, members of the Brat Pack in the '80s and early '90s, and Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Jason Biggs and other teenage sensations in the later '90s and '00s, who were either preteens or teens at the time of the movies themselves.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_film"
Personal tools