Genre/Plot
The coming of age genre focuses on teenagers perspectives and their character development. The comedy helps break awkward or unfortunate events that happen to the protagonist. The barriers usually involve social aspects in school or at home with family. (Thind, 2017) Specifically:
1. Drug abuse
2. Alcohol abuse
3. Peer Pressure
4. What's after high school?
5. Parents not getting along
According to Mindmeister this genre also has a theme of psychoanalyst Erik Eriksons' theory "Identity vs. Role Confusion." The infamous line "No one understands me" is mentioned with many teenage films such as Mean Girls when Cady wants to start acting like Regina George but her parents are against her choices. Another example is when Nadine from the Edge of Seventeen struggles the relationship she has with her mother. She feels that her mom does not pay attention to her or understand how to understand what Nadine is going through.Both movies also demonstrate a need to be accepted and have friends which reflects almost every teenager acts in reality. (Hestand, 2018) In films such as "The Inbetweeners" the protagonist tries to win over their crush. The romance usually isn't to evident however the Target Audience does enjoy seeing a few sparks fly.
Characters
The main character is usually a teenager who is self discovering. The clothes are normally light and trendy depending on the time period. Whatever they wear they wear it with strong pride so costume design is essential. This is also a way for them to freely express who they are to the world. The characters start off "shy and submissive" in films such as "Perks of Being a Wallflower" or not with the "cool" kids. (Thind, 2017) The antagonist can be a high school bully that is stopping or at least slowing down the character from their goal. These last two aspects lead to the main character being an outcast in most cases such as Bianca in the movie "The Duff."There are stereotypes such as the dumb blonde, preppy cheerleaders, mean jocks and awkward nerds.
Props/Settings
Props can include bottles of alcohol and drugs during more mature scenes. For girls in high economic classes such as Cheer and Deon from Clueless there are designer book bags, clothes, makeup and accessories. With more modern films there have been more phones seen because of our booming digital age. This is called Iconography where there are items the Target Audience can relate to or may even have themselves. (Bourhaba, 2014) The settings can include can create a mood of lonely or excited such as in:
1. High School
2. Cars with the parents/friends
3. The teenagers bedroom/ safe place
4. Public hang out places with friends
5. School sporting events
Technical Elements
In these films normal lighting is mostly used for a realistic fiction ambiance. The sounds are usually with music that is upbeat and fairly new when the movie came out. Stings can include cell phones ringing, chatter in the hallways and the school bell. There can be nostalgia if the song are picked well such as The Smiths being used in the film Perks of Being a Wallflower. Voice overs are common because they can give a quick update on the persons backstory and the teenager can be more intimate with the audience.
References
Longworth, C. (2016, November 14). Codes and Conventions of Coming of Age Films. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/svyzdw4qndq4/codes-and-conventions-of-coming-of-age-films/
Thind, G. (2017). Conventions and Iconography of the Coming of Age ... Retrieved from https://www.mindmeister.com/714294408/conventions-and-iconography-of-the-coming-of-age-genre?fullscreen=1
Bourhaba, S (December 17, 2014). Generic Conventions- Coming of Age Films. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/sabrinabourhaba/generic-conventions-coming-of-age-films?next_slideshow=1
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