Hi my name is UndieGirl and I love trashy teen flicks. I don’t just
mean films about teenager or marketed to teenagers – I mean those
embarrassingly cliché movies that are all about growing up, getting laid (or
not) and negotiating the hormone fueled years between the ages of 13 to 20. Every
little piece of drama is heightened to the point of ridiculousness, there is an
oversupply of red cups and there is often a musical number of no apparent
reason. They’re unoriginal, sexist and a little bit silly but I love them none
the less – so let’s hear it for the trashy teen flick one of my many guilty
pleasures.
Now I learned from a semester of arguing with my Teen Cinema tutor
that the teen film genre encompasses a wide range of films but when I refer to
the trashy teen flick I am talking about a very specific kind of movie. You
know the ones, they’re set in high school (or possibly some kind of summer
vacation or after school job). The main characters are somewhere between the
ages of 13 - 20. There’s talk of college
(or university) and parents that just don’t understand. Someone will decide to
loose their virginity and someone won’t. There are food fights and bitch fights
and bro fights and generally just a lot of violence. There are cliques and
makeovers and quests for popularity. There’s sex, alcohol and everything feels
like it’s the end of the world when really none of it actually matters (unless
it’s a teen horror then it matters a little bit).
There are more tropes and clichés in the trashy teen flick than I
could possibly list but despite the lack of originality I can’t help but love
these films.
The there is just something about teenagers that we can all relate
to (even if we don’t want to admit it) – everyone was a teenager at some point
and even if these films are usually American-based middle-class exaggerations
we all felt the heighten emotions and the alienation that comes from the sudden
influx of hormones. While we might point and laugh at the ridiculousness
(teenagers just take everything so seriously) we still understand what they are
going through and it’s nice to relive those emotions – especially when it’s
second hand.
The thing I love about trashy teen films is that the represent this
period of extreme flux. Sure the stories being told have a beginning, middle
and end but also they don’t. I mean you know that most of the relationships
that happen in these films are never going to last but that doesn’t matter
because it’s always true love at sixteen. The teen years this strange period
when you are expected to act like and adult but then you’re not treated like
one. It’s in between and as a result these movies are in between as well.
You’re kind of thrown into the middle and at the end there is a kind of
conclusion but it’s always left open like the real story is just about to
begin.
But I also just really love the clichés. The stories are excessively
familiar. Maybe someone has to learn that popularity/fame/money isn’t
everything or maybe that it’s okay to be who you are or that you should be
careful what you wish for. There is always the popular “sex quest” because you must
loose your virginity before going away to college. Or it could be all about
getting your sporting team (or dance group of choir or any other kind of team)
to the national championships. Then again maybe it’s just a classic boy meets
girl (or girl meets boy) in that case it you were probably meant to be with
your best friend all along or you probably shouldn’t have judged that book by
it’s cover. We’ve seen these stories a million times before, we know exactly
how they are going to end but that’s okay. It’s the familiarity that makes them
so enjoyable.
The best part of the teen film is that it encompasses pretty much
every other genre out there. The most popular are comedy (American Pie, Mean Girls), and horror (Scream, The Faculty, Carrie) but that’s not the extent of it.
There are so many more including: musical (Grease,
High School Musical, Bye, Bye Birdie),
action (Kick Ass, Sky High), romance
(A Walk to Remember), romantic comedy
(10 Things I Hate About You, Can’t Buy me Love), coming of age (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Whip it,
Strike!, The Breakfast Club), sports movies (Friday Night Lights, Bring It
On), serious drama (Rebel Without a
Cause, The Virgin Suicides), noir mysteries (Brick), black comedy (Heathers),
supernatural (Twilight, The Lost Boys,
Teen Wolf), science fiction (Back to
the Future, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), dystopian (The Hunger Games), fantasy (the Harry Potter series, Ella Enchanted, Percy
Jackson), zombies (Warm Bodies),
thriller (Gossip, Swimfan, Donnie Darko),
animation (Brave).
Okay so I just really like teen movies okay? I’m not ashamed of it
and you should be either. I’m not saying you have to love trashy teen flicks like
me but if you do I would love to hear from you. What are some of your favourite
teen films? Or maybe you have a favourite trope? Let me know in the comments.
