Genre and Convention

What is a Teen Movie ?




Examples of Teen Movies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sub Genres in a Teen Films

 

Action

Adventure

Comdey

Crime

Romance

Horro

Fanasty

Muscial

Sc-Fi

Thriller

Drama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Representation Task : Stereotypes in teen Films

 Not Another Teen Movie

  
Stereotypes in 'Not Another Teen Movie'.

Looking into this film, their representation gives the audience a visual idea of stereotypes with teenagers.
        

The Jocks



The jocks are usually categorised as being popular, wealthy,good looking and well dressed.they are popular within their social circle especially with girls. Jocks usually play a sport

basketball,football,soccer etc. stereotyped as being unintelligent arrogant,aggressive and mean. Known for bullying people who are less popular and sporty (nerds). Mise en scene represents the stereotypical convention of The Jocks. they normal wear their sports uniform, such as leather jackets or baseball jackets as they represents 'Jocks' as cool. The jocks show off flashy cars which attracts girls and they would admire them for their wealth. Later in the movie the jocks become humble due to an event or a female,which is normal stereotyped to be quite/nerdy girl.



Jocks'



High School Musical
 Tory is a Jock and Garbieal is the quite nerdy girl. He falls in love with her and he changes and becomes more nicer due to being with her.






 Glee

Nasty Cheerleaders

The stereotype of a cheerleader is that they are one of the main characters in a teen movie. often they want to be with the jocks. they re attractive, wear lots of make up, fairly rich and usually blonde. Cheerleaders in teen films usually wear small tights tops and skirts. they are also known for being dumb,mean and stuck up. They are shown to only care about fashion boys and being the most popular and attractive girl in their school.


 Nasty Cheerleaders'

Bring It on

Glee

The Pretty Ugly Girl '

Janey From 'Not Another Teen Movie'
In this movie the Petty ugly girl is normally ugly at the start. 'ugly meaning not like the cheerleaders, wears glasses not interested in looks and more about their books. doesn't have much friends and their not popular within the other groups of people in their school. Later on in the film the tend to have some sort of relationship with the Jock and end up falling in love with them. in terms of Mise en sense, the types of clothing would be jeans, big jumper, glasses, big bag and also have their books on them. everyday clothes.



 Examples

                                                                                             Mean Girls

10 Things I Hate About You'



The Desperate Virgin

 

Mitch from 'Not Another Teen Movie was stereotypes as the desperate virgin. They are often boys and most likely to be nerd.like nerds some are stereotypes for wearing big glasses and braces. And the other set would normally wear jeans and tight tops, want to look like the Jocks to attract attractive  girls. All they think about is sex. Watch the latest pron video and often make everything sexual. in terms of Mise and sense,location, you would often find them at home watching and searching about sex, reading magazines on girls and try so hard to have any girl they can.
Later in teen movies, the desperate virgin often loose his virginity with a cheerleader or someone very popular or attractive


Examples
 American Pie

Project X

The Beautiful Weirdo

They are stereotyped to often been socially and physically awkward. Normally male and find them behind a camera filming and record things. such as nature. in terms of Mise en sense they often wear black jeans and black tops.Don't say much but are often smart . However later on in the film, there's always something that makes them attractive to that one girl. often the prefect girl. And they end up being with a girl.


Twilight

Task 2 - Resreching Target Audience

Mean Girls.

Genre: Comedy,Teen film.

The target audience of Mean Girls would be teenage girls, age 12-17, most likely attending school. Some of them would look up to these characters and some could relate to some of these characters. But as secondary it is also a family film as it's genre is drama comedy which could be targeted at family. The social classification of a group of people identified as a common characterises for teenage girls in this society. The movie has stereo typical characters that you would find in a everyday teen movies, Such as 'dumb' blonde, this is used in mean girls as the girls are stated as 'Mean' girls and are 'dumb' blondes. Teen girls could relate to this movie as it shows how teenage girls act like and thinks the worry about at that age such as boys.

 

Lindsay Lohan was the main star and she played Cady Heron in mean girls. She appeals to her target audience as she wants to fit and be a part of a group in her school. This appeals to the target audience which are teenage girls because it shows how some teenagers feel when they are at school. its all about the popular group and trying to fit in so a lot of teens can relate to Cady as they meant have been in the same situation as her.

 

 

 

 

Grease (1978)

Genre : LGBT, Romance Film, Comedy Musical, Teen film,Romantic comedy.

 It is based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway.

 The target audience for grease in 1978 wasn't teens, It was adult baby boomers, people who'd experienced their teens in that early. The show tackles such social issues as teenage pregnancy and gang violence; its themes include love, friendship, teenage rebellion, sexual exploration dbeluring adolescence, and, to some extent, class consciousness/class conflict.age of rock and roll. Themse such as love friendship and teenage rebellion is what you would find in most teenage flims. This movie is mostly aimed at young women from teenagers to mid-twenties.

The musical part of it allows it to appeal to different types of audience such as older women and males. However is also appeals to people that are not fund of musical because it has such a great romantic storyline and there is also some type of gang violence which could appeal to boys ages 15-20.

The main female character ( Sandy Olsen) can relate to many oteenagers and young adults, teenage pregnancy; trying to keep it away from her parents and not knowing what to do. Likewise it also shows Sandy trying to fit into a new environment in when she starts high school, this appeals to teenagers as they have been or going to go through that once in their life.

Kidulthood

Genres: Indie film, Drama, Teen film.

 

 

 

The target audience for this film is mainly aimed at people aged between 15-24 mostly males, however females tend to watch it. The teenagers are portrayed as being reckless and antisocial young people who commit crimes such as petty theft and serious violence. The film also showcases how the characters engage in recreational drug taking behaviour.This hard-hitting British film explores the social experience of being an inner city teenager in London, with bullying, drugs, partying,teenage pregnancy,sexual activity and fighting presented as a daily norm. this appeals to a everyday London teenager as they can relate to the film and have probably been through some of the issues. The film itself attempts to represent a serious number of issues of what some teenagers growing up in today's society have to go through; this explains why so many people who are in this age group may watch it. There is also a very realistic approach within this film as most of the actors and actresses are within this age group and therefore know what others their age go through.

 

 

 

All of the teenage characters also use colloquial language which a teenage audience is likely to be familiar with, including words such as "blud", "safe" and "badman."  these show that its targeted at teens as they are familiar with the use of language.

Men are likely to be targeted through the protagonist Trevor, as he is seen as the "hero" in terms of Vladimir Propp's character theory. This would therefore cause him to be admired by a male audience. Men may also be targeted through the attractive character Stella, as they are likely to find her sexually arousing due to her aesthetic appeal.  preatcntcy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What conventions of teen dramas can we see in Bling Ring

BLING RING

Bling ring is a movie based on actual events, a group of rebellious teenagers obsessed with celebrities and their lifestyles. They track down  the whereabouts of certain celebrities so they can rob their homes.

What genre is The Bling Ring?

• Biographical film
• Crime fiction
• Comedy
• Drama 

Themes

The themes within this movie are somewhat generic. Many of the events happen in other teenage movies, such as; partying, drugs etc. Other themes include; Money, Celebrity culture, Celebrity lifestyles, friendships/cliques, relationships, parent and child relationships, rebellion, consumerism and materialistic existence. 

Many teenagers can relate to this movie, not everybody will be able to associate with the criminality elements, but they can relate to wanting money, wanting to party and facing the 'burden' of having an authority figure telling them what to do (rebel against society and authority). 

 

 

 

Settings + Locations (MES) 

The locations were rather repetitive in this movie. As the plot of the movie is based around the characters robbing celebrities homes, we often view the characters in the locations of these celebrities homes. Other locations include;
          

• Parents homes
• Teenage bedrooms
• Beach
• Clubs and parities
• Teenage hangouts
• High school

Music

The non-diagetic sound of music plays within this movie. The genre of music is hip-hop,dance/trance.

Song artists include; Azelia Banks, an artist who many teenagers listen to. The music could also 

suggest that the lifestyles in which they lead (rappers etc) inspires the teenagers within the movie to live the same lives as their music idols. Many of the rap songs speak of criminality which the characters can associate with. A particular song highlights the teenagers attitudes 'M.I.A', lyrics include 'live fast die young, bad girls do it well'. In this movie the teenage girls can be seen as 'bad girls'.

 

Characters 

 Characters in this movie include, stereotypical teenagers, the parents (who the teenagers see as annoying) and authority figures- police etc. All of the teenage characters in this movie like to party, drink alcohol and take drugs (stereotypical associations with teenagers). 

 

 

Costume

The costumes that the characters wore in this film were incredibly glamorous and expensive. Many of the outfits seen in the movie were plush, designer outfits that fit the young teenagers image. Many teenagers dream about wearing celebrities clothes, these characters made their dreams become reality. At the beginning of the movie, before the teenagers started regularly stealing money, clothes and bags from celebrities homes, they wore normal (un-branded) clothes.

 

Write up of Bling Ring

Does The Bling Ring follow conventions of teen movies?
We see the convention of young people parting and having fun together doing illegal things we see this in many other teen movies as teenage life is a time when people commit crimes in their lives and rebel against their normal lives, parents and government. The teens do different types of drugs and go drinking which is what we see in many other teen movies, as characters want to go out and get drunk and high to have fun.

This movie also follows the conventions of following the relationships of the main character as in many teen films relationships play a very big role, in the bling ring we hair and see lots about the relationship between the main character and others a he talks about how he feels about the girls and his own self image.

Celebrity culture plays a very big role in The Bling Ring as the teens are stealing from celebrities and later pretty much become celebrities themselves, this obsession of celebrity culture and lifestyle is reflective of modern society and many peoples wish to be like them, seen in many other teen movies as characters want to become big, famous and rich.

The main music used in the movie is Hip Hop and dance this may also be to reflect the dream of being famous and rich as most rappers fit this role as well as being reckless criminals, the music also shows what many teens are listening to today, the music also goes with what the characters are doing in the movie, parting to rap and dance music.

The costumes and clothing used in this movie are trendy & glamorous celebrity clothing & since the movie is all about the teens stealing celebrity clothing there's a lot of focus on the clothes, as they check what celebrities are wearing before they go to steal it, they always compliment and help each other with their outfits and most of the money made is spent on clothes. this movie shows the obsession teens have with celebrities as well as their own self image.

The adults in this movie all follow stereotypes and conventions in other teen movies, as the teens are cool rebellious and just what to have fun, whilst their parents are annoying and try to hold them back from going out and king what they want always asking questions on everything they, the law is always breathing down the teens neck as well and tries stopping them from doing what the teens believe are fun. In most other movies the different groups of characters follow the same traits.




The settings of this movie follow the conventions of most teen movies as they're either at high school, in a club, or at someones house in their bedroom. the teens in this movie just like teens in others find places where they can talk privately and be themselves, this is especially important in this movie as they have to talk about stealing in secret and who they're going to steal from next.

What conventions of teen drama can we see in Bling Ring.

                         Bling Ring

Themse : the themes of Blue Ring are Money, Drugs ,Parties, Celebrity, culture, lifestyle, friendship/cliques, relationships,friendship, parent and child relationship, rebellions.

You would accept to see these themes in a teen movie because they are conventional and the appeal to its target audience. Many Teenagers can relate to this film, however some many not because of the criminal elements within the film.




What genre is Bling Ring ?
Biography film , Crime fiction , Comedy , Drama 




Setting + Location (MES)
The film has different settings and locations. this appeals to the target audience and is a teen film convention because in most teen films there are variety of locations to suggests that teenagers are often all about in different places and just out going, which is what they are stereo typed for. In most of the movies it showed the teenagers in celebrities homes, this also suggest that some teenagers look up to celebrates and want to live their life style, other locations that were in bling ring:
High school, parents homes, friends homes, clubs parties , teenagers ,teenage hangout.

Music : Hip-Hop , Dance, Trance.

Suggests that teenager like listening to up beats songs, songs that ill put them in a party mood.



Characters : teenagers annoying adults, authorities 

In most teen movies, the engagers often find their parents annoying because they are over protective and they just want space. 



Costume stylish fashionable, young designers outfits

Sub genres (Genre and Convention)

Not all teen films appeal to all teens/young adults. That is because they are divided into subcultures. Here are some examples;

• High school
• Psychological thriller
• Realist/drama 
• Comedy- explicit/exaggerated/extreme 
• Coming of age
• Fantasy 
• Horror
• Romance 

Teen films- Themes and Topics

I watched a series of trailers (4) in chronological order. I was able to associate themes and topics with these trailers. 

'Rebel Without a Cause' (1995) is the trailer that I watched first. 

This trailer is rather lengthy as film technology had not adapted to what it is now, so producers may have found it difficult to promote the plot of the story in a normal length advert. 

Many of the generic teenage issues were shown in this trailer. It is clear that the main character gets involved in many family conflicts. He also gets into trouble with the police, he rebels against authority, mise en scene supports this attitude as he is wearing a bright red jacket which was not the norm in the 1950's, he is rebelling against society as he refuses to conform to the accepted dress code (shirts etc). It is clear that he enjoys partying and drinking alcohol (stereotypical teenage activities). He also finds love, of course. Love is often a key theme within teen movies. 

'Grease' (1978) 

Themes and topics in this trailer included; love and comedy. The theme of love comes up a lot in teenage movies as many teenagers find it an easy to relate to. This trailer differs from the other trailers as music plays a big role (it is a musical) as it includes a lot of singing and dancing. Props are used a lot in this trailer, in the form of big, flashy cars, this is another generic idea, all teenagers love fast, flashy cars. 

'Love and Basketball' (2000)

This advert embraces ethnicity as it was made in 2000, when ethic minorities were given a lot more freedom. Love is one of the main themes in this trailer, along with sport. Sexuality and the conflict of genre is also portrayed through this trailer. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elnfChCjZjk

'My Brother the Devil' 2012

This is the most recent trailer I viewed. This type of movie could be considered a realist/drama movie. Gang culture is one of the main themes within this trailer, along with violence, sexuality, criminality, family conflict and the feeling of alienation. This trailer brings real life issues to life through the movie, many british boys are able to relate to this trailer/movie as many of the issues arise within our society on a regular basis.