Coming of Age Genre Research 

 

Why: I chose this genre because it is the most appealing to me and I think it is the most interesting. Coming of age gives the viewer a different view on things and evokes emotion out of them. I love all movies coming of age and their twists and realistic plot lines.  

 

Content: In most coming-of-age movies, you see teenage characters. They are overcoming certain obstacles, like moving states, getting into relationships, losing friends, or having certain emotions they haven't had before. This all gives to the genre and explains how when we get older, we all have these universal experiences. The movies are meant to connect to the viewers. In all coming-of-age movies there is an issue that the main character must overcome to move on and learn from it. For example, in the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie, the protagonist, is suffering from many things. One being he is now high school and is struggling to fit in. Others include his post-traumatic stress disorder and the loss of his friend to suicide. This movie very closing relates to the life of an average high school student. Many teenagers relate to the movie, so this is a great example of a coming-of-age film. 

 

Techniques: Techniques used in coming-of-age movies include certain types of characters that portray an illness or struggle. For example, The Edge of Seventeen is a movie about a teenage girl, Nadine, who is suffering from the loss of her father, Tom. She is trying to go through life by her depression seems to be a blocker. Lots of teenagers suffer from depression and to have a movie represent that appeals to them. Another technique is music choice in coming-of-age films. In most films you hear somber music in the emotional scenes. This is also meant to evoke emotion in the reader and get them to relate to the characters on screen. For example, in the movie, Call Me by Your Name, Elio, the protagonist, is seen in front of the fireplace crying after being broken up with by his boyfriend, Armie, when Armie had to confess, that he had a wife and needed to move back home. This music in the background of the scene is sad and adds to its emotionality. During your teenage years, you will meet people, and some will hurt you. So, this movie shows the rawness of relationships in your teenage years. The next example is lighting. In a lot of coming-of-age films, there is repetitive lighting. In happy scenes, the scene is bright and filled with sunlight while in somber scenes the lighting is dark and there is not a lot of natural light there. For example, in the movie Lady Bird, when Christine turns 18, she goes to the gas station and gets all the things she couldn't before like cigarettes, a playgirl, and a scratcher. The lighting was very sunny and bright. But in the scene where she is trying on dresses with her mom and they are having an argument, it is very dim lighting and dark in the shop. Another technique is the opening title and scenes in coming-of-age films. For example, in High School Musical 1, the opening starts with the title “A Disney Original Movie” with a black screen in the back and white letters, then “High School Musical” in a red outline and white letters to emphasize it. The background is a winter lodge around New Year's. It has very upgoing music and calming. Then the scene straight cuts to a party being hosted. One of the characters Gabriella is reading while there is a party, and her mom makes her get up to socialize. Another character, Troy, is playing basketball with his father and his mother again forces him to go and socialize at the party. This is where the characters meet. They both go to the party, and it is very awkward since they don’t know each other yet. The DJ then forces them to sing a song together and they do a great job. They talk and it's like love at first sight. This is a very popular opening in coming-of-age films since when you're young you meet so many people and one of them could be your soulmate. Lastly, the technique of editing. Lots of coming-of-age films need to capture raw moments to correctly execute the scene. A lot of the films use ellipses and just show the character over a long period of time even though it might seem unnecessary. This is meant to show how their life feels. Prolonged and dreadful. In the scenes with these editing techniques, you can see how life is not the best or it could be the total opposite. They could be very happy and joyful. For example, in the movie To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Lara Jean and Peter are now fake dating, and the show gives us a montage of their time together. Going on fake dates, parties, holding hands, Peter bonding with her family. This is to give us the image that yes, they are doing this to make others jealous but really, they are slowly falling in love. This is again done to evoke emotion in the viewers and to get them to sympathize. All these techniques tie in together to satisfy the audience and to get them to relate to certain points. Overall, the characters, editing, camera shots, sounds, opening scenes, etc. are all made to make these coming-of-age films.   

 

Marketing: There is a lot of marketing when it comes to coming- of- age films. There are trailers released months prior to the release date, interviews, a lot of publicity since coming-of-age films are always a big hit. After the release, posters are made for the fans and the actors travel to go to premieres and other interviews to publicize their new movie. The actors speak about the issues in the film and what it is meant to accomplish. A lot of coming-of-age movies are also based on books so there will be a greater want on the books too. There is always a lot of press when it comes to Hollywood, so the actors get their big spotlight moment for a while. Sometimes the actors post online about the filming of the movie and the experience. There is a lot done to market these movies. 

 

Samples: My sample movie is The Breakfast Club. This movie talks about 5 high school students from different school stereotypes. The jock, nerd, popular girl, bad boy, and outcast. They each get sent to detention and bond over high school being difficult. Everyone is judging you and you must act in a certain way to be accepted. And it doesn’t help that the adults don't understand, and they won’t try and help you. The Breakfast Club uses the conventions of the usual characters you see in coming-of-age films. They also use the convention of real-life problems, drug use, family problems, health problems, mental problems, etc. These are all things teenagers struggle with and feel isolated from the world. This makes them not ask for help since they feel misunderstood. Overall, The Breakfast Club is a great representation of how there are many stereotypes in high school, but you don't need to limit yourself to a certain type of exposure. You can be with whoever you want and be friends with the jock even if you're seen as the outcast.