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Think of a "High School Movie". Don't take too long to think about it, just think of what the first title that pops into your mind is. Okay, good. Now, if you didn't think of a specific movie, think of a few plot elements, and also a few characters. Don't take too long with those, but just take a few mental notes. What you were thinking about is in the spoilers, or else skip over that and I will discuss a little bit about "High School Movies" Did you think of the Breakfast Club? Depending on your age, you probably thought of a movie that was either the Breakfast Club, or something very close to it. You probably thought of a few quick plot points and characters: the movie, whether it is a comedy or a drama, probably focuses around social divisions and social positions. There are various cliques, and they are fighting for position. There is a probably a prep/jock, his pretty but mean girlfriend, and some nerds/artistic kids/goths/etc. There may be a competition or school event that provides the impetus for the groups to come into conflict. At the end of the movie, either the characters, or at least the audience, has learned to look beyond surface divisions. The interesting thing is how universal the ideas of High School, as presented through film (and television) is. High School in the United States is somewhat of a simulacrum: its a reality based on images. Like most people, very little of the "High School" experience as presented by mass media fits my life (I went to alternative schools and started community college at 16). And yet, because I have absorbed so much of the High School mythology through media, I still kind of depend on the shorthand of High School when I talk to people and learn their experience. "Were you a prep or a goth?" I've almost literally asked people, as if I was Ebony Dementia Raven Way. I think "High School" has become such a universal setting for movies for three main reasons: first, it is a universal experience that audiences can understand, which makes it accessible and commercially successful. Second, it is a self-contained environment, with a self-contained story. It involves a delineated reality where story telling can be done in terms of easily recognizable plot points: getting crowned Homecoming King and Queen is a visible way to communicate "social and romantic success". Third, and related to the second, is a high school is pretty easy to present in film. You really need only three or four sets: classroom, hallway, cafeteria, sportsfield/auditorium. And the limited amount of locations means it is easy for the plot to advance: the romantic leads can run into each other in the hallway after their big argument, something wouldn't be as easy to explain in an adult movie taking place in a city. For these reasons, the "High School Movie", that started coalescing sometime in the 1980s, quickly became a genre that influenced reality, which then influenced it back. Now, for the second question: think of a "College" movie. Think of a movie that is about the College/University experience. And think of the type of plot points and characterization that would be found in it. For me, I couldn't think of what those could be as easily. I can think of lots of movies that are set, in whole or in part, in the college or university or early adulthood years, but they are not "College Movies". Most movies that might fit the category are either really High School Movies (Revenge of the Nerds, for example, is about high school students, and made for high school students) or else college is just a backdrop. Most students in college movies act either much more immature (think Pauly Shore, Son-in-Law) or much more mature (a serious business movie like "Mona Lisa Smile") than actual college students. I can't think of a movie that really accurately displays higher education. Especially since the average experience of most American college students is about going to a big state university or a commuter community college campus---which don't really match the Greek Life Party School or the Upper Crust Ivy Covered New England School. In terms of cultural narrative, there is just not a consensus portrayal of what "College" is supposed to be. So, the point here isn't just about movies, but about how cultural images of some parts of life can be very ingrained in our mind, while others are not addressed consistently. Also, I apologize if my treatment of this matter has focused on recent, popular and United States-based films. I know that obviously there probably is a very different treatment of both high school and college if I was going to go watch Italian films of the 1950s. I would be interested to see if people agree with me about this, and also if everyone else guessed The Breakfast Club.
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Aug 18, 2018 06:26
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 12:55 |
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Timeless Appeal posted:
Great point, and something that I didn't even think of mentioning: in general, high school movies don't at all focus, or really acknowledge that there is an academic purpose to high school. The only exceptions to this will be a jocks versus nerds plot, or maybe a subplot about academic pressure or a student needing to pass a class. Even in the subgenre of "inspirational teacher teaches disadvantaged youths", its almost always about the form of the teaching, not the substance. Which I guess makes sense, you really can't make a very good movie out of geometry lessons. And its pretty realistic, I certainly don't remember much about academics in the high school I didn't go to.
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Aug 20, 2018 00:59
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WampaLord posted:Back To School is the ultimate example of the college movie to me. Yes, I was speaking metaphorically. They are explicitly in college (although they are freshmen), but their maturity level is more like 16 year olds. Its a teen sex comedy where they are cast as in college because it allows a few plot points to develop. I mean, its kind of like me saying Star Wars isn't a Science Fiction movie. Of course it is, but arguably its essence isn't.
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Aug 20, 2018 05:27
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