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Introduction
There has been a growing appeal for blockbuster films especially for those featuring youths not just from America, but also from many other parts across the world. These films are interesting to the youths from diverse background mainly because they portray their experience (Driscoll 1980). In fact, the producers of films recognized the import of teenage experience as one of the biggest tools of marketing films to young people globally. This paper explores the extent to which representations of young people in American cinema has changed since the 1980s. Specifically, the paper is divided into three parts that describe representation of the youth in different decades: in the 1980s, in the 1990s and finally in 2000s.
In the 1980s
In the 1980s, the major feature that defined youths was financial stability. In fact, producers of films focused on the economic aspects of youths, while representing their experience in films. This was a stark contrast from what was depicted in the 1970s. In the 1970s, producers concentrated on the fictional part and not on the real representation of the American youth (Shary 2014). To adopt some element of newness and modernity, wealth and desire for leisure were highly popular themes in teen movies in the 1980s (Kendrick 2009). A good example of a film that embodies the culture of the youths of that time is Fast Times at Ridgemont High. In this film, nearly all young characters socialize or work at such places as shopping malls. Actually, the film not just starts, but also finishes at such places. The Fast Times at Ridgemont High film depicted a realistic outlook of the experience of young people. In the 1980s, the blockbuster films especially those focusing on youths seemed to emphasize certain styles of the behavior of young people that defined their day-to-day experiences.
The popularity of youth films continued in the 1990s (Jamieson & Romer 2008). This time, these films gave youths an opportunity to reflect on their changing way of life. That is, the films served as a collection of the bad things that had been done by the youths. Most movies and films in the 1980s, as well as in the1990s focused on the five themes of school life, namely, delinquency, dismay, science, and sexuality (Jamieson & Romer 2008). Most of the films featured different aspects of brutality and sex decadence; other films explored an increasing diversity of the experiences faced by adolescents.
In the 1970s, there was an economic recession that had cost people their jobs and ways of livelihood (Shary & Seibel 2007). In the 1980s, however, the economy was recovering with most youths being employed by the companies and the government agencies (Shary & Seibel 2007). In fact, films such as Sixteen Candles and Breakfast Club, produced in the mid 1980s, offered a compassionate portrait of white middle and working-class youths as bewildered but innocent, always doing their best to fit in the fast-changing world. In the late 1980s, there emerged some anti-youth impulse in Hollywood films. This impulse was captured in Hollywood films such as the Nightmare on Elm Street which was produced in the late 1980s (Shary & Seibel 2007). In general, the producers of the film seemed to emphasize a new way of depiction via which they wanted to represent the social status and identities of young Americans in the society where support institutions had been completely broken.
In the 1990s
White working-class
Scholars hold the view that if a crisis of depicting the American youth was to surface in the 1990s, it would have been rooted in representational ideologies (Kendrick 2009). For instance, it would appear like changing the appearance of the modern urban landscape. That is, an economy that is falling, the emergence of racism, and a retreating allocation of resources for public services that are highly critical. This means that the 1990s brought a different dimension of youths representation. Unlike in the 1980s when the social class was the dominant aspect, in the 1990s youths were viewed in terms of race. The White American youths were depicted as problematic. They were more brutal and racist at the place of work (Kendrick 2009).
During the late 1980s, a representational aspect was strongly connected with an increasing feeling of discrimination and urban black and white American youth were demonized. For instance, in films produced in the mid 1990s such as Natural Born Killers white American youth were depicted as people who were accustomed to violence and who lacked good morals. Hollywood blockbusters also projected the White American youths as people who were not intellectuals. It significantly defined the state of the American culture at that period. Some of these films included Dumb and Dumber, which was produced in the mid 1990s and Dazed and Confused produced in 1993 (Kendrick 2009).
Obviously, Hollywood films of the 1990s represented the White American youths as potential thugs, especially from facial appearance. They used features that presented the horrendous images of the mental hospital, the prison, or images associated with a fast food retail outlet (Shary 2014). This is based on the fact that most young people were understood as such. In addition, they were also depicted as people who always engage in sexual recklessness and criminal activities.
Black American Youth in the 1990s
The representation of blacks in films, in the 1990s was mainly inspired by some changes that were taking place in American society. Some of the changes were associated with the class factor. Another contributing factor was the powerful emergence of racism in the general American society (Shary 2014). For instance, in films such as Clockers produced in the mid 1990s and Menace two Societies produced in 1993, black male youths were depicted or framed through contracted representations. That is, they were viewed as black who were associated with societal menace. In fact, in these films, almost every episode contained some form of violence. In some of these films, blacks youths were stereotyped or represented as people whom the general American society of that period did not like (Jamieson & Romer 2008). In the 1990s, there was a popular view that all black youths were with the criminal culture especially in urban areas. In general, white youths and black youths were viewed in different perspectives. Whites as people who were posing some challenges to their parents and blacks were viewed as people who were dangerous and needed to be terminated.
In the 2000s
Producers of youth films in Hollywood during this time based their films around different themes such as uncontrolled sex, drugs use, and violence. In fact, these were referred to as the key ingredients of Hollywood films (Jamieson & Romer 2008). These films seemed to espouse themes depicted in the film called Reefer Madness (1993) (Jamieson & Romer 2008). American youths were represented or viewed from the perspective of moral decadence. They were immoral people. In addition, they were highly vulnerable and this too impacted their representation as immoral figures in most films. For instance, in most films in the 21st century, different characters have been taking part in self-destructive activities and are demonized like the youths of the 1990s (Kendrick 2009).
The topic of violence and sex also characterized the American youth films in the 1990s; drug use is highly romanticized in most films in the 21st century. For instance, films such as Harvard Man and Requiem for a Dream seem to be having some worry for modern day parents (Shary & Seibel 2007). This is because each of these films entailed or contained an image of illegal drugs that appeared to be glorified by youths. As a matter of fact, it close to ninety five percent of all films in the 21st century that feature American youths, contain some scenes connected with the substance use (Shary 2014).
Specifically, in the film Requiem for a Dream which was produced in 2000, the aspect or the behavior of abusing alcohol and drugs is highly emphasized and is associated with the youths. In the film, there are also other numerous problems afflicting the youths. For instance, nearly all characters are young and have trouble with overcoming their addiction problems. Each character in the film has a different kind of addiction (Shary 2014). In addition, both girls and boys are dealing with many other smaller conflicts. For instance, Sara is struggling to overcome psychosis and Tyrone is a drug dealer and is thinking about escaping to avoid being arrested (Kendrick 2009). Mariona and Harry, on the other hand, are trying to set up a business, but the plan fails to succeed as their addiction problem overcomes any of their efforts.
In this film, youths are also depicted as people who are not careful in things they do and also they do not think about the consequences of the actions they are undertaking. In fact, this is depicted in the way Tyrone, the drug dealer, was arrested. All the money they had acquired from the business was spent on bail and eventually it also started falling apart (Shary 2014).
This film represents the American youth in the 21st century as someone who does not want to use proper means to acquire their wealth. They are people who want to get rich quick. They do not want to go to school and better their lives through formal means. The film also depicts them as people who are not focused or worried about the consequences of their actions. For instance, Harry is so much into taking drugs that he ends up losing his arm (Kendrick 2009). Tyrone is so much obsessed with drug trafficking that he ends up being arrested. Sara with her addiction problems ends up in psychiatric facility. Marion, on the other hand, cannot fully support or afford drugs and end up being a prostitute to get money to meet her drug needs. In the end all characters in the film plunges into a state of misery and hopelessness.
Conclusion
The American youth has come through different life cycles. In the 1980s, the young people were depicted as someone who were eager to try new things without thinking about the consequences. In the 1980s, youths were depicted as young people who were eager to promote certain aspects associated with the celebration and glorification of youthfulness. That is, going shopping in groups and hanging around shopping malls. The working class youth were spendthrifts.
In the 1990s, there was an increase in stereotyping and this time, youths were viewed from the perspective of race. White youths were viewed as people who were stubborn and difficult to control. Black youths, on the other hand, were depicted as people who were trouble makers, associated with violence in urban areas. In addition, in movies blacks were depicted as people who should by all means be eliminated to create a peaceful neighborhood. In the 2000s, things changed. Youths are not highly stereotyped but represented as people who have completely lost direction. They engage in illegal activities such as drug trafficking and addiction problems. In addition, these people are depicted as people who like doing things without thinking of the likely consequences. In short, the American youth has been represented differently in blockbuster films and movies since the 1980s to the present day. The representation ranged from the economic status, the race and finally, the engaging in illegal activities.
References
Driscoll, C 1980, Modernism, Cinema, Adolescence: Another History for Teen Film, Web.
Jamieson, P & Romer, D 2008, The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in The Media Since 1950, Oxford University Press, New York.
Kendrick, J 2009, Hollywood Bloodshed: Violence in 1980s American Cinema, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale.
Shary, T 2014, Generation multiplex: The Image of Youth in American Cinema Since 1980, University of Texas Press, Austin.
Shary, T & Seibel, A 2007, Youth Culture in Global Cinema, University of Texas Press, Austin.
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