Day: February 1, 2019

Posted in All Posts, Research

“I Don’t Fit In…”

Posted on by rebeccaawolff
from Juno

I decided to do some research on the conventions that go along with coming-of-age films. Coming-of-age films focus on a young protagonist who grows up throughout the course of the plot. They either blossom into full adulthood or learn a valuable life lesson that shows maturity for their age. In order for these films to successfully get their message across, they need to be realistic and relatable. The characters should be real people that the audience can see themselves as. The problems they face have to be practical and not outlandish. The plot can’t be too complicated, otherwise it becomes too obvious that it is a movie and not real life. In other words, the audience really has to buy what the filmmakers are selling. Another thing I discovered about coming-of-age films is that they are often combined with comedy (ex. Juno, Clueless, etc.). This is good news for me since this is what I have chosen to do for my final.

Genre Conventions

A few of the common themes that can be found in coming-of-age films are:

from Mean Girls
  • the tensions of teen and young adult life
  • the struggles of growing up
  • peer pressure
  • teen parties
  • money struggles
  • rebellion
  • friendship
  • romantic relationships
  • family problems

I think I will be able to use at least one of these themes, most likely the first one. I won’t be able to go in-depth on these topics, but I will be able to scratch the surface.

from Riverdale
  • Common character types include:
    • A young protagonist who is maturing throughout the course of the film. They are typically quirky and don’t “fit in”.
    • A parent/mentor figure who guides the protagonist through the journey. They often use “tough-love” on the protagonist. Parent characters often take on good cop/bad cop roles.
    • The protagonist’s best friend. They go through the journey with the protagonist and often help them along the way.
    • The protagonist’s romantic partner. A lot of coming-of-age films showcase first love, and the protagonist’s first crush is often a very important character in their development.

Common settings in coming-of-age films are small towns and school events, such as football games, pep rallies, and dances. There are also a lot of scenes that take place in cars while the characters are driving.

from Lady Bird

Coming-of-age movies follow a lot of the same story formulas. One of these involves the turmulous relationship between the protagonist and their parents. These will often start out with the protagonist seeing their parent as the enemy. The climax is typically a huge fight between the teen and their parent and the end is when they understand their parent’s actions and possibly reconcile. Another avenue available to coming-of-age filmmakers is the exploration of first love. This story formula follows a protagonist’s first crush/real romantic relationship. Discovery of sexuality is a huge part of this story formula. There is always an epiphany moment in which the protagonist realizes something about themselves or the world around them. Lady Bird(2017) does a great job of combining all of these elements.

I plan to go more in-depth on presentation aspects of coming-of-age films when I start analyzing title sequences. One thing I did find, however, is that lots of coming-of-age films feature rock and roll music scores.

Sources