Teen Angst Movies

Teen Angst Movies are films that are aimed generically towards teenagers. They have themes associated with growing up and the coming of age. Some classic teen angst films include:

• Clueless
• Mean Girls
• Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging
• Just My Luck

 These films follow certain conventions, such as having females as the main characters, having themes such as growing up and coming of age, and set in a school or home.

Here are some clips from well known teen angst movies

Mean Girls

Clueless

Pitch Perfect

Just My Luck

Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging

A Cinderella Story

Another Cinderella Story

From looking at the generic conventions of teen angst films, I have highlighted four key areas that contain the conventions. These are, character, costume, props and setting. Within each of these categories there are specific things that altogether make up a typical teen angst film.

The main character in a teen angst film is usually a female teenager such as Bella in Pitch Perfect and Cady in Mean Girls. Then there is a good looking love interest, generally a male, white skinned and also young, the same age or slightly older than the main character, for example, Robbie in Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, or Austin in A Cinderella Story. Then there is the evil character, who is generally a female, blonde and if the film is in a school setting, is the queen bee, the most popular girl in the school. Some examples of this are Regina George in Mean Girls, Fiona in A Cinderella Story, and Vivian Kensington in Legally Blonde.

Costume plays a large role in creating the effect of a teen angst movie. They can create a setting such as the characters wearing school uniforms to give the setting of a school, or social groups such as a group of people wearing the same colour scheme to show their unity. The costumes I have used as examples are from a range of films, settings and situations such as parties, work and school uniforms.

Props such can make a scene feel more realistic. In teen angst movies, props that can be relevant to a school such as books and bags are used to show authenticity, but they are not the only props included. Props such as microphones, headphones and drumkits are used to show an underlying musical theme to the film such as in Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Pitch Perfect. Mobile phones, "cool" cars and laptops are also used to show the technological diversion of today's youth, and that people can communicate quickly. Makeup tables and sets are used to show that the youth of today care about their appearance.

Choosing the right setting for a teen angst film is crucial to making it seem as if it is real life. Most commonly, the films are set in a place such as a school, where teenagers can relate to the people and situations that are present. Other locations used include a shopping centre, cafe or school dance.