Hypothesis: A close analysis of the social commentary offered by a variety of films on dystopic youth and the breakdown of the American dream
My focus film is Thirteen (2003) directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
My focus film is Thirteen (2003) directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
My related close study films are American Beauty (1999) directed by Sam Mendes and Kids (1995) directed by Larry Clark.
I chose these films because they each portray, what i believe to be, a more realistic version of American youth. With the release of recent films such as High School Musical it is clear that there is a tendency to paint an idyllic picture of what it means to be a teenager in America. Indeed, this idealic image is created by presenting the lives of wealthy, middle class, attractive adolescence and so it is fair to say that this is unrepresentitive of the whole population. Therefore, what these films represent is the opposite of what would be classed as the American dream, or in the case of "American Beauty" a damning of it, and could even be defined as a dystopia. Ultimately, I hope to see how and if my focus films show the breakdown of the American dream, and not the breakdown of something else, or even something that wasn’t there in the first place.
I chose these films because they each portray, what i believe to be, a more realistic version of American youth. With the release of recent films such as High School Musical it is clear that there is a tendency to paint an idyllic picture of what it means to be a teenager in America. Indeed, this idealic image is created by presenting the lives of wealthy, middle class, attractive adolescence and so it is fair to say that this is unrepresentitive of the whole population. Therefore, what these films represent is the opposite of what would be classed as the American dream, or in the case of "American Beauty" a damning of it, and could even be defined as a dystopia. Ultimately, I hope to see how and if my focus films show the breakdown of the American dream, and not the breakdown of something else, or even something that wasn’t there in the first place.
Tom Wallace, President of Label Networks, a market resaerch company for ages 13-24 says, “American youth culture still leads many markets across the world in terms of sources of fashion, music, technology, action sports, entertainment, and general attitudes and inspiration.” This suggests that images shown in American films highly influences other cultures around the world therefore, deeming it important that American youth is portrayed truthfully so as not to create this ephereal, eutopian, unrealsitic image of America.
John Spurlock on webpage The Blue Monkey Review suggests American youth culture, as portrayed in many films, can be identified through social events such as Prom. The event in which occurs at the end of highschool, where girls wear dresses and boys tuxedo's, and await the results of prom King and Queen. The influence of this particular occurance is evident in Britain today as more schools opt to celebrate end of year with this festivity. Another, earlier example of the American influence is the celebration of halloween, in which people dress up in scary costumes and go out trick or treating.
Through analysing my close study texts, I aim to dispell the alluring nature of an American youth.
Furthermore, it is important to establish the meaning of the “American Dream” to see how and if my focus films show the breakdown of it, and not the breakdown of something else, or even something that wasn’t there in the first place. The phrase was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America in 1931. Truslow Adam’s defined the “American dream” as a “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. …A dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." In other words it can be seen as the attainment of wealth and success through sheer hard work and not based on ascribed status; suggesting the existence of a meritocracy.
This libertarian view of the country is strongly linked with the historical context in which the country is markedly new compared to others. The youthfulness of the country can be seen to represent a fresh start and great opportunity to many people who go to live there; and this could be an explanation as to how the “American Dream” came to be.
This libertarian view of the country is strongly linked with the historical context in which the country is markedly new compared to others. The youthfulness of the country can be seen to represent a fresh start and great opportunity to many people who go to live there; and this could be an explanation as to how the “American Dream” came to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment