The
Nature of the Teen Movie as a Form of Popular Culture
The teen
movie, or 'teenpic', is a genre which exploits the teenage market
as a mass audience. Variously described as 'whimsical, ephemeral and
pervasive' (Martin 1994, 65), this is not a strict, enclosed genre.
Ideas of what constitutes a popular culture are continually changing.
In this case, the nature of the teen movie genre changes very rapidly
over time and there are crossovers with neighbouring genres, for example,
horror ("Buffy, the Vampire Slayer"), sports ("American
Anthem"), musicals ("Grease") and romance ("Romeo
and Juliet").
James
Fenlon Finley (1957), writing in 'Catholic World', expressed his concern
that the public faced the prospect of the movie-makers 'getting hungry
enough to start indulging the banal, untrained, irresponsible tastes
of the average teenager'. Finley's comments were inspired by the success
the year before of Sam Katzman's film "RockAround the Clock".
Teen
movies typically contain features such as conversations at the school
lockers ("Dazed and Confused"), the prom ("Carrie")
cheerleaders ("Porky's"), the shopping mall ("Mall
Rats") the juvenile delinquent gamg ("Rebel without a Cause")
and the sensitive, alienated teenage hero (Jim, in "Rebel").
Of course,
the main characters of teen movies are often older than teenage (eg.
"Wayne's World"). A better interpretation of 'teen' is 'youth'.
French film critic Robert Benayoun once described the 'normal qualities
of youth as naively, idealism, humour, hatred of tradition, erotomania
(abnormally strong sexual desire), and a sense of injustice' (Martin
1994, 67). This description is very true to the teen movie, because
it points to the two poles of the genre (Martin 1994), that is, at
the one end, the craziness characterised by freeforall fun, sex, drugs
and rock 'n' roll, and at the other end, the equally important innocence,
uncomplicated contact with another human being, and the unformed,
impossible dream of a better world tomorrow (hopeless teenage optimism)
(eg. Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders"). Teen movies
usually contain the magic teen formula, offered by Alan Alda, of 'destruction
of property, defiance of authority and removal of clothes'.
These
two extremes of teenpics are found within the same film. Even a wild
romp like "Porky's" end with a social conscience and a moral
platform, while an uplifting teen drama like "Stand By Me"
is likely to have a scene where a grossly fat boy barfs all over his
parents and teachers.
The stories
of most teenpics are about what theorists call 'the liminal experience'
(Martin 1994, 68), that is that intense, suspended moment between
yesterday and tomorrow, between childhood and adulthood, between being
a nobody and a somebody, when everything is in question, and anything
is possible. Importantly, for a teenager, the liminal experience does
not feel like a passing phase; it is a complete and significant moment.
There, lurking in the background are Pete Townsend's legendary words,
penned in the Sixties, 'hope I die before I get old', suggesting a
frozen teenage time, a time when the teen movie genre 'keeps fa7`ls
in the mad thrall of an eternal, delinquent, vacuous youth' (Martin
1994, 64).
Finally,
it is worth noting the ongoing relationship between teen movies and
mass culture (see 'The Contribution of POpular Culture to Social Change).
Belton (1966) wrote that 'if films and filmmakers produce culture,
they are also produced by it. The movies are inseparable from the
society within whichthey exist; one does not produce the other; rather,
each interacts with the other and they mutually determineone another'.
The
Creation of the Teen Movie As Popular Culture
The teenpic
began around 1956 with the rise of the privileged American teenager.
In that year, Sam Katzman made "Rock Around the Clock".
Its success showed the 'present power and future ascendancy of the
teenage moviegoer' (Doherty 1988,14). This was the first hugely successful
film marketed to teenagers 'to the pointed exclusion of their elders'
(Doherty 1988, 74). After this, the Hollywood movie industry embarked
on a campaign to attract and exploit teenagers, thus giving rise to
a new genre, the teen movie. So, the beginning of this form of popular
culture is due to three factors:
1. The
emergence of teenagers as a social group distinct from adults, who
had disposable income and different consumer desires.
2. The
catalyst of Sarn Katzman's idea for a movie, Rock Around the Clock
to exploit this new social group.
3. The
collective decision of the 'Hollywood machine' to further pursue this
exploitation, ie. to juvenilize movies.
Because
of the controversy over rock 'n' roll music, that is, its reputed
connection to violence and juvenile delinquency, some screenings of
"RockAround the Clock" and another film, "Blackboard
Jungle", featured incidents of disorder. Soon after the release
of "Rock Around the Clock", Variety magazine warned:
'Rock
'n' roll - the most explosive show biz phenomenon of the decade -
may be gettingtoo hot to handle. While its money-making potential
has made it all but irresistible, its Svengali grip on the teenagers
has produced a staggering wave of juvenileviolence and mayhem.'
American
movie theatres were caught between a 'desire for teenage dollars and
dread for teenage violence' (Doherty 1988, 102). This underlined the
emerging division and distinction between teenagers and adults in
society, and, therefore, the justification for the existence of the
teen movie as a marketable item and as a significant aspect of popular
culture.
There
was also a crossover between the teen movie and pop music industries.
Alan Freed, a famous disc jockey and entrepreneur of the Fifties,
began the practice of the 'tie-in'. He publicised teen movies by playing
their songs on his radio show and used rock 'n' roll teenpics as 'warm-ups'
at live concerts. Elvis Presley, who introduced rock 'n' roll to white
youth, had made three teen movies by the end of 1957: "Love Me
Tender", "Loving You", and "Jailhouse Rock".
All three pictures were in the top twenty list, and all featured top-selling
songs. In fact, the movies' titles were also song titles.
The popular
culture of teen movies is transmitted through marketing, promotion
and distribution by the motion picture industry. This includes film
production corporations, such as Warner Bros. and United Artists,
who own and operate studios, distribution corporations like Hoyts
and Greater Union in Australia, who also own and operate movie theatres,
and independent operators, such as the Valhalla in Glebe or the local
suburban cinema. As most teen movies eventually are released on video,
video distribution companies and retail/rental outlets, for example,
Video Ezy, are a part of the transmission process too.
Other
forms of media assist with the transmission, including newspapers
(eg. The Metro section of the Sydney Morning Herald), magazines (film
magazines, like Variety, fanzines, Rolling Stone, Qmag, The Face,
Who), and television (screenings of teen movies, advertising, and
programmes with specific content about movies, like "The Movie
Show" on SBS, or "Recovery" on the ABC).
The transmission
described above illustrates the movement of products and ideas associated
with the teen movie genre on a local and a national scale. The networks
of the major corporations involved are, of course, global in their
extent, and, nowadays, a teen movie release occurs pretty much simultaneously
around the planet. The breadth of distribution of such a movie outside
Australia, America and Europe depends on the degree of westernization
in particular countries and the access of individuals to movie theatres
and television. The existence of satellite TV and corporations like
Rupert Murdoch's Sky Channel certainly facilitate the transmission
of teenpic popular culture. Limiting factors may be the popularity
of the local or national film genre (as in India), or censorship because
of cultural mores and government intervention (as in Indonesia).
One early
example of the way in which the ideas and characters of a teen movie
can be transmitted globally was the popularity of movie star James
Dean outside America after the release of "Rebel without a Cause"
in 1956. 'Of six thousand letters that arrive at Warner Brothers'
Hollywood studios every month addressed to Jimmy Dean, over half come
from abroad. In Sweden, 'Deanagers', dressed in the familiar jeans
and jacket, have the police worried about their suicidal tactics on
motor scooters. In Paris, thirty schoolgirls wrote to the manager
of their local cinema asking him to change the dates of "Rebel"
so that they could see it before they went away on holiday. He agreed.
It was the fifteenth time the girls had seen the film' (Kureishi 1995,
60)
Nowadays
in Australia, Warner Bros Movie World 'offers the experience of Hollywood
on the Gold Coast, an opportunity for Australians to immerse themselves
in the culture of American popular cinema without going to Hollywood'
(Turner 1994, 100). Movie World is both a 'movie magic' theme park
and a real motion picture studio. Australian teen movie "The
Delinquents" was produced there.
Australians'
visions of leisure, fashion, lifestyle and cultural identity has long
been influenced by the diffusion of American ideas from the entertainment
media, including the teenpic. The thirst for American input, together
with the economic buying power and the crossover promotion with other
forms of media, have all contributed to the growth of teen movies
as a popular culture.
Content
analysis of teen movies from the 1950's through to the present reveals
continuity in characteristics (as outlined in The Nature of Teen
Movies, above), but there has been change in the specific detail
of storylines, paralleling the movement from more conservative to
less conservative censorship. An example of this is the increasing
obviousness of erotomania in the action and dialogue of the movie.
Of course, the language used may also reflect this change, as will
the fashions. The teen movie also acts as a vehicle for transmitting
other forms of popular culture, such as fashion, art, music and leisure
pursuits, and these are constantly in update mode.
The
Consumers of Teen Movies As Popular Culture
As stated
earlier, the consumers of teen movies have been clearly identified
as 'youth', including those actually in their teenage years. The movie
industry, through 'demographic targeting and controversial and timely
content' (Doherty 1988, 10), have ensured the continuity of this group
as consumers. In addition, there may be a 'nostalgia factor', where
adults who were, say, teenagers in the 1970's, may become consumers
of a teen movie like "Dazed and Confused", produced in the
1990's but set in 1976, or Sixties teenagers who may be consumers
of the film "Quadrophenia" (1980) because they were mods
or rockers during that era.
The
Interactive Process Between Individuals and Aspects of Teen Movies
As Popular Culture
The content
matter of teenpics may inspire consequent expression of personal ideas
about popular culture, which may become evident through an individual's
fashion sense, choice of magazine, or taste in pop music. The audiences
at a teen movie like "Quadrophenia" were sometimes seen
wearing parkas or 'zoot suits', as mods did. At a recent Australian
screening of the Seventies teenpic, "Big Wednesday", a cult
surf flick about three teenage surfers growing up in California, many
people in the audience wore board shorts, zinc cream, lifesaver's
caps and carried surfboards into the theatre.
Many
people can recall and recount teen movies, their plots, characters
and music, and make a connection with seminal experiences in their
lives, perhaps serious, perhaps humorous. A person who grew up in
the country areas of Australia may relate closely to the characters
and situations depicted in "The Year My Voice Broke", and,
if they went away to boarding school, "Flirting" may be
close to their hearts, while "Puberty Blues" wil1 remind
people of their teenage experiences in suburban beach culture.
For school
experiences, "The Breakfast Club" wil1 bring back memories
of interpersonal relationships with both fellow students and teachers,
while "Dazed and Confused" will recall the emotions associated
with leaving school and contemplating the future.
Individuals'
secondary socialisation continues through the medium of the teen movie.
From characters and situations in a movie, a person learns, and may
be influenced by, knowledge of:
- Behaviour
(how does a teenager 'push the boundaries' of what's acceptable
in the context of adult-determined norms?)
- Attitudes
and values (what do teenagers think about other people, groups and
issues; what is important in their lives?)
- Gender
roles (how does a person express masculinity, femininity, sexuality?)
Consider
these ideas in relation to a teen movie you have seen recently. What
socialisation influences can you note?
As detailed
earlier, hero figures as icons may also be an influence on the audience.
(Consider what was written about James Dean in The Creation of
Popular Culture section.) Who else would qualify to fit this description?
Luke Perry, perhaps?
Teenpics
may also inspire fads, like singing 'Bohemian Rhapsody' all the time
("Wayne's World"), or wearing 'Beetle boots' and long-fringed
hairstyles ("A Hard Day's Night"). Marketing paraphernalia
has been a part of the teen movie industry, too, especially with regards
to associated pop music and artists.
To what
extent can individuals influence teen movies as a popular culture?
The answer to this question comes from an understanding that it is
impossible to separate films and filmmakers from the society within
which they exist. Teen movies and aspects of culture interact and
mutually determine one another. (Belton 1996) So, while adolescents
may be influenced by what they see in teenpics, in turn, a film maker's
ideas may be inspired by the behaviour of the adolescents in his or
her experience.
Control
of Teen Movies As Popular Culture By Groups, Institutions and Organisations
Like
its kindred spirit, rock 'n' roll, the teen movie is subject to some
degree of control by groups, institutions and organisations. In 1956,
a U.S. Senate Subcommittee, reporting on 'motion pictures and juvenile
delinquency', made special mention of "Blackboard Jungle":
'The Committee feels there are valid reasons for concluding that the
film will be a threat to the development of healthy young personalities'
(Doherty 1988, 118). Censorship, then, by government (an institution)
will have an influence on the specific nature of a teen movie's content.
The filmmaker
will stay within broadly 'acceptable' bounds, otherwise the teenpic
will not be approved for release by studios and distributors. In addition,
language, sexual references and violence will determine the government
censor's classification (PG, M, MA, R) and therefore who can have
access to the movie. Parents (the family - a group) may have control
over whether or not their teenage children are allowed to watch particular
movies, applying their own censorship values. An individual's peers
(a group) may also have a controlling influence over which teenpics
are 'cool' to see and which are not. Factors affecting this decision
might include the relative conservatism of the group (not wanting
to watch a movie containing sex scenes), the prevailing interests
of the group (nobody is interested in surfing, so will not go to see
a surf teenpic), ethnicity (teenpics produced in country of ancestry
may be of greater interest), or gender and sexuality (teenpic storylines
may appeal to a specific gender or sexual preference).
Motion
picture production corporations (organisations), as editors of ideas,
scripts and visuals, have control over what the teen movie audience
has access to watch.Censorship by groups and organisations can usually
be described as unofficial, while censorship by institutions is official.
Different
Perceptions of Teen Movies As Popular Culture
The characteristics
of the teen movie genre described earlier help answer the question:
'who accepts this form of popular culture?'. Plainly, the mass youth
audience targeted by producers of teenpics are accepting of the products
released for their consumption. Box office success, in terms of tickets
sold and revenue returned, is evidence of this. A 1968 survey by Daniel
Yankelovich (Doherty 1988, 231 ) revealed that 48% of box office admissions
were made up of the 16-24 age group, and that 54% of this group were
'frequent moviegoers'. Which teen movies will be accepted by which
sections of the youth market will depend on the appeal of the storylines
to various subcultures. Some will be of such general appeal that almost
everyone will accept them. Comparisons can be made with the various
categories of popular music and their consumer acceptance, ie. a new
techno dance CD will be accepted by a narrower group than a new mainstream
pop CD.
As detailed
earlier in this paper, rejection of teen movies mostly comes from
the older generation, or authority groups, who disapprove of the subject
matter and its consequent messages to young people regarding sex,
drugs, general behaviour and attitude to authority. This rejection
may be evidenced by censorship, refusing permission for children to
attend, and, sometimes, protest, if an interest group such as the
'Call To Australia' Party feels sufficiently offended. Culture shock
may be experienced by older people when they watch a teen movie, not
only because of the nature of the story and behaviour of the characters,
but also because of the slang, activities, music and ideas which exclude
parents and others from understanding.
The
Contribution of Teen Movies to Social Change
The aspects
of adolescent western culture which are conveyed through the medium
of the teen movie have contributed to the emergence and continuity
of teenagers as a distinct subculture within the surrounding society
(a sign)ficant piece of social change in itself). Prior to the 1950's,
children simply transmorphed into adults, not displaying characteristics
much different to their parents. Within the context of this relatively
recently established social group, teen movies are constantly updating
or introducing new ideas concerning attitudes, values, fashions, music
and behaviour. The adolescent culture of James Dean's era, depicted
in "Rebel Without a Cause", has similarities to the adolescent
culture of today (the rebelliousness, for example), but describes
a different world to the one illustrated in "Clueless",
or "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer".
On a
broader scale, teenpics may raise consciousness about social issues
like gender roles (Buffy) peer pressure (Black Rock) or drug abuse
(Puberty Blues).
The possibilities
for contribution to social change in the future have been broadened
by the development of the internet. Appendices to this paper show
some of the information available to teen movie fans via web sites
and home pages on the net. This includes reviews, fan club details,
chat lines and marketing of paraphernalia. The consumers of today
are able to form quite a different relationship with the producers,
marketers and distributors of teenpics than was available to the consumers
of earlier eras. Teen movies are a part of the social change associated
with communication technology.
Teen
movies, like rock 'n' roll, 'fulfil the key criteria for popular culture'.
(Howitt 1996) The genre is part of a constantly changing process.
Various movies mean different things to different people. The movies
of a particular era have served to unify the teenage subculture, then
the genre has moved on to charm and unite the next generation, retaining
its basic characteristics, but incorporating new aspects of popular
culture.
Bibliography
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J. 1996. Movies and Mass Culture. The Athlone Press, London.Doherty
T. 1988.
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Finley
J. 1957. TV For Me. If Teens Rule Screens, in Catholic Weekly,Vol.
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HowittB.
1996. Popular Culture. in Culture Scope, Vol. 55. Society and
Culture Association, Sydney.
Martin
A. 1994. Phantasms: The dreams and Desires at the Heart of Our
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Kureishi
H 1995. The Faber Book of Pop. Faber and Faber, London.
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G. 1994. Making It National: Nationalism and Australian Popular
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