1. Adam Picton
Catalogue
Films:
Grease (1978) - One of the most popular films in modern day pop culture, constantly being
referenced. A teen drama classic that was somewhat self aware of it’s reliance on social
norms, appearances and groups. Released in the 70’s where my report begins its 3-decade
spanning investigation.
The Breakfast Club (1985) - From popular teen drama director and angst enthusiast John
Hughes, The Breakfast Club was revolutionary in the teen drama genre by being a self
aware, almost parody-like, movie on the issues surrounding social stereotypes in high school
among teenagers.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) - To conclude the saga of teen drama’s I’ve assembled
for key studies is a film from the late 90’s that has many comparisons to Grease, especially
in it’s main characters. It also challenges the stereotypes of teenage drama with two ‘bad-
apple’ characters.
Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) - Another ‘80s cult classic but this time belonging to the
horror genre. Since classic slasher flicks are often ridiculed for their unoriginal character
writing, basing them nearly entirely off of stereotypes and overused cliches, such as the jock.
Used mostly for reference towards how the tropes are used in other genre’s.
Mean Girls (2004) - A much more modern classic teen drama which is similar to some of
John Hughes works in that it’s painfully aware of it’s own usage of stereotypes. Used in
comparison to many of Molly Ringwald’s characters.
Superbad (2007) - An honourable mention to the classic plot of ‘social loser tries to get the
girl’. Mentioned in passing and not given much focus however may be used comparatively to
Grease and how the focus is now flipped from bad boy to socially inept loser.
Journals:
‘Journal of Children and Media: Yes, Another Teen Movie: Three decades of physical
violence in films aimed at adolescents’ by Sarah M Coyne (2010). This article discusses the
evolving representations of violence in films with a primarily teenage demographic and
considering one of the social stereotypes that belong to teenagers is the delinquent, this can
be used for references to contextual analysis.
‘The Screen Image of Youth: Movies About Children and Adolescents.’ Goldstein, R. and E.
Zornow (1980). It’s useful to go back and see how the 80’s viewed movies about teenagers
as well, to see how aware they were of their own social norms and how they viewed the
movies who parodied them.
‘Angry Young Woman: The Emergence of the “Tough Girl” in American Teen Films’ Shary,
T. (2000). All of these movies challenge the stereotypes of teenage females one way or
another, and the tough girl stereotype is especially prominent in ‘10 Things I Hate About
You’.
2. Adam Picton
‘Journal of Film and Video: Riot in Girls Town: Remaking, Revising and Redressing the
Teenpic’. - Excellent reference to the female image of film and it’s various adaptations over
time.
Books:
‘You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a
Generation’ Susannah Gora - A book reflecting many of John Hughes works and how they
affected the generation of that time’s perception of themselves and teen angst. It’s also
useful to include as many forms of media as possible.
‘Brat Pack America: A Love Letter to ‘80s Teen Movies’ Kevin Smockler (Oct 2016) - An in
depth look at many influential ‘80s teen movies and how they changed the world of cinema
forever and have held up over time.
‘Life Moves Pretty Fast: The lessons we learned from eighties movies (and why we don't
learn them from movies any more)’ Hadley Freeman (June 2016) - A broader and more well
rounded examination of the world of ‘80s cinema, including analysis of several genres and
their relationship with the teen drama genre.
T.V:
13 Reasons Why (2017) - A modern hit that started as a book. Used primarily for
comparisons to modern day stereotypes and how the show plays with them, e.g the kind-
hearted jock, the guilty bully or the gay greaser.
Image:
3. Adam Picton
The 5 main characters of the breakfast club, carefully placed and costumed to portray the
stereotypes they’re meant to represent, for example the basket case sitting in the shadows,
separating herself from everyone by sitting. Easy to analyse and pick apart to convey the 5
main stereotypes among teen dramas.
Unused material:
Pretty in Pink (1986) - Another John Hughes film that I would have used if not for The
Breakfast Club which is more appropriate to this paper. Also stars Molly Ringwald. Also
released in the ‘80s. Also one of the most well regarded teen dramas of that generation.
Power Rangers (2017) - I decided to broaden my search by seeing if teen stereotypes were
just as prominent in other genres as well, such as the super hero stereotype. I found that the
5 main characters are all extremely in tune with the 5 main characters of The Breakfast Club.
Misfits (2009) - Another addition from the superhero/teen drama spliced genre. Decided not
to use due to the primary focus being much more on the super powers rather than the teens
themselves and most of the episodes are self contained stories.
4. Adam Picton
‘Stereotype threat, social class, gender, and academic under-achievement: when our
reputation catches up to us and takes over’ Jean-Claude Croizet (September 2001) - I
misunderstood what the title meant as it was a study concerning the economic effects of
stereotypes rather than the social effects.
