Teens of the times

An analysis of teens in movies from the past to now

Sirinity Hubbard • Reporter

Movies about high school have been a thing for a while. As each decade passes, reinvisioned versions of teenagers pop up to reflect the current generation. Some changes are vast while others are subtle, but a lot can change through the years. Here are two movies that were released four decades apart and their expression of teenagers.

1980s Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles tells the tale of newly 16-year-old Samantha Baker. Waking up, expecting a fresh new start and an amazing sixteenth birthday, Samantha comes to the brutal realization that her family forgot about her birthday. Aside from her birthday conundrum, Samantha is having trouble confronting her crush, Jake Ryan.

This movie came out in 1984, an extremely different time from now. Samantha is shown in the movie as a self-conscious, shy girl who lacked confidence in her existence. Positive messages aren’t really obvious in this film and more red flags pop up than green.

The token geek radiated self confidence, but his actions of perverted behavior did not compliment it well. If anything, two main concepts were obvious in the film: racism and lack of consent. Every time foreign exchange student, Long Duk Dong, appeared on screen, a gong sound would play. There’s also an occurrence of date rape in the film.

During this time, teens didn’t seem to get many positive influences when it came to confidence.

2020s Prom Pact

The movie Prom Pact tells the story of Mandy Yang, a high school senior who had the lifelong dream of attending Harvard. After being put on the waitlist, Mandy believes she is out of options and that her dream of Harvard will never come true until she comes up with the idea to tutor the son of a Harvard alumnus in hopes of receiving a letter of recommendation from his father.

Released in 2023, it takes a whole new spin on teenagers while still maintaining elements from the past. Compared to Sixteen Candles, a new light is shined on the concept of teens in movies. Mandy is depicted as a confident, self assured girl who is ready to take on the world. She is a passionate activist of many things and has hopes to change the world.

Concepts of acceptance and respect for others are already coded into the world of this film, and it feels regular. On top of that, people ask for consent before pursuing anything. Teens in this movie are written with confidence and respect the differences of others.

Times are always changing and along with that comes documentation of such changes. After looking at these two movies, a change in the times can now be seen and possibly appreciated. The way filmmakers see teens have come a long way, and more changes are to come.