Thesis (M.A.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-93).

This study has three objectives: 1) to explore the social background of current youth films, 2) to identify the characteristics of youth films, and 3) to indicate the relationships between the five-attribute concept of diffusion of innovation (DOI) and promotion strategies for youth films. A total of 20 individuals, including seven film scholars, eight film promotion practitioners and five filmmakers were interviewed. This paper concludes that eleven characteristics are prominent in youth films. Specifically, these characteristics are IP film, fan film, consistency, emotional resonance, nostalgia, campus life, youthfulness, networkedness, new media, topicality and timeliness. These characteristics were categorized into the five attributes of DOI theory. Eight promotion strategies corresponding to five attributes of DOI theory were summarized from interviews with film industry practitioners. This study found that the attributes of relative advantages and compatibility are enhanced with strategies such as promotion materials, trailers and clips and topic setting and theme songs, whereas complexity, trialability and observability are often influenced by campus preview, new media promotion, O2O ticketing applications, collaborative marketing and word-of-mouth management. Furthermore, emotional resonance is perceived to be essential in both youth films and the corresponding promotion.

This thesis examines the differences between teen romantic comedy films marketed to Generation X teenagers in the 1980s and Generation Y teenagers in the 1990s, focusing on the presentation of gender roles, consumptive behavior, and family. The 1980s films are discussed within the social context of the Reagan era and the conservatism of the New Right. The 1990s films are examined as continuing a conservative sensibility, but they additionally posit consumption as instrumental to achieving an idealized romance. Romantic comedy is traditionally a conservative genre, but these films illustrate female liberation through consumption. The source of difference between the cycles of teen romantic comedy is attributed to the media's attempt to position Generation Y teenagers as ideal consumers.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Communications, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-94).

Teen films generally highlight typical high school stereotypes, with jocks being one of the most prevalent characters. Through a content analysis, this study seeks to determine the portrayal of male athletes in comparison with their fellow teenage characters in the top-grossing teen films from the 1980s through the 2000s to help understand the role of films in reinforcing stereotypes. The study found that male athletes are significantly more likely to be portrayed as more physically or verbally aggressive, unintelligent and popular than their peer counterparts. They were not depicted to be any more sexually active, illegal substances users, or physically attractive than their male peers.

This thesis examines representations of youth in the American “teen film”. As a critical category, the teen film is still developing, but it has been defined by a number of critics as being—ostensibly—about and for youth.¹ This thesis engages with teen film literature to test the meaning of these terms. As a genre that is precariously positioned between parent culture and youth audiences, teen film’s narratives are always negotiated and the degree to which it is about and for youth is debatable. I argue that rather than being about and for youth in simple terms, the teen film deploys narratives about a certain idea of youth that is distinctly American and historically contingent; in other words, while certainly consumed by youth and depicting narratives that feature youthful characters and themes, the teen film genre contributes to discourses that are about and for the idea of America. My argument contributes to the critical literature on teen film by exploring the ways the teen film functions as a representation of American ideology. It outlines how, in America, the category of “youth” has historically functioned as an important site of ideological inscription in which to construct an idealised future. In the early 20th century (via the discourse of adolescence), youth was specifically idealised as a frontier space, a site in which to symbolically reconcile troubling anxieties and contradictions left unresolved at the closure of the American frontier. Up to the end of World War II, Hollywood cinema functioned similarly, as a site in which the troubling contradiction between the national ideals of individualism and community might be mobilised and contained, via the “reconciliatory” narrative.² The teen film emerged in the period immediately after World War II, when Hollywood’s efforts to resolve the tensions inherent in frontier mythology were foundering. The teen film might have represented a convergence of the potential reconciliatory powers of cinema and youth, but rather than assisting in the resolution of American ideological crises, the teen film problematised them. Screening youth as an inherently rebellious space, a “frontier” space, facilitated the breakdown of the reconciliatory pattern. In the teen films of the 1950s, the conflict between the ideals of individualism and community proved irreconcilable. Subsequent teen film cycles stage and re-stage the conflict between individual and community, offering repeated takes on what those fundamentally “American” ideals mean in each generation. This thesis traces developments in the representation of the conflict between individual and community through four of the teen film’s dominant cycles—delinquency films from the 1950s, slasher films and animal comedies from the 1970s-to-mid-1980s, and makeover films from the late-1990s-to-early-2000s. Proceeding from the initial deliberation over the terms about and for youth, I include discussions of films like Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Porky’s (1982) while excluding films like River’s Edge (1986) and Kids (1995), which certainly represent youth, but are typically not viewed by them. ¹ This definition is supported by the work of Catherine Driscoll and Stephen Tropiano. ² This thesis works from Robert B. Ray’s discussion of the “reconciliatory” narrative. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2009

This thesis examines representations of youth in the American “teen film”. As a critical category, the teen film is still developing, but it has been defined by a number of critics as being—ostensibly—about and for youth.¹ This thesis engages with teen film literature to test the meaning of these terms. As a genre that is precariously positioned between parent culture and youth audiences, teen film’s narratives are always negotiated and the degree to which it is about and for youth is debatable. I argue that rather than being about and for youth in simple terms, the teen film deploys narratives about a certain idea of youth that is distinctly American and historically contingent; in other words, while certainly consumed by youth and depicting narratives that feature youthful characters and themes, the teen film genre contributes to discourses that are about and for the idea of America. My argument contributes to the critical literature on teen film by exploring the ways the teen film functions as a representation of American ideology. It outlines how, in America, the category of “youth” has historically functioned as an important site of ideological inscription in which to construct an idealised future. In the early 20th century (via the discourse of adolescence), youth was specifically idealised as a frontier space, a site in which to symbolically reconcile troubling anxieties and contradictions left unresolved at the closure of the American frontier. Up to the end of World War II, Hollywood cinema functioned similarly, as a site in which the troubling contradiction between the national ideals of individualism and community might be mobilised and contained, via the “reconciliatory” narrative.² The teen film emerged in the period immediately after World War II, when Hollywood’s efforts to resolve the tensions inherent in frontier mythology were foundering. The teen film might have represented a convergence of the potential reconciliatory powers of cinema and youth, but rather than assisting in the resolution of American ideological crises, the teen film problematised them. Screening youth as an inherently rebellious space, a “frontier” space, facilitated the breakdown of the reconciliatory pattern. In the teen films of the 1950s, the conflict between the ideals of individualism and community proved irreconcilable. Subsequent teen film cycles stage and re-stage the conflict between individual and community, offering repeated takes on what those fundamentally “American” ideals mean in each generation. This thesis traces developments in the representation of the conflict between individual and community through four of the teen film’s dominant cycles—delinquency films from the 1950s, slasher films and animal comedies from the 1970s-to-mid-1980s, and makeover films from the late-1990s-to-early-2000s. Proceeding from the initial deliberation over the terms about and for youth, I include discussions of films like Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Porky’s (1982) while excluding films like River’s Edge (1986) and Kids (1995), which certainly represent youth, but are typically not viewed by them. ¹ This definition is supported by the work of Catherine Driscoll and Stephen Tropiano. ² This thesis works from Robert B. Ray’s discussion of the “reconciliatory” narrative. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2009

American adolescents watch an average of 3.5 hours of television and movies everyday; many attend more than one movie a month. Adolescents as a group watch more movies than any other group of the population, yet little research has been done on what is shown in teen movies. Adolescence is a time when values, beliefs, and opinions are formed and the media has been found to be a place that adolescents find information that can influence the construction of these identities. While there has been a vast amount of research looking at the family as portrayed on television shows, there has been little research done on film families. More specifically, there has not been an examination of the family as seen in movies targeted towards the teen audience. Through the use of a content analysis, this thesis reviews three decades of families as depicted in teen films, focusing specifically on five areas: family structure, ethnicity, occupation and children, socio-economic status, and parental depictions. This thesis includes a sample of the 90 top-grossing teen movies made during the 1980s, 1990s, and the 2000s (2000-2007) and includes a total of 139 different families. Results indicate that the typical family as depicted in a teen movie, is a middle-class, Caucasian, dual or single-parent family with one or two children; dad is a working professional and mom stays at home. The parents are adequate in their parenting skills and are authoritative in their parenting style. The results of this thesis are compared to findings of past studies regarding television families and against U.S. census data. The implications of the results of this thesis are discussed through the lens of cultivation theory.

Teen films from the 1980s are a part of the zeitgeist, but there is very little we actually understand about how they can be qualified and defined, and about the phenomenon of their prolific production, box office success, and cultural relevance. Gaining greater insights about these issues is essential for recognizing the significance of a specific group of films and the ways they address concerns of how teens come of age, but is also important for learning about the films’ historical and industrial contexts of production. Asking the questions why these kinds of films, why at this time, and what do they mean, leads to an awareness and identification of the phenomenon, but additionally, these lines of inquiry explore how the films and their success are tied to changing Hollywood industrial conditions, and to the shifting political, economic, social, and cultural climate of the U.S. in the 1980s. While previous scholars have studied the industrial context of production of teen films in the 1950s, and some have looked at the different types of films produced in the 1980s, the matter remains as to whether teen films actually constitute their own genre. Examining this question of genre is necessary for clarifying a number of issues: how the films relate to the culture at large; how representations of youth on screen can help us understand and reevaluate Generation X, the demographic group coming of age at the time; and how an assessment of these films contributes to a re-conceptualization of the ways films are produced, marketed, and categorized in the New Hollywood. Using primary data consisting of textual analysis and contextual analysis, and applying both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the study builds on and adds to previous approaches to genre. The contributions of this research are multifaceted. By gaining insights about these films, we can begin to appreciate more fully a maligned generation, the changing landscape of the entertainment industry, and a cultural phenomenon. / text