Puberty Blues Stereotypes

John Hughes’s film The Breakfast Club (1985) resonates with certain modern-day stereotypes of high school students. The film also reflects on how much damage that social status and labels have on people, especially during adolescence. Hughes’s film breaks down the emotional barriers between ordinary high school students of different backgrounds through typecasting. As the actors take on the general roles of students that can be found in most high schools, the narrative of the story begins to drastically change as the characters are revealing their backgrounds with each other. As a result of using this technique, the film reveals the external and internal struggles that most adolescent children deal with in their lives. The acting portrays the external struggle – maintaining a certain image in front of others – that the characters face as the roles of each person is revealed from the dialogue and facial expressions in particular. Sound reinforces

Television help to develop many cultural norms that societies experience in everyday life. In the 1970’s viewers are introduced to a revolutionary change that became popularized and broadcast in most American homes. That type of television discusses civil issues that focus on topics that influence media dissimilarities such as racism, poverty, sexuality to sexism. These particular television shows pave the way for any show that one can view today that exudes diversity. Family Situational Comedies introduce an interesting, unique and unbiased point of view that presented the lives of different families you could actual find in America who weren’t perfect and face real struggles. The families in these popular shows were a plethora working class

Subcultures form due to our deep rooted preference for likeminded individuals and ideas. We hold anxieties about how people are different and we worry about our own status within society (Andrew Campa 2015 YouTube). Schouten and Alexander (1995) describe that “a subculture of consumption is a distinctive subgroup of society that self-selects on the basis of a shared commitment to a particular products class, brand or consumption activity” (43). It is through this continued communal consumption that an individual finds social validation for their beliefs, value and way of life. Popular culture has magnified high school subcultural identities. For example, Tina Fey’s Mean Girls (2004) is a critical representation of one of the most popular and long-standing subculture’s in mainstream society: the high school popular female social clique. The basis and inspiration for this movie was from Rosalind Wiseman’s self-help book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, which focuses on how high school girls form cliques that are permeated with aggressive behaviour. Mean Girls (2004) aptly portrays the complex hierarchal social dynamic of a subculture. The overall aim is to critically analyse Cady Heron’s socialization from

Television situational comedies have the ability to represent different values or concerns of their audience, these values often change every decade or so to reflect and highlight the changes that the audience is experiencing within society, at the time of production. Between the years of 1950 and 2010, the representation of gender roles and family structure has been addressed and featured in various sitcoms, such as “Father Knows Best” and “Modern Family”, through the use of narrative conventions, symbolic, audio and technical codes. These representations have transformed over time to reflect the changes in social, political, and historical contexts.

Jocks have made their way into our hearts in television and media all over the world. Stereotype of jocks are clear and is further displayed in the book “skud” and in the movie “The Breakfast Club”. The book “skud” by “Dennis Foon” is about four boys who attend the same high school all face problems relating to their understanding of what it means to be masculine. Tommy, a model student, is headed for the militar; Brad is looking at a hockey career; Andy, who has just secured an agent, may or may not break into the movie. These three have shared a common friendship that is challenged when Andy turns to a new kid, “ Shane” to teach him how to be a punk for an acting audition. The film “ The Breakfast club” by John Hughes is about five students from stereotype endure a saturday detention under a power- hungry principal. This group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, Brainy Brain, and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell their story, making the others see them a little differently. These characters are very similar, in terms of their family pressures, personality, and their relationships with other

"Sonny's Blues" is kind of a tough story to read for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that it focuses so much on human suffering. Here is an example of James Baldwin’s illustration of these boys suffering “These boys, now, were living as we'd been living then, they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities”(Kelley, 2015). This is something we can all relate to on some level. When Sonny is in high school he turns to drugs because he feels trapped in Harlem, trapped in school, and trapped by what he's supposed to do versus what he wants to do. He's trying to find his way in the world, not quite an adult but definitely not a kid anymore. This is a position are found

Pleasantville, a 1998 film depicting a teenagers 50’s lifestyle, contains a lot of sociological concepts. The 50’s society becomes corrupted when modern norms and actions are introduced. Values, sources of change, norms, and agents of socialization were used unintentionally by the 1998 society to influence the 50’s teens.

The film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, follows the story of Charlie as he braves through the challenges of freshman year. Throughout his first year, Charlies experiences friendship, alienation, love, mistakes, depression, acceptance of past events and newfound motivation. With the help of his love interest Sam, her stepbrother Patrick, and other likeminded individuals, Charlie is able to gain a sense of belonging and a boost of confidence that ensures his survival for the high school years yet to come (Halfon, Chbosky, 2012). This essay will delve into an in-depth analysis of adolescence from a socio-cultural perspective, using events from the film to provide examples and further enhance arguments. Furthermore, topics highlighting what I believe to be the most crucial aspects of adolescence will be discussed. The analysis of hegemonic masculinity, age induced frustration and restrictions, and the discourse of innocence will be defined and elaborated on. Finally, a comparison between the socio-cultural and developmental lenses of youth analysis, the unique view they each offer and my personal experience using the socio-cultural lens, will be discussed.

The rivalry between the Socs and the Greasers seem to increase as days go by. Could this end in more violence and bloodshed?

Many people in the United States and other industrialized countries are living longer. The life expectancy at birth now is 81 years old. Although this is an important achievement, it is important for social workers to understand the affects that increase longevity have on the individual, family life and social work practice. (https://www.nia.nih.gov). There are many negative stereotypes associated with older adulthood. These negative stereotypes arise from the assumption that late adulthood is considered to be the closing period of life span. Some of the commonly held beliefs about late adulthood include the belief that older adults are less active, do not have goals, are retired and are unable to learn new things. Social workers

Sonny’s Blues is the story of the upbringing of a African American child during a time that he was not welcomed, at a place, the Harlem ghetto, where its easier to remain a street smart child. Being, black during this time period I believe that everyone has an untold story. I would argue that in Sonny Blues by James Baldwin poverty, drugs, and living conditions eventually result with doing time in prison . We sympathized with Sonny, being a drug addict, rather than with his brother, the narrator. “Sonny Blues” presents a complex picture of drug use as a means coping with sorrow and fear. We as human beings react to the things that get thrown at us

Through many generations of teenagers they have all replicated the importance to our younger generation about how the choices and steps that now will shape us and who we are going to be in the future. “The Dark Horse” directed by James Napier Robertson, shows us the example of how we should always choose by what we think is right for us and not what other people want us to choose through peer pressure. “The Outsiders” by Graeme Lay replicates to us how when making choices we need to consider the effects on not just us, but to the ones that are around us, and to not be so selfish. It also talks about the main character ‘Karl Sikowsky” and how he had left his “lover” Justine due to his obsession to surfing and he does not want to live a reality

In Michael Lehmann’s facetious Heathers, various characters display their perspectives on the complications and difficulties of navigating the dynamics of adolescence. The teenage years are known throughout American culture to be some of the most trying times in one’s life. The pressures of fitting in, being popular, and feeling loved can become so important to teens, often close to obsessions. JD is someone who sees the falsehood behind these needs and looks down on those who epitomize them. While shown in an exaggerated form, JD’s animosity towards those in the popular clique reveals itself to the extreme. Although JD attempts to detach himself from the pressures of teenage society, they eventually get the best of him resulting in a harmful devaluation of his self worth to the

A cultural artefact that portrays the distinct characteristics of the Australian Legend is the television serious, Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War. This popular television series was broadcasted in 2012 and enjoyed by people throughout Australia and England as it represented Australian talent in cricket. This series was also viewed in England as well as all over the world to show and represent Australia’s talents in the game of cricket. In Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War, directed by Daina Reid, a man named Kerry Packer declared war on the cricket establishment by secretly forming a rebel competition with the world’s best players in 1976. Throughout Packer’s attempts at forming a team and proving the public wrong, characteristics of the Australian Legend

The media has long played a role in influencing how people construct and perceive the world. Media has influenced how people construct their thoughts, most often their perception towards someone. Youth in particular, have been presented in a variety of ways in the media. Although teenagers are portrayed differently as an individual, based upon characteristics and personality, the media is constructed to sell certain ideologies of youth or the youth culture in general to the audiences and then to the society. The media promotes both, diversity and conformity when representing the youth culture in the media but in my opinion, conformity reigns superiority.