By Revathi
Sunil (Team Creative)
Our popular culture has celebrated
being ‘young’, more than being‘human’ for as long as I remember. The obsession
with the idea of youth is also reflected in our popular movies, among other
things. The fact that Shah Rukh Khan at 51 can transform into a man in his
20's, romancing Anushka Sharma (who is at least 22 years younger than him) on
screen is truly unbelievable. His eternal youthfulness must be truly driving
his fans ecstatic.
However, Shah Rukh is not alone in
this boat, as most of the movies we come across both in Hollywood and Bollywood
are either centered around the lives of young people or it celebrates certain
notions of being young. As being young also indicates the fact that you’re
still in a formative period of becoming an adult, a large number of these
movies deal with students’ lives.
Many of us have religiously watched
movies like the High School Musical series, John Tucker Must Die,
Mean Girls, etc. Although these movies transport us to lands of
fascination and madness, they are also well known for their classification of
students into neat little groups of:
1) Popular girls(Usually Cheerleaders)
These girls, generally considered
cool, are skinny, pretty and arrogant. The plastics in Mean Girls are a
perfect example of this.
2) Jocks
They are generally very
conventionally handsome and good looking. They treat the ‘nerds’ like dirt and
are desired by all the girls. No example other than John Tucker fits this category
with accuracy and perfection.
3) Nerds
They
are very intelligent and are extremely ‘socially awkward’. They are,more often
than not, made to wear box glasses. They are shown being neglected or bullied
by the ‘cool’ kids.
However, they are portrayed in a
negative light.
4) Emos or Goths
These are the most marginalised
characters in teen movies. They are often portrayed as melancholic and scary.
They wear dark clothes and wear thick linerand wear their hair straight and
over their eyes.
However, there are several movies
that do not adhere to these stereotypes. Johnny Depp, for instance, redefines
the role of ‘emo’s and brings the group from the sidelines to the centre of
attention, creating a cult of his own.Apart from these there are also moviesthat
have sort of actively opposed these ideas of teens and students, by portraying
the youth in different light altogether.Juno is one such movie that portrays
the turmoil of a 16 year old girl who gets pregnant while she is still in
school. This movie portrays her life and the difficult decisions that she has
to make as a consequence of an early pregnancy.
Going beyond these superficial
boundaries, some movies have portrayed students as tools for social change. Dead
Poets Society and Rang De Basanti are two such movies that come to mind
in this regard. The fact that the simple act of writing poetry and sharing
experiences could change lives in such drastic measures, instils hope in young
people's mind.However, I believe there aren't enough movies telling such tales.
And it is important that we do tell such tales because ultimately, the youth
are the torch bearers of the future and a little hope and light will surely
inspire to conspire against the darkness that seems to be lurking around in the
world!
Click on the link below to find out which kind of filmy student you are:
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