06 May, 2011

Summer Film Series - A Summer Of Teen Movies

It’s well-known that I’m a huge fan of movies, and I watch them at any chance I can get.  However, I am an admitted fanatic of a specific genre of movies, and that is the genre of teen movies.  I’d like to explore this love of teen movies by seeing a select number of movies that focus and fixate on teenage life (and often love), and ultimately come to a larger focus of meaning behind these films.  Therefore, this summer I’m going to be reviewing seminal films of the teen movie subgenre, as well as providing analysis for why they have endured as long as they have (and indeed, if they have lasted as long as we think).  I’ll be going in chronological order, so if your favorite film doesn’t come up you might find it later.  Just wait until you see what I’ve got in store for John Hughes…

All in all, there will be 24 movies that are covered through this series, which should make for an interesting (and hectic) summer.  I will be providing these reviews on Monday on Moodicarus beginning when my summer does, on May 16.  Be prepared to track back down memory lane, and feel free to provide reactions and reviews of your own in the comments section. 

I’m starting with 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause.  “You’re tearing me apart!”


Here's the list of films I've planned for this series:

Rebel Without a Cause
The Last Picture Show
American Graffiti
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Sixteen Candles
The Breakfast Club
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Pretty in Pink
Some Kind of Wonderful
Valley Girl
The Last American Virgin
Better Off Dead
Heathers
Say Anything
Dazed and Confused
Angus
Can't Hardly Wait
American Pie
10 Things I Hate About You
Bring It on
Mean Girls
Superbad
Easy A
Adventureland (not technically a teen movie, but I have my reasons for putting this on here) 

3 comments:

KrissyGo! said...

Great list -- I can't wait! Amazingly, I've seen a little over half of these. the two I am especially excited to see on this list are Better Off Dead and Some Kind of Wonderful.

Are you taking requests for one more to make this an even 25? If so, I vote for The Outsiders. Or possibly Never Been Kissed.

Kyle Moody said...

You know, it probably would be better to have an extra one on here for a set of 25. I think I'll consider the Outsiders. Never Been Kissed is quite an odd movie, and I'm not necessarily sure that it fits within what I'm doing here; it also hurts that I've only ever seen it on TV. I think it was weird to see it listed as a new classic on TNT.

Wait, is this where the love for Michael Vartan comes from? You can't fool me, KG.

KrissyGo! said...

Since I have only seen half of these, I can't tell what you've got going here. But the way I think Never Been Kissed fits is because it focuses on high school social stratification AND love through the eyes of an adult. Bottom line: teen angst is so strong, even adults "who know better" can't fight it.

And Vartan is just a coincidence. I swear.

(You also might be delighted to know that the word verification on this comment is "bizness.")