Context

American culture has been known for its drastic evolution in cultures, ideas, and social norms, in which the film industry has progressed alongside our culture to cater to newfound developments and ideologies. Dramas, an increasingly popular genre of film, have become more and more prevalent throughout today's society. More specifically, teenage dramas are renowned for their entertaining and enlightening plots that provide viewers with compelling, relatable stories of adolescence, as well as a storyline that presents a “crisis” or a dramatized situation to captivate and entice audience members. While many sources dispute when teen films first originated, global news organizations, various publications, and others state that teen film began generating popularity around 1950, especially with the debut of The Wild One and Jailhouse Rock. Since then, teen film has become immensely popular, mainly because of how the movies reflect present-day culture. With improved technological advancements, cultural shifts, and increased access to countless media outlets, teens are constantly being exposed to new ideas, representations, and stereotypes. These types of ideals have been proven to have a negative impact on impressionable audiences, where teens can be very easily influenced by the films they view. Since societal norms have shifted greatly over the years, certain themes and representations have become increasingly consistent; mental illness being one of them. 

Gap : 

Countless studies have acknowledged the representation of mental illness throughout teen films. The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published a study in 2017, titled : Association Between the Release of Netflix's 13 Reasons Why and Suicide Rates in the United States : An Interrupted Time Series Analysis. In this study, they report how the release of 13 Reasons Why was correlated to a 28.9% increase in suicide rates among teens in the month following. They declare suicide to be a “major public health concern in the United States,” and even introduce the concept of "suicide contagion," where the exposure of graphic portrayals of suicide could make teens more susceptible to imitate suicidal behaviors. Savannah Marie Carter, a student from the University of Arizona, conducted a similar study regarding 13 Reasons Why, but observed an additional film (Atypical) as well as analyzed the potential effects of stigmatizing language surrounding mental health on audience members. Carter concludes her study by stating that mental health stigmatization is not only unhealthy, but can cause a person (whether that be a character or a physical individual) to be left stigmatized about their mental health, and can leave them feeling unvalued and less likely to seek help. Lastly, the Journal of Media Psychology published another report regarding the potentially detrimental effects to the emotional wellbeing of youth through media exposure. While this study does not pertain specifically to teen dramas, they introduce a new area of analysis : coping mechanisms. Rather than looking at what a character is dealing with mentally, they look at how they character chooses to cope. In this way, I am basing my research off of popular or recurring coping mechanisms in popular teens films. Unlike the other studies, I chose to analyze movies instead of television shows, as movies presented less limitations and was the most cohesive with my methodology. Moreover, my research involves the analysis over eight different decades of film, while the other studies were solely analyzing present day film. In addition to popular coping skills, my research also includes the correlation of coping strategies to popular themes commonly seen in the teen film genre. Lastly, my research is not a study based on the potential societal impacts of film or media, rather an observational analysis of the evolution of culture, ideas, and representations. 

Process : 

My methodology includes the criteria for movie, coping mechanism, and theme selection, as well as the parameters for how I complete my research. I began my movie selection with the help of IMDb, which was chosen for its vast movie selection and being “the world’s most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV, and celebrity content.” Starting in 1950 and ending in present day, I used IMDb to locate the most popular movies of each decade, categorizing the movies from their release date (first five to the last five years of the decade). In order to adhere best to my overall project and idea, I then selected specific movies based on the following criteria : 

1. The movie must contain a teenage protagonist

2. The movie must be classified as a drama

3. Includes at least a 5 star rating out of 10 on IMDb (increased popularity)

4. Must take place in specified decade (ex. 1970's movie cannot take place in 1950)

5. Cannot be part of a series (most of the series I observed were released in different decades, had varying popularity scales, etc.)

Once reviewing every movie and confirming that it fit the criteria above, I was able to begin the final process of movie selection. I chose to randomize the films using an online generator to eliminate as much bias as possible and conducted two randomization trials for each decade. Since the movies were separated by their release date, the movies from the first five years of the decade ('0,'1,'2,'3,'4)  and the last five years of the decade ('5,'6,'7,'8,'9) were conducted in two separate randomization trials. After plugging the movies into an online generator, I was able to obtain one movie from the beginning and the end of the decade. The movies selected are shown below : 

On The Loose (1951)

Blue Denim (1959)

Too Soon to Love (1960)

Lord Love a Duck (1966)

To Find a Man (1972)

Goodbye, Franklin High (1978)

All the Right Moves (1983)

For Keeps? (1988)

Toy Soldiers (1991)

Cruel Intentions (1999)

Orange County (2002)

Charlie Bartlett (2007)

Walking the Halls (2012)

Before I Fall (2017)

Boogie (2021)

My hypothesis suggests an increase in coping mechanisms over time, and since I wanted to eliminate as much bias as possible, I also randomized the order in which I viewed these movies by putting them back into the same online generator. The final viewing order is as shown below : 

All the Right Moves (1983)

Boogie (2021)

Lord Love a Duck (1966)

Toy Soldiers (1991)

On the Loose (1951)

To Find a Man (1972)

Cruel Intentions (1991)

For Keeps? (1988)

To Soon to Love (1960)

Walking the Halls (2012)

Goodbye, Franklin High (1978)

Before I Fall (2017)

Orange County (2002)

Charlie Bartlett (2007)

Blue Denim (1959)

Once the movies were selected and the viewing order was chosen, I was then able to start watching! I was unable to locate On the Loose (1951) but continued watching the rest of my movies without it (more information below). I also watched each film twice to catch any coping mechanisms I may have missed the first time. As for coping mechanisms, I located a specific list that incorporates coping strategies from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Harvard Medical School, and more (you can see the specific list in my first blog post!). I am only coding for coping mechanisms from the teenage protagonist, and as soon as I observe a coping mechanism on my list, I record the timestamp, coping mechanism (scene description if necessary), and the reason as to why the protagonist was coping. Once my movies were completed, I went back in and also coded for popular themes (more information below!). If a situation were to present itself in the film and the protagonist coped with a strategy that was not on my list, I made note of that in my notebook and organized it later on in a google document!

Above are some examples of my handwritten data collection! I later sorted these notes to become more cohesive and organized, as you can observe below. 

Progress 

I have officially completed all data collection! This included watching all 14 movies two times through, and coding for coping mechanisms throughout. I am currently working on my data analysis, which consists of sorting through my handwritten notes and locating coping mechanisms, as well as transferring this information to a google doc. As of now, I have only recorded data for eight movies, and am progressively working on the next six. 

Throughout this project, I ran in to multiple challenges that had the potential to limit the success of my research. Locating all of my movies was one of the first implications I came across. Looking back, I should've been more thorough with researching movie availability, as it was extremely difficult to find all of my movies. Fortunately, I was able to create accounts on Paramount Plus and Hulu, as well as gain access from Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Netflix, Peacock, YouTube, and public libraries in order to watch the rest of the films. The only movie I was unable to access was On the Loose from 1951. The obscurity of this film was so great that I was unable to find it anywhere, even after scouring countless streaming services, the internet, and multiple libraries. Since I was unable to locate this film, I cannot include its data in my final research and it will be further addressed as one of my project limitations. Another challenge I was met with was introducing  popular themes in teen dramas. I had originally planned to just code for coping mechanisms, but later decided to incorporate recurring themes that tie back to the coping mechanisms. In the end, this will add a lot more depth and substance to my research, but it presented another level of complexity I have to navigate. I was able to locate Catherine Driscoll's book titled Teen Film : A Critical Introduction, in which she and other sources state that the most popular and recurring themes in teen dramas are...

Coming of Age (virginity, graduation, makeover, etc.)

Fitting in 

Bullying

Peer Pressure 

Love 

Rebellion 

Conflict With Parents 

Angst 

Alienation

Sexual

I chose to incorporate this idea towards the end of my data collection, where I was concerned how it would alter the data and possibly cause me to rework my methodology. Had I initially incorporated the idea of analyzing popular themes, I would have observed a theme and recorded the coping mechanism following that particular theme. Since I added this component later on in my data collection, however, my original methodology and time constraints did not allow for much reformation. As it turns out, I was actually able to continue my data collection with hardly any difficulty. Instead of rewatching the films for a third time to observe a recurring theme, I ended up choosing a theme to fit the scene after the coping mechanism took place. Because I was already recording a scene description as well as the cause for the coping mechanism, it was able to work as I simply reversed the process! This adjustment will allow my final project to become more academically complex, as I am continuing to add to the academic conversation by expanding my methodology and overall research ideas. 

Sources : 

 Bridge, Jeffrey A, Joel B Greenhouse, Donna Ruch, Lisa M Horowitz, Kelly J Kelleher, John V Campo, John Ackerman, Jack Stevens, and Arielle H Sheftall. “Association Between the Release of Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why and Suicide Rates in the United States: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.” American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, April 28, 2019. https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567(19)30288-6/fulltext. 

Carter, Savannah Marie. “Portrayals of Mental Illness of Teens in Popular TV Shows : 13 Reasons Why and Atypical.” The University of Arizona University Libraries . UA Campus Repository , May 2020. https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/650934/azu_etd_hr_2020_0032_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1. 

Dubash, Jess. “Teen Film Genre.” Sutori, 2022. https://www.sutori.com/en/story/teen-film-genre--g26roWMuAqkKHr1NMVggB2fN.  

Fox, Killian. “Whatever: A History of Teen Movies.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, March 21, 2009. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/mar/22/teen-movies-history-superbad#:~:text=Rock%20Around%20the%20Clock%20. 

IMDb. “What Is IMDb?” IMDb, 2021. https://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/general-information/what-is-imdb/G836CY29Z4SGNMK5?ref_=__seemr#. 

Kemp, Sam. “Rebel Rebel: The Evolution of the Teen Movie.” Far Out Magazine, August 4, 2022. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/evolution-of-the-teen-movie/. 

Lannom, SC. “What Is a Plot? Types of Plot, Definitions, and Examples.” StudioBinder, August 21, 2019. https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-plot/. 

 Social Film Drama. “The Social Impact of Film Production.” Social Film Drama, 2022. https://socialfilmdrama.com/impact#:~:text=Film%20can%20be%20used%20to,to%20help%20foster%20positive%20change. 

The University of Minnesota Libraries. “Movies and Culture.” University of Minnesota , 2022. https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/8-3-movies-and-culture/. 

Till, Benedikt, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Arno Herberth, Martin Voracek, Gernot Sonneck, and Peter Vitouch. “Coping and Film Reception : A Study on the Impact of Film Dramas and the Mediating Effects of Emotional Modes of Film Reception and Coping Strategies.” Journal of Media Psychology. ResearchGate, January 2011. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254735421_Coping_and_Film_Reception_A_Study_on_the_Impact_of_Film_Dramas_and_the_Mediating_Effects_of_Emotional_Modes_of_Film_Reception_and_Coping_Strategies. 

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