The Coming of Age Genre

The coming of age genre is about the psychological and moral transitions that happen in a young persons life as they transition from youth to adulthood. The subjects of coming of age films are typically teenagers and the storyline links to the emotional changes of the protagonist in question. Personal growth and change is a key convention for the genre and a character will usually come to have an epiphany during the film. A protagonist will be changed by the events of the story. They are discovering themselves and the world around them, the protagonists will be a different from the person they were at the start of the film, they are considered more mature, the significance of their learning is clear by the end of the film.

Bildungsroman

/ˈbɪldʊŋzrəʊˌmɑːn/

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noun

noun: Bildungsroman; plural noun: Bildungsromane

1. a novel dealing with one person's formative years or spiritual education.

A german translation for a novel of building, a story in which a character is built up

A bildungsroman or bildungsgeschichte (German for 'educational story') is sometimes used to describe coming of age stories. It's a class of novel that depicts and explores the manner in which the protagonist develops morally and psychologically. However a coming of age and a bildungsroman are not interchangeable, a coming of age can be more generic for a novel about growing up, and can fall into any other genre, however a bildungsroman is a more specific literary genre about the growth and education of a main character from child to adult. (eg. Harry Potter, David Copperfield, To Kill a Mockingbird)

The 4 Stages of Bildungsroman

Bildungsroman is a terminology used for coming of age novels, however the stages of bildungsroman are similar to a three act structure in film, and the stages and events surrounding the character can also be applied to various plot points within the three act structure.

Loss-The protagonist experiences a heartfelt loss at the beginning of the story during their childhood or their formative teenage years.

Journey-The character is often unhappy with something in their life and following their loss or unhappiness, the protagonist must embark on a journey, it can be physical, spiritual, psychological or metaphorical, to help them find the answer to their question or unhappiness. They will gain knowledge and life experience in the process which will help them better understand the world.

Conflict and Personal Growth- This is the process that the character has to go through in order to reach maturity and change, the protagonist will make mistakes, battle internal conflicts, be tested and be at odds with society or be disappointed in the new world, but as the story continues the protagonist accepts the ideals of society and finds his/her place in it.

Maturity- The protagonist will demonstrate a significant change by the end of the novel or film, they will ahve gained maturity and are a changed new person. They accept their flaws and see that they are still a good person.The story can sometimes end with a character can use their new found knowledge to give back and help others on thier own journey to maturity. The audience or reader will be able to tell a difference between the charcter in the beginning of the films and at the end.

Coming of age Storylines usually include:

• First disagreement with parents. (Ladybird)

• First experimentation with drugs, alcohol, tobacco or any combination of the three (Dazed and Confused, Beautiful Boy)

• Bullying (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Carrie, Easy A)

• The divorce of the main character's parents.

• Coming-Out Story or exploring LGBTQ (Call me by your name)

• Beginning to see one's parents as people

• Wanting to have friends or be popular (Mean girls)

• First crushes or relationships (Romeo and Juliet, 10 things i hate about you, Grease, the blue lagoon, Dirty dancing)

• Going through some kind of Rite of Passage

• Teenage pregnancy (Juno)

• First experience with grief, loss, death, rejection, etc. (Perks of being a wallflower,)

• Puberty and developing sexuality (Superbad, American Pie)

• Leaving one's parent's (ladybird)

• Questioning religious beliefs, or societal traditions/rules/customs.

• First experience with sexism, racism, homophobia, or other prejudice (To kill a Mockingbird)

• A loss of innocence. the charcter looses the childlike and niave outlook on the world, growing up forces the reality of things

on the protagonist.

• Identity: it's the self-awareness and a struggle with self-identification and addressing who the character ''really'' is.

(Eight grade, Edge of Seventeen)

• Senior Year Struggles: Facing the future in one's last year of school. (American Graffiti)

• exploring mental health (It's kind of a funny story, Girl interrupted, Thirteen reasons why)

• Running away (Inside out)

Character Stereotypes in Coming of Age & Teen Films

Stereotype

/ˈstɛrɪə(ʊ)tʌɪp,ˈstɪərɪə(ʊ)tʌɪp/

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noun

1. a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Similar:standard/conventional image, received idea, cliché

Stereotypes are easily identifiable and by looking at the appearance and characteristics of a character the audience can assume the type of person the character is. Stereotypes allow for a quick set up of the storyline. They can be used for comedic reasons or to critique society, high school stereotypes can be relatable to a teenage audience which attracts people to watch the film, an audience fulfils a gratification that is relatability and being able to connect with something or someone on screen (gratification theory in audience research). Stereotypes allow for character development to take place, starting the film off with the character being a stereotype, as then we follow the story we can see the protagonist develop into a three dimensional character by the end of the film, breaking their generic mould.

The Geek - This character is known for being very smart and having an obsession over computers or comic books. He/she is usually made fun of and wears glasses or braces

The Cheerleader- Known for being sexually promiscuous, typically pretty and popular, they can also be bullies or mean.

The Jock- A male athlete who is a popular boy, he is usually mean and a bully. They can be portrayed as dumb sometimes.

The Class Clown- Will do anything for a laugh and is used as a comic relief character

The New Girl - She's kind and interesting and different from everyone else (Cady in Mean Girls)

The Popular Girl- An alpha female, she is well liked and regarded as the most worshipped female student, she is pretty, mean and arrogant

The Gay Best Friend- Can be used as a stock character and provide comic relief, they are usually a helper for the protagonist. (Christian in Clueless)

The Bad Boy - Resists authority and control and is a rebel who hates control, they tend to find trouble or be troubled themselves, girls tend to love them (JD from Heathers and John Bender from The Breakfast Club, Danny from Grease, Ferris Bueller)

The Outsider - They don't fit in and tend to be judgmental and know everything about everyone (clay from 13 Reasons why, Charlie from Perks of being a wallflower) sometimes these characters are the protagonists and are portrayed as being misunderstood.

John Hughes

John Hughes was an American filmmaker and writer who went on to produce and direct some of the most famous coming of age teen comedy films that capture the true reality of suburban teenage life. Essentially making modern American teen life a genre. His films are some of my favourite within the coming of age and teen genre, he greatly inspired certain narrative parts of my storyline when it came to dialogue scenes and making characters likeable and relatable. His ability to make his characters real, and actually represent what teenagers go through and feel is what I wanted to incorporate into my FMP, I want my film to be relatable to young people today and for my characters to be naturalistic. I want to go against romanticising adolescence in my film, like every other coming of age film does today, it leaves audiences slightly detached from characters because we cannot relate to a very glamorised version of youth. A youth that 'Clueless' and 'Mean girls' show, for example.

His directorial debut was Sixteen Candles (1984) starring Molly Ringwald (who was Johns muse appearing in most of his films that helped launch her career among other actors, like John Candy, Micheal Keaton, Macauley Culkin and many more. He began his career by writing jokes for standup comedians like Rodney Dangerfield. He then began writing screenplays for movies made by National Lampoon magazine. He found success in screenwriting after Class reunion (1982) and National Lampoons vacation (1983) made him famous. He then went on to direct Sixteen candles (1984) followed by The Breakfast Club (1985), Pretty in pink (1986) and Ferris Buellers day off (1986). Hughes greatest financial and commercial success was Home Alone (1990 directed by Chris Columbus) about a child who is left alone by his family who go away for Christmas, the sequels that followed it which made Macauley Culkin a child star. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Home Alone 3 (1997).

John Hughes legacy lives on because he continues to inspire all other productions to this day. Think Mean Girls, Superbad, Dazed and confused, Juno, Gossip girl, heathers. Even his use of music made gave more notoriety to the psychedelic furs, and the music captured the essence of being young and engaged contemporary audiences at the time. He changed the way Hollywood marketed teen movies and viewed teenagers. His films are essentially the archetype for a good teen movie because Hughes understood what it's like to be a teenager, his films often dealt with teen problems like fitting in and struggling with identity, his ability to immerse himself in all his characters and stories is what made him so influential.