Analysis Of The Film Coming-Of-Age

The film subgenre “Coming-of-Age” has been around since American Graffiti in 1973 and continued to flourish with movies including, but not limited to, The Breakfast Club (1985) and Almost Famous (2000). These films started off as a way to express the transition from childhood and adulthood, while including current issues of the time. For example, American Graffiti was able to reflect the time period in which it was made, taking issues from the current day. American Graffiti can be described as,“Taking place just prior to the Vietnam War and the turmoil of the late 1960's, ‘American Graffiti’ evokes a wistful yearning for the simpler, more innocent times of milkshakes, diners, and drive in movies” (Starpulse,1). At the turn of the century came
All three films contain modern issues faced by the characters that may not have been widely talked about in earlier years as openly as they are today. Ideas such as personal growth and physical change are both important characteristics of the genre. This new type of sub-genre relies on dialogue between the characters based on emotional responses (Benyahia et al, 271). In the “Revisionist Coming-of-Age” genre, the protagonist is forced to make decisions about the future and can been seen through present day emotional responses and actions. Many of the major decisions faced in current day coming of age stories include dilemmas and choices between family, friends, education, work and
Each film includes the ideas of a protagonist who is forced to find themselves after being lost in their adolescent stage of life. The theme of identity includes the idea that the protagonist must first some to love themselves and recognize their worth before they can be loved by others. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the protagonist, Charlie struggles with finding him true self after he believes that he is not as good as his siblings and is lost in sea of people who surround him in high school. Charlie faces many decisions in which he is able to choose who he becomes friends with and how he behaves. In the end, Charlie realizes, he must stay true to himself and do what he loves, before trying to make everyone else around him