David Denby High School Confidential Analysis
When watching movies about high school, it soon becomes apparent that there are common character tropes within the genre. For instance, there is often a popular blonde with a dumb, jock boyfriend, and an average, but likable new student who challenges her authority. When asked why these types of characters are so plentiful, David Denby, writer of “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” explains that these movies are the products of indignant screenwriters who both fantasize and scorn the lives of popular students, being that they were most likely once tormented by them. In fact, he sees through the countless movies made about high school and distills “the entire genre [as one of] self-pity and ultimate vindication” (Denby 712). Despite
…show more content…
That is because Denby wishes to help watchers probe deeply into their reasons for seeing such a film. In his essay, he uses examples such as Carrie and Heathers to illustrate his point. By using these movies, Denby hopes to interest his audience through familiarity. In addition, those who watch such movies are more likely to understand his point. They are more likely to vividly feel Carrie’s humiliation and sympathize with the rebels’ desire for revenge in If…. When writing his essay, Denby adopts an impartial and objective attitude. Though he does offer an opinion, his views do not detract from his analysis on the high school movie genre. For example, though he calls Election art in that it defies genre clichés, he uses it to illustrate the fact that there are high school movies that do not conform to traditional storylines while only offering his opinion as a second thought (714). In fact, this is the only opinion of his throughout the essay since he aims to analyze the reasons for the prevalence of genre clichés instead of debating whether they are true or not. For instance, he concedes that character tropes “wouldn’t survive if they didn’t provide emotional satisfaction to the people who make them and to the audiences who watch them,” before launching into possible reasons why these clichés are so
That is because Denby wishes to help watchers probe deeply into their reasons for seeing such a film. In his essay, he uses examples such as Carrie and Heathers to illustrate his point. By using these movies, Denby hopes to interest his audience through familiarity. In addition, those who watch such movies are more likely to understand his point. They are more likely to vividly feel Carrie’s humiliation and sympathize with the rebels’ desire for revenge in If…. When writing his essay, Denby adopts an impartial and objective attitude. Though he does offer an opinion, his views do not detract from his analysis on the high school movie genre. For example, though he calls Election art in that it defies genre clichés, he uses it to illustrate the fact that there are high school movies that do not conform to traditional storylines while only offering his opinion as a second thought (714). In fact, this is the only opinion of his throughout the essay since he aims to analyze the reasons for the prevalence of genre clichés instead of debating whether they are true or not. For instance, he concedes that character tropes “wouldn’t survive if they didn’t provide emotional satisfaction to the people who make them and to the audiences who watch them,” before launching into possible reasons why these clichés are so