Genre Research Activity
GenreComing of Age
Genre conventions – Content
The coming of age genre depicts the moral and psychological growth of a character as they shift from their adolescence to adulthood. In these films, the character often struggles with issues portrayed through relationships, emotions, and hardships they endure during this time of development. Coming of age films emphasize the characters’ emotional reaction and behavior to demonstrate the process of the character maturing. They generally feature a young character (most likely a teenager) that encounters a mature conflict that eventually leads to gradual or sudden development.
Coming of age films consist of:
- Home life, friendships, virginity, and drugs
- Young character “losing” innocence and gain some sort of wisdom
In coming of age films, filmmakers tend to focus on dialogue and internal monologue rather than action. These types of films are usually introduced to the audience by the main character, who is narrating their life through a first person voice over (example: My name is blank, I live in a small town with my parents and 2 siblings). This technique is used to represent the characters’ inner thoughts and feelings as if we are the their close friend or diary. The setting is an important production factor, as they take place in everyday settings that make it feel more realistic and convey a sense of youth, like a high school, an isolated suburban community, and a teenagers bedroom.
Institutional conventions – How is genre marketed
Coming of age films are often marketed by emphasizing the teenager/young adult in the movie posters, such as Edge of Seventeen, where the protagonist is dressed in typical teenager clothing (hoodie, shorts, vans) and the background is blurred out. Another marketing technique involving the movie poster is the use of bright colors; this is used to catch the audience's attention. A lot of coming-of-age films have advertisements on social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Usually, these ads consist of the main character of the film speaking directly to the audience, informing them that the movie is out in theaters and they should go watch it.
Film/magazine sample #1 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre
The Edge of Seventeen: This film is about an angsty, awkward, and shy 17 year old high school girl who not only struggles to fit in but has problems with her family and home life. It opens up with the main protagonist (Nadine) narrating, which is common in coming of age films because it makes the audience feel more personal to the character. In the very beginning of the film, we learn that Nadine has self-image issues as early as the age of 13, which signifies her ongoing issues she has with her appearance later on as a teenager. Not only that but after witnessing the death of her father, being left with her selfish mother and egotistical brother, she became distant from her family. Her only friend was a girl she knew since grade school; after their relationship was tarnished, Nadine became lonely and essentially had a crisis. As the film progressed, she made a new friend that helped her see the brighter side of things and became more open about her emotions. This undoubtedly embodies the coming-of-age genre; Nadine endures a time of difficulty during her teenage years and grows/learns from those issues.
Film/magazine sample #2 – include analysis of how this film embodies your genre
Love Simon: This film is about a closeted gay 17 year old boy, Simon, who struggles with his sexuality and his journey as he comes to terms with it. Simon lives in a typical suburban neighborhood with his parents and sister, who he gets along with very well, and has a small group of friends that do everything together. Typically, coming of age films consist of the protagonist having family issues, but in Love Simon they portray a loving family to focus more on Simon’s sexuality and his personal growth and realizations. Eventually he meets someone who is going through the same thing he’s going through, so he finds comfort in that and finally doesn’t feel alone. That is until Simon and his friend get blackmailed and their relationship is cut off. Simon subsequently loses his friends after turning against them in order to prevent himself from being outed to everyone and starts to feel alone again. Feelings of loneliness are common in coming of age films, as the protagonist (Simon) goes through difficult times that lead to his eventual growth. In this coming of age film, Simon finally embraces his sexuality and learns not to let the opinions of others get in his way.
List of 5-7 other film/magazine examples within the genre (with links or images of these examples)
The Perks of being A Wallflower (2012)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Eighth Grade (2018) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7014006/
Moonlight (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4975722/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Boyhood (2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0oX0xiwOv8
The Spectacular Now (2013)
