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What should we be watching?
Young Film Critic winner Lizzie Daniels
Last year's Young Film Critic winner Lizzie Daniels writes about the cinema experience and young people. You can find out more and enter this year's competition at www.youngfilmcritic.org.
Picture an evening showing at the local cinema. Row upon row of teenagers sit, fizzy drinks and popcorn in hand, 3D glasses on noses, ready for high action or angst-ridden romance. Girls up and down the country giggle at chick-flicks, boys binge on action and geeks gawp at comic-book adaptations.
But are these genres of teen movies dominant because teens want them, or because adults assume that we do? Most teenagers actually welcome films that give them a new experience or that venture outside their comfort zone.
Every film, from the blockbuster to the art film, has a message. In my experience, however, the films that contain the most powerful and thought-provoking messages are often outside the stereotyped teen genres.
Brick Lane and My Beautiful Laundrette first opened my eyes to what immigrants face in Britain: the heartbreak of non-acceptance, attempts to assimilate into British life, and the compromising of deeply-held cultural values.
Fish Tank (2009)
The reality of the deprivation on some social housing estates was forcefully brought home to me in the intense and compelling Fish Tank, which documents a girl’s fight to better herself, despite her exploitation, and against the odds.
Untypical or unconventional romances often make a good antidote to the teen rom-com. The portrayal can range from the older, married David Goldman’s sinister deception of the young Jenny in An Education, to the celebratory mature romance of Evelyn and Doug in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
All teenagers are searching for a purpose in life, and can identify strongly with Edward (Archipelago) in his search for a direction. His eventual confidence to make important life decisions gave me much food for thought.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Films also highlight ethical issues. Having control over one’s own memories in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind raises a wider concern: is it morally right to put a particular scientific development into practice? Al Gore’s eco-documentary An Inconvenient Truth uses the film’s power to educate and forewarn, and, in hindsight, seems prophetic after the New York flooding this October.
By looking beyond high-gloss, high-budget films, one can find a treasure trove of films that can inform, educate, transport and entertain a teen audience. Yes, there is an obvious appeal in the stylish hero who flies around the world defeating villains, for me it is the often unassuming hero of a more challenging film that I look up to. So, Bond or Smiley? Neither, actually. Justin Quayle (The Constant Gardner), is the unlikely but biggest hero, in my opinion!
-Posted on Monday 12th November 2012