Reaction Paper

PSY 372
Reaction Paper
3/27/14
The media portrays adolescence in a multitude of mediums such as

magazines, books, television, and film. These forms of entertainment give us
different views of adolescence, and most of these perceptions come from films.
Some movies give accurate descriptions of adolescence while others do not.
Specifically, I am going to discuss three movies: Say Anything, American Pie, and
Superbad. This paper will examine how these movies relate to adolescence in
todays generation.
The first movie to be discussed is Say Anything. This film deals with many
subtopics of adolescence such as intimacy, family, school, and sexuality. The movie
focuses on a relationship between two adolescents from different backgrounds:
Lloyd Dobler and Diane Court. Lloyd Dobler is an average student who plans to be a
kickboxer, and he lives with his adult sister and her child. Diane Court is an
academically gifted student who is valedictorian and was offered a fellowship in
England. Diane lives with her father.
During the film, one can examine the course of an adolescent relationship.
The relationship begins with Lloyd calling Diane, and she accepts an invitation to a
party as his date. The couple begins to date and the relationship is progressing well.
However, Dianes dad begins to tell her that Lloyd is not an appropriate suitor for
her, and she ends her relationship with Lloyd. After the courtship ends, both
characters become depressed and dissatisfied with life. The entire relationship,
from inception to ending, takes place in a few weeks. Lloyd and Dianes relationship
is an accurate depiction of typical, adolescent relationships. Sexuality is also an
integral part of the couples courtship. As the two date, they become more intimate
and begin a sexual relationship. This sexuality is also visible in most adolescent
relationships today.
The film also contains an accurate portrayal of adolescence in regards to
family life. An example of this would be the ongoing dispute between Diane and her
father concerning her relationship with Lloyd. Dianes father is as an authoritative
parent, but as Diane and Lloyds relationship progresses, the dad becomes even
more controlling. The dad wants Diane to succeed academically and always
pressures her to be responsible. The young girls father views her relationship as a
handicap to her academic success. This is an accurate portrayal of parenting in the
fact that parents desire for their children to be successful. I can relate to this
because my dad was very demanding when I was an adolescent, especially when it
came to my academics because I went to a college preparatory school.
This movie American Pie also deals with many subtopics of adolescence.
Topics such as peers, family, intimacy, and sexuality can be seen in the movie. The
film is about a group of friends agreeing to lose their virginities by their senior
prom. Some aspects of this movie are accurate and some are not. There was an
accurate portrayal of adolescence as it relates to familial interactions, and this is
primarily demonstrated between Jim Levenstein, the protagonist of the film, and his
dad. Jims father is a prime example of an indulgent parent as the dad is very
responsive to his son but does not demand things from him. This responsiveness is
evident when Jim makes mistakes because instead of getting mad and punishing his
son, the father talks to him in an adult way. Jims dad is always available to listen to
Jim and give him advice, even when Jim does not want his fathers help.
The film also shows an accurate description of adolescence and peers in the
fact that the movie centers on a group of friends from the same socioeconomic
background, gender, and race. This friend group is relatable to todays adolescent
peer groups as people associate with those who are most like them. The friends
spend more time with each other than they do with others outside of the group, and
the group members pressure each other to do certain things. This peer pressure is
consistent with adolescents and peer relationships today. I can relate to this because
I had a small group of friends in high school that I related to based on gender,
socioeconomic status, and race. I spent a lot of my time with that group, and we
compelled each other to do and say things that we ordinarily would not have done.
However, what is inconsistent with adolescents in reality is the films
portrayal of sexuality because all that the characters want to do is have sex.
Intercourse is the only thing on anyones mind in the movie, and while adolescents
do want to have sex, it is not the only concern that they have. No adolescent male
would penetrate an apple pie to simulate a vagina; therefore, the libidos of the
adolescents in the film are highly dramatized.
The film Superbad also deals with several subtopics of adolescence such as
social as well as individual identity and interaction with ones peers. The
protagonists in the movie are two best friends trying to elevate their low social
standing by bringing alcohol to a classmates party. This film emphasizes aspects of

adolescence that are consistent with real adolescents. For example, in terms of
identity and adolescence, one can see throughout the entire movie the friends trying
to assume a false identity to look cool and become popular in the eyes of their two
love interests. This assumption of a false identity happens frequently in the lives of
adolescents.
Another topic that is portrayed accurately is in the film is the adolescents
relationship to their peers. In the movie, there is a character named Fogell whom the
main characters of the film, Evan and Seth, pressure to buy alcohol. Fogell wants to
be accepted by Seth and Evan, so he acquires a fake identification card in order to
obtain the beverages. All adolescents experience identity issues as they look to their
peers for help in creating a social and personal identity.
While the film depicts certain aspects of adolescence accurately, the movie as
a whole is not a satisfying description of adolescence. The films primary focus is on
partying, and it is over dramatized. I cannot relate to this films emphasis on
partying because I rarely drank or partied as an adolescent. Additionally, there is a
scene in the movie in which Fogell is hanging out with cops while he is underage and
drinking. This type of camaraderie would not happen in real life.
When it comes to aspects of adolescence, films can be a great way to inform a
person of those characteristics. However, while watching movies, one must be
careful not to make assumptions about the adolescents of today because some films
highly dramatize some aspects of adolescence. The movies Say Anything,
American Pie, and Superbad have accurate descriptions of peer relationships,
adolescent identity, familial ties, and academics. However, these films also have
depictions of adolescent life that are not factual such as the overemphasis of
sexuality, partying, and adult relationships.

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PSY 372

The media portrays adolescence in a multitude of mediums such as

standing by bringing alcohol to a classmates party. This film emphasizes aspects of

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