Movies Analysis (30 points)

 

 

Project Goals and Anticipated Learning Outcomes:

To understand and critique tween/teen phenomena in popular cinema by displaying:

· A familiarity with human development

· An ability to describe activities that constitute the tween and teen years (peer relations, conflict with parents, mood swings, risk-taking)

· An understanding of media/character portrayal and how the movie itself influences its viewers

· A demonstration of your critical thinking skills through writing

· A demonstration of information literacy through reading/reflecting on peer-reviewed journal articles and connecting them with a mainstream movie

· An understanding of the accuracy of the movie from an academic perspective, thus promoting a lifelong curiosity of adolescent psychology in mainstream film.

 

Final Product:

A 4-5-page paper, double-spaced at 12-point font. It is acceptable to write more than five pages for this; however, papers shorter than four pages will be penalized.

 

Overview:

Many popular films’ plots revolve around tween/teen development and the issues that arise during this time—physical change, emotional “ups and downs,” social interaction, and cognitive development. Oftentimes, producers of these movies will hire a developmental psychology consultant to make sure that tween/teen behavior is accurately portrayed throughout the film. Of course, because a movie’s primary goal is to entertain rather than educate, behavioral phenomena are sometimes misrepresented on the big screen. This assignment is asking you to select a movie from the list below (p.3) and to consider course content from EDUC 0819, specifically what you are learning about adolescent behavior from a psychological and sociological standpoint. Essentially, you are being asked to connect the movie to five separate articles that you have already read during Weeks 1-5. The “Guided Questions” for your paper are below and you must address them in your paper.

Guided Questions for the Presentation:

Please use the guided questions below (answer all of them) when constructing your papers:

 

1.) Introduction (1 paragraph)

2.) What is this movie about? What is the target audience and why do you think this? (HINT: Provide specific demographics if possible) (1-2 paragraphs)

 

 

3.) How are teens and adults represented in this film? Do you think the producers or directors have a direct (or indirect) message that they are trying to portray to the audience? If so, what are these messages? (1 paragraph)

a. To support your answer for Question 3, please cite Philo’s (2000) article titled Teensomething: American Youth Programming in the 1990’s. (1-2 paragraphs).

4.) What developmental phenomenon (physical, cognitive, social, or emotional) are central to this film? (1-2 paragraphs)

a. To support your answer for Question 4, please cite at least ONE of the following articles:

i. The Teenage Mystique (Hine, 2000)

ii. The Power of Peers (Steinberg, 1996)

iii. The Myth of the Teen Brain (Epstein, 2007)

iv. Hooking Up: Sex in Guyland (Kimmel, 2008)

v. Why You Never Truly Leave High School (Senior, 2013)

 

 

5.) What else did your find particularly interesting about this film? (NOTE: This can be ANYTHING you found interesting as it relates to this course—peer dynamics, relationships, substance abuse, parental pressure, marketing, etc.) (1-2 paragraphs)

a. Please elaborate on this answer by providing additional support from any of the articles that you read over the last six weeks. You may choose any of the course’s articles for this, even if it is an article that you cited for Questions 3 and 4 above.

 

Each person is responsible for submitting their paper in the labeled “Movie Analysis” section within the “Week 6” weekly folder. This paper is due by 11:59pm on Friday, June 23rd.

 

 

 

(SEE NEXT PAGE FOR A LIST OF MOVIES)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a list of movies that cover different psychological phenomena in regards to adolescent development (parent and peer relations, emotional/behavioral issues, self and identity, high school cliques, mood swings, etc.) in addition to a larger societal context (time period, community, SES, education level, etc.). Please select ONE of the movies below, watch it, and use it as the basis for your final paper.

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The Breakfast Club (1985)

Friday Night Lights (2004)

Juno (2007)

Superbad (2007)

Thirteen (2003)

The Basketball Diaries (1995)

Stand By Me (1986)

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)

Almost Famous (2000)

Kids (1995)

Precious (2009)

Mean Girls (2004)

American Beauty (1999)

Friday (1995)

The Sandlot (1993)

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

Dazed and Confused (1993)

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