Generic Iconography
Generic Iconography
A typical teenage comedy and chick flicks many iconic theme are used. They are always set in High School location, usually American teen films are set in a rich part of America like Los Angeles or Beverly Hills, because they are a very superficial location, which mirrors the idea of superficial teenagers. The time period for this genre is very modern day and contemporary in a money orientated society.
An iconic example of characters would be an American High School typically having cheerleaders, footballers and mascots, and like in all American teenage films the cheerleaders are always the pretty and popular girls and they tend to be very rich and have a high status within the School social chain, but they always seem to have a low IQ. For example in Mean Girls the popular bitchy character is played by Rachel McAdams, who was also a main character in The notebook, in which she played a girl that appeared similar to Regina George, rich and pretty, but it is set in a different time period. The Notebook and Mean Girls both where released in cinema during 2004, so Rachel Mc Adams would attract the teenage audience. Lindsay Lohan is another typical actress who has appeared in many teen comedies, like Freaky Friday, in which her roles in Mean girls and Freaky Friday was very likable. Another typical young actress that is linked with teen romance and comedies is Hilary Duff, who was a main character in A Cinderella Story.
Many of the characters are either intelligent or attractive and the intelligent girls are always recognised as the geeks and the social rejects. Some generic signifiers also include what the characters dress like, for example the popular girls wear shorts skirts and revealing tops that are usually red or pink. They would normally have long blonde hair and a sports car. In opposition to this the geeky girls would be known for her bad dress sense, glasses and tied up hair. Also the boys within teen movies are very iconic to the genre as they are always good looking, sporty and seem very shallow and vain, much like the pretty and popular girls, who are at the top of the School. The cheerleaders and footballers are almost meant to find each other as they would appear well suited and they desire each others qualities. But later as always the audience finds out that they are not always compatible and the typical stereotypes are challenged.
Also ironically in this film genre the popular girls and guys end up loosing power and status, which then effects the social chain within the school and we then see the popular girls world all apart.
The storyline of a typical teen film is based on relationships between girls and the survival of the teenagers within School. Mean girls was based on the battle of the fittest. The genre is also based on rivalry and revenge between the geeky, odd girls and the popular bitchy girls. The storyline in a teen romantic comedy are always quite girly and they always have happy endings, usually with the geeky girl ruling the school and the audience feeling that they can relate to that character.
A typical story situation a lot of the time is when the popular girl looses the guy and he then realises that he likes the geeky girl, especially after she gets a makeover. The geeky underdog girl then gets noticed because of her new appearance. Something that is a strong iconic feature in a teen romance comedy is the teenagers always having parties and attending School proms. Money and cars are iconic as these are things that teenagers aspire to have. The lifestyle of the teenagers within a movie look exciting and adventurous, which is nothing like a teenager’s lifestyle in reality.
We looked at many films to see if the signifiers are used in all teenage films. From watching teenage movies like Mean Girls we noticed some strong signifiers and paradigms that can easily be identified for this genre, for example the main “Mean” character Regina George had long blonde hair, dressed provocatively, is very rich and drives a sports car. In opposition to this the geeky Cady Heron an, outcast character who was home schooled wore baggy styled jeans, polo shirts and plain tops and long red hair and does not have a sporty car, just rides the School bus. Another stereotypical thing in this film was a gay character hanging around with the outcast new girl from Africa, this shows that socially the gay character fits in with the group that is typically full of outcasts.
Also another thing was when Cady gets involved with the “plastics”, which makes her more popular and she becomes noticed by the guys. When the girls ask the geeky girl to wear pink she has nothing pink but typically the gay character has many pink items and asks if the girl wants to borrow something. This shows that the gay character is being stereotyped into what is expected of a gay man, people assume that they love pink clothing and are very feminine, which this character is portraying. Also blonde girls in teenage movies tend to wear pink, short skirts and act like a bitch, but in reality this is not the case, but it is always used in teenage movies. But these types of characters start of on top, but end up being hated.
Some key signs in this genre are the popular bitchy girls owning the latest pink handbag and driving the best and fastest sports car. The boys are always sporty and live in a large home with a rich mum and dad, the girls all tend to wear “sluttish” outfits which makes them look sexual, confident and powerful.
The music in this type of genre is usually hip hop music or the latest tracks on the music channels. An example would be Missy Elliott music being used in mean girls. Also in A Cinderella story, Hilary Duff’s own music becomes apart of the movie, as it is a good chance to advertise her solo career, by creating the soundtrack.
The message usually in a teen film is that good people overcome evil and selfish people, and always be yourself because in the end people will appreciate who you are in the end.
A typical teenage comedy and chick flicks many iconic theme are used. They are always set in High School location, usually American teen films are set in a rich part of America like Los Angeles or Beverly Hills, because they are a very superficial location, which mirrors the idea of superficial teenagers. The time period for this genre is very modern day and contemporary in a money orientated society.
An iconic example of characters would be an American High School typically having cheerleaders, footballers and mascots, and like in all American teenage films the cheerleaders are always the pretty and popular girls and they tend to be very rich and have a high status within the School social chain, but they always seem to have a low IQ. For example in Mean Girls the popular bitchy character is played by Rachel McAdams, who was also a main character in The notebook, in which she played a girl that appeared similar to Regina George, rich and pretty, but it is set in a different time period. The Notebook and Mean Girls both where released in cinema during 2004, so Rachel Mc Adams would attract the teenage audience. Lindsay Lohan is another typical actress who has appeared in many teen comedies, like Freaky Friday, in which her roles in Mean girls and Freaky Friday was very likable. Another typical young actress that is linked with teen romance and comedies is Hilary Duff, who was a main character in A Cinderella Story.
Many of the characters are either intelligent or attractive and the intelligent girls are always recognised as the geeks and the social rejects. Some generic signifiers also include what the characters dress like, for example the popular girls wear shorts skirts and revealing tops that are usually red or pink. They would normally have long blonde hair and a sports car. In opposition to this the geeky girls would be known for her bad dress sense, glasses and tied up hair. Also the boys within teen movies are very iconic to the genre as they are always good looking, sporty and seem very shallow and vain, much like the pretty and popular girls, who are at the top of the School. The cheerleaders and footballers are almost meant to find each other as they would appear well suited and they desire each others qualities. But later as always the audience finds out that they are not always compatible and the typical stereotypes are challenged.
Also ironically in this film genre the popular girls and guys end up loosing power and status, which then effects the social chain within the school and we then see the popular girls world all apart.
The storyline of a typical teen film is based on relationships between girls and the survival of the teenagers within School. Mean girls was based on the battle of the fittest. The genre is also based on rivalry and revenge between the geeky, odd girls and the popular bitchy girls. The storyline in a teen romantic comedy are always quite girly and they always have happy endings, usually with the geeky girl ruling the school and the audience feeling that they can relate to that character.
A typical story situation a lot of the time is when the popular girl looses the guy and he then realises that he likes the geeky girl, especially after she gets a makeover. The geeky underdog girl then gets noticed because of her new appearance. Something that is a strong iconic feature in a teen romance comedy is the teenagers always having parties and attending School proms. Money and cars are iconic as these are things that teenagers aspire to have. The lifestyle of the teenagers within a movie look exciting and adventurous, which is nothing like a teenager’s lifestyle in reality.
We looked at many films to see if the signifiers are used in all teenage films. From watching teenage movies like Mean Girls we noticed some strong signifiers and paradigms that can easily be identified for this genre, for example the main “Mean” character Regina George had long blonde hair, dressed provocatively, is very rich and drives a sports car. In opposition to this the geeky Cady Heron an, outcast character who was home schooled wore baggy styled jeans, polo shirts and plain tops and long red hair and does not have a sporty car, just rides the School bus. Another stereotypical thing in this film was a gay character hanging around with the outcast new girl from Africa, this shows that socially the gay character fits in with the group that is typically full of outcasts.
Also another thing was when Cady gets involved with the “plastics”, which makes her more popular and she becomes noticed by the guys. When the girls ask the geeky girl to wear pink she has nothing pink but typically the gay character has many pink items and asks if the girl wants to borrow something. This shows that the gay character is being stereotyped into what is expected of a gay man, people assume that they love pink clothing and are very feminine, which this character is portraying. Also blonde girls in teenage movies tend to wear pink, short skirts and act like a bitch, but in reality this is not the case, but it is always used in teenage movies. But these types of characters start of on top, but end up being hated.
Some key signs in this genre are the popular bitchy girls owning the latest pink handbag and driving the best and fastest sports car. The boys are always sporty and live in a large home with a rich mum and dad, the girls all tend to wear “sluttish” outfits which makes them look sexual, confident and powerful.
The music in this type of genre is usually hip hop music or the latest tracks on the music channels. An example would be Missy Elliott music being used in mean girls. Also in A Cinderella story, Hilary Duff’s own music becomes apart of the movie, as it is a good chance to advertise her solo career, by creating the soundtrack.
The message usually in a teen film is that good people overcome evil and selfish people, and always be yourself because in the end people will appreciate who you are in the end.
Labels: Group
posted by Danielle at
14:44
<< Home