Michael Lehmann’s black murder comedy, Heathers, was a scathing criticism of high school life and a complete rebuff of the optimistic, lighthearted teen film that John Hughes made so popular during the 1980’s. The timeless issues that Lehmann addresses have allowed this film to reach a cult status. The story centers around Veronica Sawyer, former invisible girl, who had recently become a member of Westerburg High’s ruling clique, the Heathers. When JD, the school’s dark horse, comes into the picture, Veronica finds in him someone who shares her dislike for the Heathers and how they use their power. Under his influence, Veronica starts aiding in the murders of her cruel, popular classmates and pulling them off as suicides. Unfortunately the only things this accomplishes are a rise in the popularity of teen suicides, as they become a popular fad and equally cruel replacements of the murdered characters. A cynical parody of the John Hughes’ teen film, touching on sensitive subjects such as teen suicide, unavailable adult figures, and the overarching pursuit of popularity, Heathers exposed audiences to the black underbelly of adolescence through its use of dark self governing teen characters and postmodern views on conformity.
Like any other classic teen pic, Heathers jumps into an anthropological analysis of the high school pecking order right
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Heather Chandler kept the rest of the school on such a short leash, that even in the afterlife she influenced everyone’s decisions. Every television program and newspaper is filled with stories about her life, making her even more popular as a depressed teen suicide, than as a Heather. When the hapless overweight outcast Martha Dumptruck attempts to join in on the trend and commit suicide, she fails, and Heather Duke, the replacement Heather, chocks it up to “Just another case of a geek trying to imitate the popular people and failing
The world of young adults is a complicated landscape, with cliques and a desire to fit in. This push for conformity stretches not only through behavior, but more noticeably through the apparel worn by youths. At the beginning of the story, the narrator states that she and her friends are in “trouble,” but they “do not know what [they did], and [they are] sure [they] did not mean to do it” (103). This fear of the unknown continues throughout the entirety of the story, and readers can infer that the crime the girls have committed was simply dressing out of the norm for their age. The narrator also mentions that she is “white-skinned, ebony-haired, red-lipped, and ethereal,” far different than the expectation for her being “suntanned, golden-haired, peach-lipped, and earthbound” like her mother had been (103). As time repeats itself, so too do the fashion trends popular among the masses, and the look that the narrator’s mother portrayed was the same as the look her daughter is expected to adhere to. This is not the case, though, and because of her and her band’s choices in clothes, the narrator feels ostracized by not only her peers but her father as well, who “looks at [them] without moving his mouth or turning his head” as they leave the house (104). This reaction, or lack thereof, indicates that the father disapproves of the choices his daughter has made about how she dresses, but feels as though it is not his place to criticize her. The ending line does an excellent job at summarizing the angst felt by most teens as the narrator and her band feel as though “[they] are right to turn [themselves] in” to the pressures exerted by their peers to comply to what is expected of them (104). Just as women’s individuality is torn down by the pressures
Another instance where the plot creates ideas about the film’s diegesis is during the scene when Dean and Veronica are killing Kurt and Ram in the woods. After the second gun shot, the camera goes inside of a police car where two offers are smoking marijuana. This gives the idea that law enforcement are idiots and have no control. A third example of the plot creating ideas about the film’s diegesis is in the conversations youth have with authority figures. For example, the two conversations Veronica has with her parents on the back porch are nearly identical. This shows that in the film’s world parents and other figures of authority are morons and are not given respect at all. The film’s narration creates the idea of the stupidity of popularity while advocating for the social justice amongst peers in a high school setting. The story of the film is told through the actions of Veronica as she tears apart the social hierarchy at her school through a series of murders which leads to putting her on top of the social ladder. After this, Veronica befriends Martha Dunstock. By doing so, she destroys the social hierarchy at her school, bringing social justice to all
...lms these students get away with murder and still go on to college. This simply does not happen in real life; therefore, looking to Hollywood films for the true colors of schools is not in the best of interests. We have to realize that directors produce these films in their vision of American culture. We as Americans always look to the American Dream of sometime “making it.” The films neglect to see the loser’s point of view, meaning Hollywood films only look to a positive ending because it is in our nature to believe in the American Dream. This book allows our society to actually look past the films fantasies and observe the true inequalities in school. Although Hollywood films do correctly show how urban, suburban, and private students behave in schools, they do not show the true outcomes of real life.
The poem, We Real Cool, by Gwendolyn Brooks speaks through the voice of a young clique who believes it is “real cool.” Using slang and simple language to depict the teenage voice in first person, Brooks’s narrators explain that they left school to stay out together late at night, hanging around pool halls, drinking, causing trouble, and meeting girls. Their lifestyle, though, will ultimately lead them to die at a young age. But, despite an early death, the narrator expresses that they are “real cool” because of this risky routine. Through her poem, Brooks’s shows the ironic consequence of acting “cool”: it leads to death.
How would you feel if you came to school one day and found out your friend had died overnight of a drug overdose? Then imagine the entire school were forced to relive this experience and perform it for the whole school community. This situation, excluding the performance, occurs all too often in Australian high schools and is an issue that Chris Lilley explores through his controversial, satirical comedy, ‘Summer Heights High’.
Director John Hughes does it again. In Sixteen Candles, he captures the essence of high school from the views of the nerds to the jocks. Depicted in the daily lives of the main characters, he shows even back in 1984, there is a division by popularity and grade. The struggles and pressures students faced are the same as what students are faced with in today’s high schools. This movie relates to teens year after year, generation after generation. Just as the author William Zinsser states in College Pressures, “They are too young to be prisoners of their parents’ dreams and their classmates’ fears” (385). Hughes is able to capture this through the eyes of high school students and the pressures they feel.
This film contains some classic examples of the kinds of real life issues adolescents deal with. Issues such as popularity, peer relationships, family/sibling relationships, sex, and struggles with identity are all addressed in this ninety-minute film.
The famous the note that was left by the teens in detention at the end of the movie shows the social connection between each of their roles in society and how those are tie to society. The teens use the stereotypical names to tell Mr. Vernon who they think they are; the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess, and the criminal, they use the names that society has given them because of their reputations, hobbies and looks. They each realize throughout the movie that there is something that connects them to one another which makes them all realize that no matter the stereotypical separation between them, they all have some things in common and can work together for a common goal.
We have two villains: a popular girl, who Denby describes as being “The most hated young woman in America” (Paragraph 1, p. 709) and her male counterpart: a jock. He also gives us specific descriptive evidence in these films of how they often tell an underdog story, where a “nerd” or an outcast ultimately ends up being the hero in the end. “The movies try to turn the tables” Denby says (Paragraph 4, p. 711). He goes on to describe the effect this common plotline might have on kids who may feel socially unaccepted in real life. His detailed description of how these movies may influence unrealistic expectations, and create emotional tensions for those who don’t fit in with “the beautiful ones”. David Denby does give us one specific truth behind these movies though. Although the “nerds”, or highly intellectual people are often looked down upon by their peers, they ultimately end up living successful lives. He says that it’s the “One unquestionable social truth the teen movies reflect” (Paragraph 2, p.713) and ironically describes that if the Columbine shooters would have known that, the situation may have turned out
Despite an inappropriate music-video sequence and a phony up-tempo finale, The Breakfast Club offers a breakthrough portrait of the pain and misunderstanding which result from the social hierarchy created by youth themselves. The lookers and the jocks are popular and can do whatever they want — except relate to those outside their social circle of winners.
The 2010 black comedy musical, Heathers, was written by Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy and was an adaptation of the 1988 film by Daniel Waters. The musical follows Veronica Sawyer as she navigates through Westerberg High School while dealing with being on the bottom of the social hierarchy and attempting to gain an in to the most popular clique: The Heathers. The musical deals with the social issues of navigating through social acceptance, teen suicide, as well as gun violence.
As a product of the 80’s, one of the most recognizable movies of the time was the Breakfast club. With a cast of the hottest, up and coming actors and actresses of that decade, the movie depicts the experiences of true adolescence development. This movie telling a tale of five distinctly different teenagers force to give up a Saturday in detention. What they learn from the next six hours was that despite their separate social affiliations, they are in fact the same. They each had to deal with issues of family and peers, identity and intimacy as they matured into acceptable adults.
Even before she stepped foot in the hallways of Central High, however, Melba’s sense of excitement and anticipation began to subside and was replaced with fear and frustration. As she went through her first few months at Central, she was plagued with a daily fear for her own personal safety. She could not understand how boys and girls could be allowed to behave in such hateful and often physically abusive ways. She learned, too, that the white students attending Central High were not the only ones who displayed such hateful behavior, as many of the school’s administrators as well as the members of the local a...
Heather was a new student at Merryweather High School, and she instantly made friends with Melinda through sitting in the same seat on the bus on the first day of school. Melinda excepted Heather, who will soon betray her later in the book. The lunchroom is where Heather tells Melinda that they can not be friends anymore. On page 105 in the book Heather says to Melinda, “‘When you get through this Life Sucks phase, I’m sure lots of people will want to be your friend. But you just can’t cut classes or not show up to school. What’s next—hanging out with the dopers?’” This is where Heather states her reasons towards leaving Melinda. The only thing Heather did not mention is that in order to be in the group the Marthas at school, she can not be friends with Melinda anymore. Heather would rather be popular than be a good friend to Melinda, who accepted her when she was new. Also, on page 107 Heather rejects Melinda and tells her she can not hang out with her anymore. Heather says this to Melinda: “‘Look, you can’t eat lunch with me anymore. I’m sorry. Oh, and don’t eat potato chips. They’ll make you break out.’” This quote is very important because it helps explain why Melinda was able to stick up for herself. Because Heather was so harsh on Melinda, the next time Heather needed something Melinda could say no. Finding her voice after so long that it had been missing was an important event that happened to her. To add on to Heather breaking her friendship with Melinda, she was left with no one to talk to. When Heather and Melinda became friends in the beginning of the year Melinda finally had someone to be around, speak to, and motivate her. Because Heather and Melinda are no longer friends Melinda is affected in a bad way. Melinda goes back to being the outcast of the school, being depressed, and closed off.
This book is basically following the gossip of the privileged, beautiful, and filthy rich teens. While many novels have a one-person view of their story, this one allows you to understand each character’s thoughts. Welcome to New York City’s Upper East Side, where teenagers have unlimited access to money and whatever else they could ask. This book begins when the girl everyone loved to hate, Serena van der Woodsen is back from boarding school. Everyone claims she was kicked out.