The Sense of Self in Adolescence: Teenager Movies

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Who are you? This question could be exceedingly intricate to answer if you were to ask an adolescent. Teens are experiencing countless changes in their development, which is why it is such a significant time for them. During this time teenagers develop their sense of self. Film has helped portray some of the changes that occur during this evolving developmental period. For this paper, I will be describing the differences between two adolescent films to depict differences in developing the self. Some differences I will cover include types of self, Erickson’s Identity Crisis, Marcia’s Identity Status Interview theory, and culture over time.(Arnett, 2013) Perks of Being a Wallflower (Halfon, Malkovich, Smith & Chbosky, 2012), is a film that takes place in the south, about a freshman named Charlie, who starts high school with no friends. He just wants to be accepted by his peers and fit in. The Wallflowers, which are seniors, take him under their wing and give him the opportunity to experience the life of being divergent. Can’t Buy Me Love (Mount & Rash, 1987) is a film about a freshman named Ronnie who has had a life-long crush on the neighbor Cindy. Ronnie's drawback is that he is a nerd whereas Cindy is considered the most beautiful girl in school. The movie continues to tell the story of how he ended up buying her love for one month and how it changed his high school life. Even though both of these movies have the same type of plot, scenes, and age groups, there is plenty of contrast between their self -identity. The first of which I would like to discuss, is the type of self being portrayed by both main characters. There are many types of self that people can fit into. There is who I am (actual self), who I might become (po... ... middle of paper ... ...up. This just shows that as well as personal and adolescent development, culture may change and develop over time as well. Overall, adolescent development is a turbulent time of change and growth for a person. It is a time where a lot of qualitative and quantitative changes are happening. Finding yourself, as an adolescent, is just a small fraction of the picture. Yet, adolescence is just one piece of the puzzle to development of the lifespan. Works Cited Arnett, J.J. (2013). Adolescence and emerging adulthood (5th Ed.). Boston: Pearson Publishers. Halfon,L., Malkovich, J., Smith, R., (Producers), & Chbosky, S. (Director). (2012). The perks of being a Wallflower (Motion picture). United States: Summit Entertainment. Mount, T. (Producer), & Rash, S. (Director). (1987). Can’t buy me love (Motion picture). United States: Apollo Pictures.

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