we're about to tackle a lot

 I don't even know where to begin- OH! Okay, so I've decided that I have a lot to write about over the course of the next couple of weeks so I made a little schedule for myself!!! 

Woo!! Finally, I feel better about this project and all I needed to do was be a little more organized :D but anyway, I'm going to post a new schedule every week with what I intend to blog about each day and hopefully follow through with the plans.

As you can see today I'm researching my chosen genre, my target audience, and I'm writing an analysis on different coming-of-age movies, hopefully finding some guidelines for me to follow when writing my own coming-of-age film opening.

3 Characteristics of Coming-of-Age Movies

1. Character growth: These films usually follow a character realizing their future, which leads to their development from an innocent child to a perceptive young adult. The films focus on the characters’ mental, emotional, and personal growth. It deals with their life struggles as they mature and how they interact with their environment. It is pretty popular amongst teenagers for that reason. 
   
   
2. Dialogue: Coming-of-age films focus on the interior lives and emotions of the characters, rather than an outside action or adventure that’s driving the narrative. These films feature more dialogue and moments of stillness than dramatic actions or events. Often this genre of movies makes use of the character vs. self or character vs. society conflicts, as the protagonist is growing up and having to deal with the consequences of their actions and make life-changing decisions. 
   
   
3. Social commentary: Coming-of-age films address issues that teens face today, like coming out in Moonlight (2016), teen pregnancy in Juno (2007), or race and violence in Boyz n the Hood (1991). These movies can be controversial and risky to produce, but it is important that people understand that society is changing and an abundance of issues that were never addressed in the past are more accepted now. This genre of film can be really relatable to teenagers and young adults.

"In this context, it’s quite common and logical that most of these stories revolve around the high school years, especially 12th-grade senior year. Leaving the comfort of home and making a decision that will impact the future of your life, is a setting simply too perfect for a portrayal of character growth."

"It potentially provides you with a clear setting, identifiable protagonist’s goal – the struggle for their own personal growth and a host of supporting characters to further test your character writing skills with."

-Industrial Scripts (both)

At times coming-of-age movies also incorporate comedy aspects, as the character is immature, has a big ego, and is very susceptible to peer pressure, but overall it talks about serious issues and social concepts. Many of these movies, however, incorporate stereotypical characters, like the popular girl, the jock, and the geek, but I don't intend to do that with my piece, I want it to be more realistic than funny.

My conclusion from this: my character will be a 12th grader in a small town's high school (I feel like that's how most movies go for some reason)... or should they be from a big city like Miami? ...Hm...TBD for now. Anyway, like I mentioned previously I want my character to suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, an introvert who forces themself to be an extrovert but ends up with bad social anxiety and that's how they start the movie locked in a bathroom having an anxiety attack of some sort. 
It will follow them as they progress through their senior year but also have some flashbacks to their childhood, elaborating on the reasoning for their self conflicts and mental disorders. Their set goal will be to graduate high school, of course, get into their dream college, but they will also struggle with their love life and sexuality crisis (representation post coming soon!) I think it's really important that I make this movie as relatable as possible for gen z teens, which brings me to my target audience. 

Target Audience - Gen Z

As I previously mentioned this movie will be set on modern times and follow the life of a Gen Z teenager, and so many of their struggles will be relatable to Gen Z teenagers, but I expect it to be relatable to late Millanials and also early Gen Alpha. As a Gen Z teenager myself I can safely say we are neglected constantly for having a "safer" and "easier" childhood than older generations, which I can understand, but what they don't see is how much this technological era has made growing up an extremely difficult time for us, with depression, anxiety, and suicide rates skyrocketing, and the constant thought of having to maintain a perfect online presence. It's really important that these issues are acknowledged through the media produced nowadays so that Gen Z teens don't feel alone with their feelings and thoughts, they feel heard and represented.

Analysis/examples of coming-of-age movies targeted to Gen Z teenagers: 

Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart (2019)

Brief Synopsis: It is an unfiltered comedy about two graduating high school seniors, named Amy and Molly. It’s not until the eve of their graduation that these academic overachievers come to realize all the fun and excitement they have missed throughout the past four years. As a result, they set out to break their own rules in a night of chaos and partying. This movie successfully reaches its target audience of Gen Z teenagers through a combination of witty dialogue and an endearing friendship duo. It fits the coming-of-age genre because it follows two main characters through their high school graduation, a time of constant change and life decisions that can be extremely relatable. They deal with multiple different life issues and conflicts, such as love, but never abandon each other's side.

Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon (2018)

Brief Synopsis: This film adds an interesting spin to the classic coming of age story by centering around Simon Spier, a closeted gay high school boy who struggles to find a balance between his family, friends, and secret love life. Simon finds solace by exchanging back and forth emails with an anonymous classmate who also shares this same secret. But right when he thinks all is going well in his life, Simon is threatened to be outed to everyone he loves. Throughout the film, we see Simon come to terms with his own sexuality, once he realizes that all of his friends and family still love him just the same as before he had come out.  It was the first movie to feature an LGBTQ+ protagonist, which is quite shocking. It shows the struggles a young queer person goes through and Simons coming out story, which is characteristic of a coming-of-age movie. Love, Simon was the first time that mainstream media portrayed this community through a sweet and warm-hearted story - one which young queer people can somewhat identify with and watch for years to come.

Stephen Chbosky’s Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Brief Synopsis: We first see Charlie begin his freshman year of high school after being discharged from a mental health care institution. Being the shy and socially awkward person he is, Charlie initially has difficulty making any friends. However, once welcomed by two charismatic seniors - Sam and her stepbrother Patrick - Charlie’s life seems to be heading in a positive direction. Ultimately, they help him discover the joys of life through friendship, music, and love. When this trio isn’t performing in their regular Rocky Horror Picture Show, you can find them going on adventures throughout Pittsburg, discovering underground music, or attending artsy, outsider type parties. Their friendship supports Charlie as he confronts his depression and anxieties, by teaching him to embrace who he is rather than trying to repress how he really feels. I'm taking a lot of inspiration from this movie as it accurately depicts what it’s like to struggle with self-confidence issues and mental health as a young person. It's main conflict is Charlie vs. his own anxiety which is extremely relatable and the route I'm taking. The film shows how those suffering past trauma can overcome their personal battles by finding a supportive community or group of friends with whom they are able to be vulnerable and feel listened to, which is an important message for Gen Z (and other generations to come).

Other coming of age movies:

• The Breakfast Club (1985): Arguably one of the most well-known teen films and coming-of-age films, John Hughes' movie is set one weekend where a group of teens from different backgrounds are trapped together in detention.
  
  
• Boyz n the Hood (1991): This film was John Singleton's directorial debut, and it centered on young Black men living in Los Angeles.
  
  
• Almost Famous (2000): Directed by Cameron Crowe, this film follows a fifteen-year-old as he tours with a rock band for Rolling Stone magazine.
  
  
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005): This heartwarming film, based on the book of the same name, follows four young women and best friends as they navigate family conflict, first loves, loss, and growing up.
  
  
• Superbad (2007): The film follows two nerdy teenagers who want to party and lose their virginity before high school ends.
  
  
• Boyhood (2014): This coming-of-age movie from filmmaker Richard Linklater was filmed over twelve years. It follows one boy from age six to eighteen.
  
  
• Moonlight (2016): This film follows a man through three stages of his life—childhood, teenage years, and adulthood—as he slowly comes to terms with his sexuality.
  
  
• Call Me By Your Name (2017): This Italian-set movie is a love story, following the relationship between a young man as he falls in love for the first time.
  
  
• Lady Bird (2017): Lady Bird is Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut. It follows a teenage girl applying for college far from home in New York and navigating a fraught relationship with her overbearing mother.
  

Sources:

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/coming-of-age-movies#3-characteristics-of-comingofage-movies

https://industrialscripts.com/coming-of-age-movie/

https://www.unpublishedzine.com/film-1/coming-of-age-films-for-gen-z