The Kids Aren’t Alright: Troubled Teens on Screen

Film Talks

“When teens began hanging out at the mall in the early 1980s, the movies followed,” observed critic Timothy Shary in “Generation Multiplex” and the intervening decades have only reinforced this. This Film Talk will explore Hollywood’s continuing fascination with, and representational strategies around, teenagers on screen. The talk will feature clips from a variety of troubled teen-centered films including Heathers, The Faculty, Mean Girls, Donnie Darko and more, exploring the ways in which they helped to shape the cultural conversation around issues such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and more.