Defying the Norm: The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Other Teen Movies
Prom queens and football jocks – these are ubiquitous characters that fill teen movies in Hollywood, at least according to author David Denby in his 1999 New Yorker article “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies.” Denby claims that the genre duplicates formulaic patterns, filled with the proliferation of stereotypical characters, the harbored animosity against other teens, and a setting free of apprehension about the world outside their own. Indeed, with the success of popular films such as Mean Girls and The Duff, it is increasingly more difficult to shy away from the themes that Denby sets out. Yet, one film stands out over the rest. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a film written and directed by …show more content…
By eliminating character stereotypes and diverting the focus of the film from superficial social conflicts and materialism to one of authentic relationships and actual concerns that teenagers confront in the present, The Perks of Being a Wallflower refutes the themes that teen movies perpetuate as stated in Denby’s article.
Denby argues that teen movies typically contain stereotypical characters, such as the “beautiful and rich” social queen or the “muscular but dumb” jock (366). He describes these characters as “genre figures[,] these two types are hugely familiar; that is, they are common memory, a collective trauma, or at least a social and erotic fantasy” (367). One distinct aspect of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, however, is the exclusion of these characters. Instead, the film gives way to seemingly average teenagers, with no physical or social qualities that hugely define them. Charlie, the protagonist, is not just shy and introverted; he is a struggling teenager who is mentally troubled and trying
Prom queens and football jocks – these are ubiquitous characters that fill teen movies in Hollywood, at least according to author David Denby in his 1999 New Yorker article “High School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies.” Denby claims that the genre duplicates formulaic patterns, filled with the proliferation of stereotypical characters, the harbored animosity against other teens, and a setting free of apprehension about the world outside their own. Indeed, with the success of popular films such as Mean Girls and The Duff, it is increasingly more difficult to shy away from the themes that Denby sets out. Yet, one film stands out over the rest. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a film written and directed by …show more content…
By eliminating character stereotypes and diverting the focus of the film from superficial social conflicts and materialism to one of authentic relationships and actual concerns that teenagers confront in the present, The Perks of Being a Wallflower refutes the themes that teen movies perpetuate as stated in Denby’s article.
Denby argues that teen movies typically contain stereotypical characters, such as the “beautiful and rich” social queen or the “muscular but dumb” jock (366). He describes these characters as “genre figures[,] these two types are hugely familiar; that is, they are common memory, a collective trauma, or at least a social and erotic fantasy” (367). One distinct aspect of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, however, is the exclusion of these characters. Instead, the film gives way to seemingly average teenagers, with no physical or social qualities that hugely define them. Charlie, the protagonist, is not just shy and introverted; he is a struggling teenager who is mentally troubled and trying