Read Virginia Postrel’s “Superhero Worship,”and then write an essay, using Postrel’s definition of superhero as a critical framework, in which you analyze glamour in two Hollywood superhero films. Be sure to address whether or not you agree with Postrel’s understanding of glamour. Provide specific examples (characters, scenes, images, etc.) from two films to support your argument.
TOPIC TWO: TEEN FILMS: Read David Denby’s “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies.” Then, write an essay in which you debate the validity of Denby’s claim that the enemy in teen films is not “authority,” but rather “other teens and the social system that they impose on one another” (398). Please, provide specific examples (characters, scenes, images, etc.) from two films to support your argument.
Outline for film Analysis I. Introduction A. High school movies reflect elements of truth that the contexts of peer pressures usually dictate teen movies. B. In “High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies,” David Denby critically pointed out the series of overused stereotypes and how a small number of movies have essentially expanded beyond a systematic high school movie. Denby’s assertion has an element of truth, which portrays how things feel as opposed to what is happening, providing a subjective reality for the schools. C. Thesis: In teens film, the real enemy is not always authority but peer pressure, which is the form of the system being imposed on one another. II. Analysis A. Adolescence is an emotional and social issue that affects many viewers; for example, in the teen film, a chap can instantly create a hero in swallowing a bucket of refectory coleslaw. This suggests that the youths are driven by social system issues that are imposed. B. A good example is a comedy known as Never Been Kissed. Drew Barrymore, who was a reporter, 25 years old, goes to her former high school and pretends to be a reporter and, in he process, falls back to her old, embarrassing pattern of trying to make an impression of the nice-looking, wealthy kids (Denby 94). Through helplessly pushing for approvals, she eventually got chosen before the context of coming up to sense and, in the process, finds letting go impossible. This suggests that the real enemy in teen films is another teen in the social system. III.Justification A. In the movie, the genre is mostly about how a thing feels, focusing on the emotional coloring of memory but not on what has eventually taken place. The teens in the schools do not usually have a unitary system of status, which explains why there are elements of arcana of high school cliques (Williams and Jolene 63). One of the key characters in Disturbing Behavior is Steve Clark. The character reveals the essence of humiliation, which remains clear among the youth, such that in the youth’s memory, it becomes the normality. B. The show comparatively tries to engage in new approaches through turning of table. In this context, it is seen that the children who cannot be among the good-looking ones, or involved in making out with the masses, or essentially evade being snubbed, remains to be the heroes of the teen movies. C. In the Cinderella movie, through the character known as Lady Tremaine, it is important to note that one of the little male nerds has essentially become rich (Williams and Jolene 63). This changed the narrative. The teens who were ridiculing him because of being a nerd suddenly became friendly to him. IV. Conclusion A. In conclusion, it is evident that In High-School Confidential: Notes on Teen Movies, David Denby critically pointed out the key themes in teen movies as common stereotypes and how few movies have gone beyond a systematic high school movie. B. The real enemy of teen films is not ‘authority.’ It was noticed that stereotypes affect youths’ reasoning and social capacity in different parameters. The majority of the teens become dictated by their peers such that when it comes to watching movies, the social group influences the key issues of the film. This justifies the notion that the real enemy of youths is in social settings. Works Cited Denby, David. “High school confidential: Notes on teen movies.” New Yorker (1999): 94-98. Williams, D. J., and Jolene Vincent. “It’s Going to be Extra Fun!”: Analysis of an atypical case of teen homicide as leisure behavior.” Journal of forensic sciences 63.6 (2018): 1914 1916.
