Hindsight

High School Movies from Andy Hardy to Carrie & beyond

My top twenty

Never Been Kissed (1999)

As a teen my mom often told me that High School was the best time of her life.  This week as my first child became a  High Schooler, I couldn't quite muster up the enthusiasm my mother had, so instead I came up with a relative solution, something to get a conversation going-we watched a movie, "Never Been Kissed" with Drew Barrymore.  Being a media scholar focused on media literacy, I am always keen to use film as a tool to solicit conversation.The film is a fun offering that beautifully explored the hierarchical aspects of High School in a way that at times seems fresh and innovative.    

 In this case, "Never Been Kissed" primed Joelle and I to discussed the film's portrayal of popularity politics, i.e. What made Drew Barrymore's portrayal of the loner so effective?  Why do pecking orders exist?  What the heck does the social have to do with an education anyway?  Oh, we had a good chat.  The theme of High School is a distinctive one in Hollywood, with a long tradition from 1930s saccharine "Andy Hardy" movies to serious love stories such as "Splendor in the Grass", and also horror classic "Carrie"   

Carrie (1976)

Although stereotypes do exist in the film, the lonely nerd, the perky cheerleader, the Misfit, or The Outcast, the Stoner "Never Been Kissed" does try to rework many of the core codes and conventions familiar to the genre, and therefore the film still seems fresh and intriguing. Unlike other films within the genre, this film takes on the less than funny subject of bullying and alienation not in a trivialized way but as a major plot point in the development of the lead character.  It is also fun to see a young woman play the protagonist who is smart, kind, and competitive but whom doesn't get punished for it.  Additionally, unlike other teen movies, sexual humor which is often directed at the cost of the female actors is wonderfully absent here.  lastly what makes this film, and all High School movies worth a peek regardless of the conversations they might promote?  In the end, films such as "Never Been Kissed" are the one way, we can re-experience High School but from the merciful distance of our living room couch.

Drew Barrymore's character in the film wants to go back to High School for two reasons: one as an undercover reporter and secondly to potential rework the painful memories of the first time around.  How many of us can relate to the latter?  Oh!  If I could do it again, I would imagine myself confident in my own voice and opinions, open to the range of other courses available such as shop, so should have taken shop!  Hmmm?  I think I know what to tell my daughter now!

Let me know your favorite High School themed movie, and we can start a conversation.