High school is definitely an important time in one’s life, but it’s not the only part of it. Shouldn’t there be more films about people of other ages? We deserve that.
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High school is only one small part of our entire lives. While it’s a fun, important time in life, it isn’t the most crucial part of it. So, why does it get so much attention? Because younger kids can look forward to it? So, current high schoolers can relate? So that older people can feel nostalgic? It’s a popular setup that gets used all too often. People of other ages deserve to be celebrated too, because no one stays a high schooler forever. If high school is painted as the most important time in life, we can only expect everything to go downhill from there. Why isn’t there more media about college or the average workplace? High school isn’t everything, and it’s time to normalize that.
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High School Setting
One of the reasons why high school is such an ideal setting is the building. Characters can have classes with one another and see each other regularly. Even if a character is shy, high school is a very social setting. You’re around the same people and are familiar with people you don’t even really know. You can recognize a name or a face without even talking to that person. Another reason that it is such a formative time in people’s lives is because they are starting to discover who they are, entering relationships, and gaining independence. It’s an exciting time with a lot to offer, making it an ideal setting for lots of media.
There are so many classic high school movies that are well-loved. ‘The Breakfast Club’, ‘Clueless’, and ‘Mean Girls’, to name a few. These are all examples of great movies that represent teenage life and what it can be like. It’s important to have movies like these so teenagers can relate to them and feel seen. But teenagers aren’t the only ones who deserve to feel that way. Which is why there should be a focus on other significant parts of life as well.
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College
While so many people rave about how college was amazing, there isn’t much media for it. There’s a lot of freedom that comes with college, and the characters are old enough to engage in more mature situations. Unlike a high school setting, college is a lot bigger, which can complicate things. There are so many people, and you don’t know most of them. Classes are bigger, and there’s less time to socialize in them compared to high school classes. Most of the time, the students listen to the lecture, maybe do a small partner exercise, and then leave to go to a class with entirely different people. It can be hard to bond in that kind of setting. But just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
While there aren’t as many in comparison to high school, college movies still exist. ‘Pitch Perfect’ is a prime example, as it was extremely popular when it came out. The girls in the choir all had different classes, but it was that one club that bonded them, and they spent a lot of time together. In ‘An Extremely Goofy Movie’, Max, Goofy’s son, goes to college with his friends, and they join the X-Games tournament. In ‘Legally Blonde,’ Elle was in a sorority, then went to Harvard Law after graduation. All these movies are great examples that a story can thrive in a university. All you have to do is narrow the setting enough for the characters to share a connection, just like in these movies.
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Work
It makes sense that since most people work, there’d be ample media set in workplaces. Whether it’s full-time or part-time, almost everyone works in some way. A work environment is small enough to thrive as a setting, whether it’s a single department, a small company, or a shop. It’s fun to see workplace dynamics on screen, from getting along to comedic fights. Just because people are adults doesn’t mean they’re smart or mature.
Shows like ‘The Office’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’ are great because they take a regular job and turn it into a fun program that many people can relate to and enjoy. Sometimes job-focused media centers on special jobs that most people don’t have. ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ is a fantastic movie, but Andy works for a huge fashion magazine. Andy herself is a relatable character that the audience can relate to, but her place of work isn’t. That doesn’t mean that programs like that are bad, just not as openly relatable. There have been workplace-centered shows over the years, but they aren’t as well-known as bigger series like ‘The Office’. These types of programs also tend to remain as shows, not a major movie genre like high school movies.
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Kids
A story about a kid can be very empowering to children. While they do look up to older people and wish they were a teenager, that doesn’t mean their media should focus entirely on middle or high schoolers. Being a kid is the best, and they deserve to feel that way. Movies like ‘Spy Kids’, ‘Invader Zim’, and ‘Matilda’ all make kids feel like they’re capable of great things themselves. It reminds them they don’t have to wait till they’re older to start living life, they can do it right now.
There’s been a lot of controversy over child actors lately, and it’s understandable to think that children should be enjoying their childhood instead of acting. However, there can still be child-focused media without child actors. Animation allows for the character to be a kid while allowing for an older voice actor. This gives a happy compromise of giving kids relatable, empowering media focused on a character closer to their age group without depriving a child actor of their childhood or making the characters too old for young kids to really relate to.
Life
The representation we have for these other monumental times in life are without a doubt fun and entertaining, but that doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be more of them. It would be beneficial for these genres to gain more traction so that people at other stages of life have more consumable media to relate to. High school movies will always be good and need to stick around, but it’s time to start appreciating the rest of our lives. Life is so much more than just four years of adolescence.
By Veronica Waddell
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Veronica Waddell is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in English and a passion for writing as well as film. She loves seeing what story each film has to offer and dissecting them to critically analyze all they have to offer. Veronica never bases her thoughts on rumor or gossip in hopes of getting views, which she loves about The Hollywood Insider. She’s an honest, positive girl who bases all her arguments on truth and fact, and tries to see the good in everything in order to build things up. While she enjoys entertainment of many kinds, she’s fond of children’s media because of how light-hearted and fun it is, and that’s what she enjoys reporting on most. It is her goal to work in children’s media to help entertain them today and create a memorable childhood for them in the future.
Veronica Waddell is a graduate of the University of Oregon with a degree in English and a passion for writing as well as film. She loves seeing what story each film has to offer and dissecting them to critically analyze all they have to offer. Veronica never bases her thoughts on rumor or gossip in hopes of getting views, which she loves about The Hollywood Insider. She’s an honest, positive girl who bases all her arguments on truth and fact, and tries to see the good in everything in order to build things up. While she enjoys entertainment of many kinds, she’s fond of children’s media because of how light-hearted and fun it is, and that’s what she enjoys reporting on most. It is her goal to work in children’s media to help entertain them today and create a memorable childhood for them in the future.
