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History of Coming of Age Films
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Rebel Without a Cause
Director: Nicholas Ray
This is a famous coming-of-age drama film, showing the life of troubled protagonist, Jim Stark, who has moved to a new town due to problems in his other. He makes friends and falls in love with a local girl, but despite this, he still thinks he has to prove himself through knife-fights and dangerous games. It is aimed at, like most, teenagers in demographic E. I haven’t seen it but the film was received very well as it was one of the first coming-of-age films around. -
The Breakfast Club
Director: John Hughes – Molly Ringwald was the star of all his films
This is an American coming of age comedy-drama film about a group of high-schoolers who all end up in detention on the same day. One of the main reasons it was popular is because it starred a famous group of actors called “the brat pack”. The actors’ fame peaked in the 1980s, making the film very popular as it starred many teenagers’ role models. This is one of my favourite films and achieves engaging the target audience easily -
Ferris Beuller's Day Off
Directed by: John Hughes
This comedy's written in an American High School where the protagonist, Ferris, is adamant to have the day off school, despite his head teacher’s thoughts. From the opening sequence you can already tell that this is a humorous coming-of-age film made for young people, of demographic E, and I really enjoyed the film because I found that the narrative was intriguing and it gives an interesting view on the lives of characters that you wouldn’t expect. -
Stand By Me
Director: Rob Reiner
This adventure-drama film adaption of the Stephen King novella, the body, is written about a group of young boys who go on a journey with the aim of finding the body of a missing boy. I saw the film a while ago and enjoyed it because it was a touching novel that teaches the characters the rights and wrongs of life. I think it’s aimed at audience demographics A and B because the narrative has connotations of a serious film, which are likely to engage an older audience. -
Trainspotting
Director: Danny Boyle
Trainspotting is a coming-of-age drama film that tells a story about the life of Mark Renton, who is heavily caught up in the Edinburgh drug scene as he tries to get out and come clean. Despite not having seen the film, it is one of the highest-rated coming-of-age films ever made, for its thrilling narrative and in-depth view in to the low-life in the heart of Scotland. In my opinion, it is aimed at late teens and early adults in demographics C2 – E. -
Good Will Hunting
Director: Gus Van Sant
Good Will Hunting is the endearing story of a genius man who is struggling to find his way and can’t imagine a better life, until he meets the love of his life who makes him realise that there was more to him than he thought. With the help of his best friend/therapist, he begins to discover that there is more to life than he thought, in this drama film. This coming-of-age film stole the hearts of the public, and was aimed at audience demographics A and B. -
Dead Poet's Society
Director: Peter Weir
This coming-of-age drama is about a group of friends meeting their English Teacher who tells them of the Dead Poet’s Society and encourages them to go against the status-quo. Each of them does so and changes their lives forever, making the film popular when released as it was inspirational and shows how lives can be changed for the better. I haven’t seen this film but from reviews it is highly thought-of and clearly has a target audience of older teens in demographics D & E. -
American Pie
Director: Paul Weitz&Chris Weitz
American Pie is a coming-of-age comedy about 4 teenage boys who make it their aim to lose their virginity before prom day. I thought it was one of the funniest films ever made, however it did get mixed reactions when it was released, with some thinking it's inappropriate and unamusing.This movie clearly targeted the audience of young adults in demographics D and E. The language & fashion sense is different from nowadays, however the characters are still similar. -
The Virgin Suicides
Director: Sofia Cuppola
This film is the tragic tale of a group of neighbourhood boys who become fascinated by 5 local girls who're sheltered by their strict parents once one of them commits suicide. The coming-of-age romance drama was popular amongst its young audience at the time of its release because it was a mysterious view of a group of girls who became untouchable, making people aware of the effects suicide has on others. Although I haven’t seen it, it was super popular upon its release. -
Mean Girls
Director: Mark Waters
This classic coming-of-age film was a comedy aimed at younger people in audience demographics C1 to E and tells the story of 15 year old Cady, who has just moved to America from Africa, trying to fit in at high school. I enjoyed this film a lot, like many people, because the conventions of the film were aimed at people my age and the plot was similar to other coming-of-age films I like.The characters were realistic so made the film funnier and more popular with the audience -
Juno
Director: Jason Reitman
This romantic-comedy drama confronts the issue of a young teenage girl falling pregnant and giving birth to a child to give up for adoption. By seeing the opening sequence, you know that evidently the primary target audience is teenagers in demographic E, as it's a youthful coming-of-age film. This is implied by the cartoon opening sketches and messy block typography for the credits. I enjoyed this film as the characters were styled & humourous, with an entertaining plot. -
Submarine
Director: Richard Ayoade
This quirky outlook on the life of a precocious 15 year old boy, Oliver, makes for a memorable coming-of-age romantic-comedy drama film, based on the book written by Joe Dunthorne. It has a target audience of young people in demographic E, showing how to cope with the breakdown of your parents’ break-up and first love. This film went down especially well with the target audience as it was relatable and had a heart-warming narrative with a protagonist who was different. -
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Director: Stephen Chbosky
This young-adult fiction film, and epistolary novel, is about 15 year old introvert, Charlie, coping with his first love, the suicide of his best friend, along with his own mental illness whilst starting high-school.This coming of age film was aimed at young adults in audience demographics B,D&E. The characters in this movie are realistic and relatable, which is what made the film so popular. I loved the film, partly as it's opening sequence drew me in from the start.
