Abstract
Canning explores previously unconsidered thematic and structural generic links between teen film and the “Smart film” (Sconce in Screen 43: 349–369, 2002)—characterized by blank, ironic, or distanced “sensibility” or tone, and preoccupied with questions of identity—which emerged in the intersection of independent and mainstream cinema in the 1990s. The “Smart teen film” examines issues of personal identity, class, sexuality, and (often) masculinity, rebellion against adulthood, and disillusionment with hierarchical social structures including the family, discussed here in relation to Rushmore (Wes Anderson 1998), Brick (Rian Johnson 2005), and Election (Alexander Payne 1999). The chapter concludes firstly, that the Smart teen film investigates these issues in ways that reflect American public and institutional discourses of the period which alienated and materially disadvantaged young people, rendering youth itself a “problem” to be solved; and, secondly, that it displaces the teenage audience in favour of an adult audience mobilizing discourses of nostalgia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey, Steve, and James Hay. 2002. Cinema and the Premises of Youth: Teen Films and Their Sites in the 1980s and 1990s. In Genre and Contemporary Hollywood, ed. Stephen Neale, 218–235. London: British Film Institute.
Driscoll, Catherine. 2011. Teen Film: A Critical Introduction. Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.
Giroux, Henry A. 2002. Teen Girls’ Resistance and the Disappearing Social in Ghost World. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies 24 (4): 283–304.
Grossberg, Lawrence. 2001. Why Does Neoliberalism Hate Kids? The War on Youth and the Culture of Politics. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies 23 (2): 111–138.
Hanson, Peter. 2002. The Cinema of Generation X: A Critical Study of Films and Directors. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company.
Kaveney, Roz. 2006. Teen Dreams: Reading Teen Film and Television from Heathers to Veronica Mars. London and New York: I.B. Tauris.
King, Geoff. 2009. Indiewood, USA. London and New York: I.B. Tauris.
Levy, Emanuel. 2001. Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. New York, NY and London: New York University Press.
Mottram, James. 2006. The Sundance Kids: How the Mavericks Took Back Hollywood. New York, NY: Faber & Faber.
Sconce, Jeffrey. 2002. Irony, Nihilism, and the New American “Smart” Film. Screen 43 (4): 349–369.
Shary, Timothy. 2014. Generation Multiplex: The Image of Youth in American Cinema After 1980. Austin TX: University of Texas Press.
Tzioumakis, Yannis. 2006. American Independent Cinema: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Waxman, Sharon. 2005. Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Canning, L. (2018). The “Smart” Teen Film 1990–2005: Identity Crisis, Nostalgia, and the Teenage Viewpoint. In: Dibeltulo, S., Barrett, C. (eds) Rethinking Genre in Contemporary Global Cinema. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90134-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90134-3_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-90133-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-90134-3
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)