Representation

A group that I may want to represent within my project is teenagers in high school. There are many different types of ways in which teenagers are presented in films due to stereotypes. For example, the smart and quiet teens are stereotyped as a nerd,  cheerleaders as popular or cool, and athletic guys as jock. Most of these stereotypes take place in high school, which to many is the hardest cycle in being a teenager. High school is a place where many have trouble fitting in due to the fact that they don't meet specific standards. This is why many teenagers begin to change who they are and start hanging out with the wrong group of friends. It's always about fitting in.

For example, films like The Duff is a perfect example of how teenagers are represented nowadays. The main character, Bianca who is not like most girls because she only has 3 friends, dresses different, and is really smart, has a crush on her next door neighbor, Wesley who is a popular jock. Bianca thinks that there is no chance Wesley would ever see her in that way as she is not the prettiest girl in the school and is considered a loser. The popular girl in the film, Madison is of course the mean cheerleader who is dating Wesley, since they are both the most popular kids in schools. What's good about this movie is that it shows how stereotypes can be broken because at the end Bianca, the loser, ends up with Wesley, instead of Madison the popular cheerleader. Another example, is the film, A Cinderella Story. This film is about a girl named Sam, who has never really had a good high school experience , as all she does is study and work. Ever since Sam’s dad died, she has been forced to live with her evil stepmother and evil stepsisters, who make her work all day at their diner. Sam is also considered a loser, since she only has one friend named Carter, does not really talk to anyone, and studies all day. Sam seems to have a crush on the most popular guy in school named Austin, but Austin doesn't even know she exists until Sam goes to a ball dressed completely different, almost like Cinderella. Austin did not know that it was Sam because it was a masquerade ball and also because Sam refused to tell him who she was because she thought that someone as great and as cool as him would not want to be with such a loser like her.  Like all love stories, Austin ends up finding out it was Sam and chooses to accept her because different clothes doesn't change who she is. And they end up falling in love and living happily ever after.

I do not think that it is fair the way high school teenagers are represented. Not all teenagers are the same and this just causes them to want to change who they are just to fit in. Why can’t cheerleaders be nice? Why can't nerds be popular? Why can't jocks date losers? The representation for teenagers is just not correct as not all cheerleaders are dumb and mean and not all nerds are losers. I wouldn’t really retain any of the representations for teenagers because these stereotypes are what cause many problems for many in high school. I would want to challenge all the representations, but if I had to pick one, I would pick the one where someone different and smart is considered a loser. I believe that being like everyone else is boring which is why being different actually makes you stand out, which I would see as more of a good thing than bad because why would you want to be like everyone else? Finally, I think that being smart and having one or two real friends is way better than being dumb and having hundreds of friends because at least you have true friends and have a bright future ahead.