The Art of Teen Films- American Graffiti (1973)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 พ.ค. 2016
- Capturing characters at any age is a challenge, but it's especially difficult if the characters are teenagers. Let's look at 'American Graffiti' and see how it sidesteps that and other problems that modern-day teen films often fail at solving.
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As someone who's just turning 21, I feel like I have some insight into the latter half of the video's stance on recent teen films and how they 'impose' adult perspectives into high school years. When I was 16, I was growing up in a culture where the economy tanked, college was nothing more than a debt-sentence and none of my passions felt like viable career paths, and I spend every waking moment completely aware of everything I was doing wrong, everything I was missing, and everything I was supposed to be appreciating. The American Graffiti generation grew up and told me about how high school was supposed to feel and how coming into adulthood is supposed to feel, and having to reconcile the images they put in my head with the reality I was experiencing led to a completely detached and somewhat melancholy feeling, punctuated by intense moments of stress and anguish. I don't think more recent teen movies are phony. I honestly feel like they're reflecting the times they're being made in.
And if that wasn't the experience you had, and you're close in age to me, it's probably because Perks of Being a Wallflower and American Graffiti were written by two very different former high school kids. It sounds like you had George Lucas' high school experience. I'm fairly certain I had Stephen Chboski's. Both experiences are possible for two different teenagers during the same point in time, even in the same school. The level of self-awareness in Wallflower never once felt out of place for me. Everybody's different.
Well I do think that no teenager thinks "we are infinite". But Charlie is trying very hard to be writer, so even that awkwardness might well be in character.
While I agree with you that newer teen movies explore vastly different topics than 'American Graffiti', since youth or rather experiencing youth is completely different now than it was then, I still feel as if movies like 'Perks of being a Wallflower' are written by adults, for adults or at least in a way that do not reflect the way teens, even in modern times, live, speak or think. It's more a reflexion.
Everyone is different, not due to your birth right of being "unique"; but rather, our experiences on the same things resulting in different reflections. We are all aware of our own actions and situations, but many of us react differently. It's not the sense of narcissism that puts people in the frame of mind that other teenagers are stupid. It's the simple fact that many teenagers tend to mostly care about losing their virginities, meeting the love of their lives, or the idea of what they are going to do after highschool. I have experienced insanity and stupidity throughout middle school to my early highschool experience, and after that time I realized something. At the point when I realized that I was at the brink of fucking up my whole life I took a step back and reflected. I reflected on why I did the things I did and why I do the things I do. From that stemmed my self awareness of not just me, but the world around me. I came to the realization that my generation is stuck between the world of discrimination and advancement. We have the resources to fund the creation and embarkment of humanity's dawn of the exploration of the universe and the colonization of space, but we are held back by local wars for resources and conflict of views. We are stuck in a world of confliction, and nothing significant except for the political result will stand. However, most teenagers aren't reflecting on the wars in the middle east, or the potential failure of the SpaceX program. Nor are they making adult remarks and views on life; however, that's actually wrong. When you hit 20 you don't magically stop being a teenager and make a quote that states that "life is limitless". We evolve from the person we were yesterday, and if your not growing as a person, than you probably need to start. As a modern society we aren't all buffoons who can't think for themselves or come to dark or eye opening realizations. I have been noticing that people tend to pass off all teenager as stupid and unable to come up with adult views or ideologies. The truth is that despite the numerical value of age, experience dictates knoledge. Some people have fucked up lives and a different highschool experience, and some live simpler lives and have a completely different experience. I had a friend kill himself, another drop out of highschool and go homeless, another became an alcoholic, and the last two I lost contact with. In a sense I see my life as a film with characters and events. In a world where every single person I met is either degrading or another simpleminded individual focused on putting their johnson in a key hole. Either way we all face the same world we share, but it's not your age that limits what you interpret of it all; but rather, it's what you have experienced and what you think and do of it.
TL:DR
Mitochondria is the power house of the cell.
Yeah, I think the guy that made this video doesn't get that something being relatable is subjective. Does he really think there aren't high school kids trying to be deep and philosophical? I mean Charlie wants to be a writer for fucks sake. I think it's purposefully written cheesily because it's from his perspective. Plus it made no sense how he talked about "hipster cynicism" and then followed it up with an uplifting movie speech. How can he say American Graffiti feels right? It's a time and place he doesn't know. It feel disingenuous to me. He has no idea what an accurate portrayal of a day in the life of a teenager in the 50's would be like. It just annoys me how he praises it when it is probably just as accurate as the modern ones he shits on. I think this guy is the hipster. I bet he would hate American Graffiti if you kept everything the same about the movie but put it in present day.
Great review. I was fortunate grow up in southern California in the 50's and 60's and experience all the music, dances, cars and surfing. George Lucas and the other writers came up with an absolutely perfect script and then worked the scenes and music in a incredibly accurate of portrayal of our lives. Every time I watch it I pick up on some nuance that is just perfect. Even the ending with Milner and Terry dying was exactly right, we all lost friends in accidents and Vietnam and that's why we hold on hard to the memory of those precious times.
🙏🏼
You're a fucking genius. People in comments are continually missing the point of retrospective knowledge. Everyone likes to think that their teen years weren't as awkward and lacking eloquence as the really were. The fact of the matter is EVERYONE was uncomfortable and lost during puberty. The existential ideas that began to blossom during these years were not fleshed out. They were minute and devoid of substance, and they sure as hell weren't correct.
It is only in LOOKING BACK that we understand what we were chasing after. It is only in retrospect that we understand the answers to the questions forming during that time.
You have to understand that every teenager was chasing and never catching, questioning and never answering.
And this is the essence of the essay that you are absolutely right about.
"I love it when you can SMELL the air of a film."
Dude.
That line is what hooked me in. American Graffiti is my favorite film ever made and I think that's what drew me into it. Im 16, a big car nerd, and I reminisce about the cruising culture of the 50's. I feel so alive when watching this film, I feel like I am in the movie, that I live in the world that George Lucas wanted to show. I feel so nostalgic for something I never experienced, and I think that's exactly what he was going for.
Please keep making these. The quality of analysis is so good I cry a bit.
Teen years change between generations. I'm saying that, and I'm sixteen at the moment so I might come off as a bit pretentious but as much as my Fridays are filled with piling into the cars' of my older friends and cranking the music up to the levels of being deaf whilst screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs, all whilst trying to find things to do and going to the movies when everyone has the money for it, my other days of the week are not so much alike. Most of my time I'm filled with the awkwardness and anxiety portrayed in the teen movies of today. This, of course, differentiates from person to person as well as generation to generation. I can definitely relate to the fact that some movies overdo this "anxiety teen" and these themes of depression and the like, but I also definitely believe it's a bigger part of the teen society of today.
But fantastic fucking video btw
I think teen movies today are only like that because they are heavily influenced by John Hughes films
Good point. The Breakfast Club functions more like a teen theater play than a teen dramedy film. Therefore the exaggerated characters and earnest philosophical dialogue. It's like we are eavesdropping on five kids waiting for Godot, during Saturday morning school detention.
to be fair, perks of being a wallflower is about an introvert who was sexually abused and is very much in his own introspective head. His character longs for the things that come so easy to the characters in say american graffiti, but he can't get to that normally so easily because he is so mentally derived from other teenagers. American graffiti so more about those other teenagers, and I definitely know a few pretentious teens who have talked the way the teens in perks do, not so much the fault in our stars though, that dialogue didn't make sense even for the characters that were being written
To be fair, George Lucas only really worked on the first few drafts, and he admits that they weren't great. It was the other two writers that made the script what it is, so you can breathe easy on that front.
I knew something fishy was going on there
areitu George Lucas is just a name tbh.
I think one of the key things about American Graffiti is that its not a teen film, per se, unlike the ones you are comparing it to. Sure, it's about teens, but its a nostalgia piece and was marketed at the time to adults - the tagline 'where were you in '62?' definitely suggests that.
I think your concern about the writing in contemporary teen films is valid, but I think its motivated by a (perhaps misguided) desire to teach lessons, a sort of 'hey kids, don't make the same mistakes I did' mentality, which American Graffiti doesn't suffer from as it wasn't designed explicitly for teens. Which is not to say teens can't or shouldn't watch it, because they should as it's a great film.
Glad you made the comment at the end about Lucas. This is one of those movies that I think Lucas really got just right, but you never hear it mentioned because everyone tends to fixate on Star Wars.
This movie is very similar to my own experience as a teen just before graduating high school. My friends and I would cruise around and just generally be hooligans in our cars, because we didn't have much else to do. Some of us thought about our future at that time, but generally it was a really care-free time, and this movie captured that feeling perfectly.
Nick and Noras Infinite Playlist always brings me back to being 16-17 because of the music. It perfectly captures the same feeling I felt being a teenager and driving into New Orleans with my friends to see a concert and ending up having wacky adventures, with very similar music to what i was listening to then. Its no masterpiece but I can always throw it on and enjoy it.
American Graffiti is one of my favorite movies ever. I think you did a pretty good job of explaining why so many people like it, because of its authenticity and simplicity, the 'low stakes' drama, looking for stuff to do, the girls, etc. Lucas is a genius imo, even in the prequels you can see what he was going for.
Still one of my all time favorite movies.. it just makes me happy everytime I watch it.
And on another note: It's just mind-boggling to me how few subs you have. This is some quality content. Keep up the great work.
I wasn't alive in the 70s, but that era is so nostalgic to me.
What's wrong with complimenting the younger Lucas' writing? THX 1138 wasn't bad.
THX 1138 is fantastic!
Because it’s the typical and general consensus to bash his writing quality and directing styles when in fact he’s one of if not the most underrated filmmaker in history, from THX 1138, American Graffiti and Star Wars (a New Hope) to even the prequels and while they aren’t perfect they are much muuuuch better than the mediocre and recycled sequel trilogy
Seriously, I've never agreed with a video more in my entire life. Thank you for crystallizing something I've been trying to properly articulate for years and years. Teen films (with a few exceptions of course) really do feel like that. Especially in Perks. I'm only 21, but I remember walking out of that film feeling so frustrated and angry that I didn't know anyone in that film. They all seemed like strangers to me. Thank you so much. You have earned a very loyal subscriber.
Speaking of the last sentiment expressed, I know. I feel that way EVERY TIME I think about how much I love this movie. I'm 53. I remember the existence of this movie before there was a Star Wars. I saw it for the first time when I was younger than these people, when I didn't know what a director was, when I had no idea that the voice behind these characters was going to be this important and ultimately become this sad.
This film is brilliant, however. And probably because Lucas didn't have to cope with the probable nightmare of stress that followed the success of Star Wars, the pressure that landed on his head to equal that and the pressure that has been there since to be an icon and not a human. When he made American Graffiti, he was only a human ~ and being a human, he knew how to write about humans and make it understood by humans.
There we're actually other writers. That can explain why the characters feel like humans.
I love your channel. This is film analysis done right when there's so many others that somehow, sometimes barely, miss the point. Touche and thank you!
Best Teen Films:
1955 Rebel without a Cause
1973 American Graffiti
1985 Breakfast Club
1989 Dead Poets Society
1999 October Sky
I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Thought of putting in Ferris Bueller.
"Cooley High", but this is an African American film..
Another great video, dude. Keep it up, seriously, this is unreasonably high quality stuff.
This is one of the most underrated movie essay channels on TH-cam. Great job! I'm loving every video so far :)
I literally lived this movie, just in the'Dazed And Confused' era as I was 12 in 1973 when I first saw American Graffiti the first time. But everything was a little slower. My brother had a '56 Chevy and we lived in a small town of about 7,000 in Northwest Arkansas. Back then there was a parking lot where everyone hooked up and went to the bowling alley, drive in, and many of us raced at 2 dangerous places. This has always been my favorite movie and I've turned a lot of people on to it over the years. I've been fortunate enough to meet many famous people in my life including 2 President's but I always wanted to meet Paul LeMat. Well I never have met him but I did manage to make contact with him last year and had a few conversations. So it goes full circle for me. I'm still a car guy as is my brother and I write and record music so I get everything you said. Thanks!
Dude, your videos are blowing me away. These are better than anything on ScreenJunkies, Cinefix, or CinemaSins. Just gotta make more! :)
This was a really cool take on tone and character authenticity. I will have to say that at 18, I do relate the energy and fun of American Graffiti. I get the spirt of pilling into cars with my friends, taking the train into the city and party hopping. But at the same time, things are tough. We all struggle and feel the weight of the decisions we make now. My friends and I collectively reflect on our existence and the value of our experiences and youth. Lol it's really a balance of highs and low dependent on the weather and the playlist.
Fantastic take on an immortal classic. I enjoyed your take on writers and their supreme influence on romanticizing the past instead of remembering what it was like to be there. Keep it up, buddy.
This video really resonated to my teenage soul. Thank you!
American Graffiti was one of the movies that got me into filmmaking, after I saw it for the first time as a Freshman in High School. As a Senior, a lot of the undertones the main characters dealt with make more sense as I'm older, then the 1st time I saw it. For example, the ending is a lot more melancholy for me now, realizing the same things Kurt dealt with (College, leaving home, love, self-esteem), are issues I'm starting to deal with in my life.
LOL that line from perks from being a wallflower is actually right from the book...
Maybe the best analysis I have ever heard or read about the difference between authentic teen movies and contrived ones.
This is great! I love all your videos.
I watched this in my early teens in the historic center of my city on some weird movie night event, out in the open, and I thought it was just some strange classic film. Now that I'm that age the characters were, I feel, and act, and do, alot of the same things the characters did. The effect is truly timeless, and I didn't realize that until I had watched the movie and then went on to experience it for myself.
totally agree with teen films today trying have gravitas. my teen year were always filled with angst but just wanting to be apart of something and have fun. I think about movies like superbad and project x which to me have the same feeling.
Your commentary is wise & admirable!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a fantastic movie! whatttttttt
Touched my heart bruh. I loved American Graffiti when I had to watch it in high school for a film class. Didn't think of it in this scope back then though. Looking back now, it must've been why I loved it. Also glad you mentioned The Last Picture Show here too.
Great job, man! Keep it up!
I am so glad I found your channel
I feel like teen movies now days are more serious and depressing than they need to. Most deal with alcohol abuse or crisis's or even death. I feel like these are over the top dramatic depictions of teenagers and that period of time. I'm a teen right now and that stuff may happen to some people yes but not in that way. High school life is more of a mix of the films "Superbad" and "Dazed and confused". I have not seen this movie yet but I really want to. Great video man!
Although I agree that many teenage movie seem too "adult writen" I have to disagree in the place of the movie you sited (the Perks of Being a Wallflower). The movie/book in itself makes a whole lot of sense of sounding like a writer. Because the narator (In this case Charlie) is himself a writer. He does not think this way in the actual moment. However he writes it in his letters this way.
That's true, but you can't say they accurately capture the feeling of youth or share universal feelings for youth.
I agree. His narration isn’t how a teenager speaks. But it is definitely how teenagers write (or at least try to write). The bits of writing I have from my teenage years are agonisingly pretentious (and also bad).
I wonder if maybe part of the difference is that Graffiti is what it’s like to be a teenager in the moment. Whereas wallflower especially is what it’s like to agonise over ever every event after the fact.
I gotta watch American Graffiti. I definitely feel the same as you do about many recent "teen movies." I could hardly even stomach watching the trailer for The Fault in Our Stars, let alone watch the movie. And I felt similarly for Perks. Probably my favorite teen movie is Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Ferris Bueller rocks. Probably my favorite John Hughes movie. Personally, I never really attached to the teen film genre (I also am one at the moment).
Ferris is a prick.
Haha this whole hipster thing is retarded. You guys act like half the characters in John Hughes movies weren't fucking hipsters. Just because they didn't use that term back then like they do now doesn't mean they weren't but you can probably "stomach" them because they don't fit the current standards of what a hipster is.
They were hipsters but for some reason they were likable and real. A lot of the characters in modern teen films are obnoxious and annoying. The writing in modern teen films feels unnatural and forced in my opinion.
That movie Hits hard for me the fault in our stars cause I lost a girlfriend to leukemia 😢
American Graffiti's appeal to viewers is most impactful to millenials and back. My teen years (and early 20s) were more or less exactly how AG depicts them -- hanging out at drive-in burger joints (in my case, it was Sonic or Bumpers), cruising up and down the local strip, late night drag racing, relationship troubles, etc. But above all else, it was socializing with friends on weekends in person.
The same simply cannot be said for Gen Y-Z. They were born into a world with social media, smart phones, internet, online gaming, etc. They grew up in a world where the latest gossip is a text or FB message away; no need to wait til Friday evening at Sonic. Further, the "cruise culture" depicted in AG that lasted up through the turn of the century has all but vanished; it was a by-product of kids hanging out in parking lots on weekends, and since teens don't do that anymore, they don't cruise. Nor do they socialize with one another in person like we did.
While I'm sure any teen can find something relatable in AG (the Hop for example), it's inconceivable that a generation who doesn't hang out on weekend nights, cruise their local towns, etc could relate the way we do.
Quick Question: How are the central characters introduced to us? What are some of the specific challenges posed to the central characters and how do they confront and overcome these challenges?
@@mrteaparty6090
*_How are the central characters introduced to us?_*
The central characters are all introduced at the beginning of the film while they're at Mel's Drive-In. These scenes setup the characters' drives, beliefs, etc:
*Steve:* Ready to get out of his home town, go east and experience college. We also learn that he is not committed to a long-distance relationship with Laurie. Steve's biggest challenge throughout the film is grappling with his now-ruined relationship with Laurie, and struggling with letting go of someone he still cares about.
*Curt:* Uncertain if he's ready to leave his home town. Fears he's not cut out to pursue larger goals. Throughout the film, Curt meets various characters that provide insight into his final decision - the girl in the T-bird, Wolfman Jack, the Pharaohs, Mr. Wolfe, Wendy & Bobbie, Mr. Gordon, etc. Curt's challenge of course, is making a decision on whether to go east for college, or stay a few more years at home.
*John:* Post-high school graduate with no interest in pursuing a higher education. Grease monkey. Renowned street racer with a reputation known to all social circles - even the Pharaohs. Doesn't like change, and is frustrated that his close friends Curt and Steve are about to move away, knowing that the "good times" he's fond of are coming to an inevitable end. Stuck in a teenager mindset. John despises teeny boppers, but ironically gets stuck with one for most of the night. John's ultimate challenge is beating Bob Falfa, who has come to town looking for a showdown against John.
*Laurie:* Steve's girlfriend, and is one year behind him in school. Star cheerleader. Wants to marry Steve and mistakenly thinks he's about to propose when he tells her they should both see other people why he's away. Doesn't want Steve to move away, and would prefer for him to wait a year until she graduates so they can move together. Like Steve, Laurie's challenge revolves around their relationship.
*Toad:* Grade A nerd. Socially inept, and often the butt of practical jokes. Desperately wants a hot date and a rad car. Still in school as well, and looks up to John. Toad is the only other main character with no expressed desire to leave town and pursue greater things. Toad's challenge is overcoming his social anxiety and finding a cute date. While he accomplishes this early on, he only does so by building himself up on a bed of lies. Toad's arc concludes when he confesses to Debbie that he was lying, and that - in his eyes - he's a nobody with a scooter. Much to his surprise, Debbie is fine with Toad the way he is.
*Debbie:* The only character not introduced at the start. Airhead, and not very bright. Obviously has a wild streak, as she convinces Toad to get them some liquor, and later expresses excitement at the idea of seeing the fabled "Goat Killer" slay a victim in front of them.
@@sixstanger00 Last Question: What is something you liked about the film?
@@mrteaparty6090 I like everything about it, for various reasons. The characters, the cinematography, John's Ford Deuce Coupe, Mel's Drive-In, etc.
But most of all, the film borders on being a documentary of how teenagers and young adults spent their weekends during the 1950s-2000s.
My "day" was 1999-2005ish, where I just got my license, graduated, left for college, etc.
I come from a small town that had a local drive-in burger joint (called Bumpers), and that's where me and my friends spent Friday and Saturday nights - hanging out and socializing. We would also cruise up and down the main strip through town with the radio on. So much of this film is relatable for me.
Because like the era of this film, in 1999 there was no social media, smart phones, Netflix, TH-cam, etc. Nintendo 64 was the hottest thing in video games, but there was no online gaming; you had to go to your friend's house, or they had to come to yours.
That said, my generation was the last generation to be forced into in-person socializing because we had no other way to connect with each other.
Kids today don't cruise, they don't hang out at drive-ins or in parking lots, etc. Too glued to their phones.
Great review!
My teenage years sucked. I was sheltered, reclusive, and only really made friends my senior year of highschool (which fell away quickly after graduation). A movie like this would be completely lost on me.
I didn't even have that luxury.
Funny enough, I was the same as you, only I fell in love with this movie. This was, like, something that I felt I would've loved to experience.
so you only watch that what you are? are people batman who watch batman..?
I mean, I never have a childhood experience like Stephen King's It but I still enjoyed the story.
@@TooCooFoYou I feel that's the reason the movie exists in the first place.
I own both dazed and confused and American Graffiti. They are both spectacular films and showcase teen years at its best. All the ups and downs
All the teenagers in American Graffiti were looking for was EXCITEMENT.
i think a lot of actual teens found value in the fault in our stars, perks, etc, BECAUSE they weren't realistic. of course realism and accuracy are great, but it feels really good to be told that your angst over a boy not liking you or whatever is Very Profound and Has Meaning and We Are All Stardust etc etc. it's escapism tailored directly for you! of course augustus waters doesn't talk like a teenage boy, he talks how you WISH your boyfriend talked. realism is cool but gets boring!
additionally, i'm currently in the tail end of my Teen Years and i spent too much time watching star wars and studying to go driving at night and be carefree and stuff. perks was def closer than american graffiti for me. your experiences aren't universal
@@o.brocklehurst9531 I think American Graffiti lives close in the hearts of kids nowadays who look unto the past as "The Glory Years." I am one of these people (somewhat), and while obviously we carry many more luxuries today and the issues of the past are long gone, I sense a feeling of nostalgia watching American Graffiti. I see a snapshot of uniquely American culture that so perfectly captures the American way of life in the 50's and 60's.
I look to the future a lot, being an Aerospace Engineering major, but the car/history nerd part of me loves to look back into the past, and see the great moments in history that made American culture what it is. This could also be said about movies like Two Lane Blacktop, which describes the somewhat "Pack up and leave"/Hipster culture of the 70's, where kids would just leave their state and all of their friends to go see the U.S.
This movie brings me to a world that I never lived in and makes me feel like I've never been in any other, and I love it...
The narrator's words beginning at the 6:20 mark capture the genius of this movie. Well done.
Really good point on writing characters as people and not writers. I'd love to make films like this one day so this video was incredibly useful for me! Authenticity is so vital but can be so difficult to capture unless you actually live, which some writers can tend to hide away from doing
Quick Question: How are the central characters introduced to us? What are some of the specific challenges posed to the central characters and how do they confront and overcome these challenges?
Nice choice of music during the credits. That editing was pretty kick ass.
great job man!
I watched your video homie and yeah, you’re right! We had fun cruising around, the small town I lived in had plenty of cruisers, street racers, and just wild characters. Nathan from the show gold rush can confirm, as he was a street racer back then too.
Hey man. Always when I watched one of your episodes, I´ve got another amazing movie to watch I didn´t know about before. So keep it up... At least until there aren´t any interesting movies to talk abut anymore. ;)
I dislike the teen angst movies or film adaptations of teen books because the writing tries to feel so philosophical and outlandish with thoughts that they feel unreal. Sure, I had a huge focus on what the future held and what I wanted to do but as a teenager, you still don't necessarily have those problems to face; you live in the moment and much like you pointed out, you worry about what's in front of you. Modern teen angst films try too much to be more than what they are.
This video is perfection
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Love your vids but I'm upset you didn't mention the greatest 'Teen Movie' of all time. Although I see how it could go against the prime point your making, I for one love 'Palo Alto,' 'Perks,' etc. That heightened version of growing up really appeals to me even if it's not 'accurate.' Also, American Honey took your point about diegetic music to an extreme. If you haven't seen it check it out, it's great.
Thank you for getting me to look this up after watching your analysis of "Licorice Pizza." You're right about "American Graffiti" and how it's better than so many films about teens. If a someone even starts to get a glimmer of true self-understanding in their teen years, it's a rare and remarkable event. In "American Graffiti," several characters have those moments, and like in real life, they don't come thudding down in heavy-handed screenwriting. Not everyone will agree, but I think Lucas's writing is the greatest of so many great qualities in "American Graffiti." (Along with the lighting, cinematography, music, acting, and so on.) Which does make so much of his later writing hard to fathom. But, hey -- write what you know, I guess.
Great movie, great essay.
I'm in my mid-twenties and looking back, my teenage years suck. Drama was mild, most of the kids cared about getting into a university and being popular so they could hopefully life a good life. There was certainly melodrama and teenagers being petty but nothing stereotyically teenaged. I was considered the rebellious one amongst me friends just for having disagreements with my parents. Kids these days lack wildness and rebellion if you ask me :\
how would you know if you're not a kid?
Speaking as an 18 year old high school senior, I can confirm you are partially correct. I was never really that rebellious and I spent most of my weekends alone watching movies. I do however know people who do all of the wild high school stuff they say they do in these movies but I've never done any of it myself. I had a fairly boring experience as a teenager but I pride myself in developing my obsession with film so I don't regret it. The closest I ever got to rebellious was that I once snuck out to Santa Monica for Rocky Horror Midnight and made out with a crossdresser.
dojokonojo Kids these days aren't allowed the same lifestyle past generations were. Recklessness and rebellion come at a steep costs which many of us can not afford.
George Lucas is a good writer (and this screenplay is awesome). He gets knocked because the Star Wars movies exist on a mythical plane, and it is difficult to write dialogue for it that doesn't sound stilted. Also, in this movie I get the sense that he let the actors tweak the dialogue to make it sound natural.
Awesome video - Thanks for pointing out what you did about 'a letter to the past'. I'm writing a teenage script right now and hadn't considered that.
Another thing: Does building an atmosphere with diegetic music only work for period pieces? Modern films that attempt to use a modern soundtrack (21 Jump Street, etc) seem like they don't come across atmospheric, but as if they're pandering to a mainstream demographic.
I never got indoctrinated into car culture.
My teen years were spent mostly by myself on my computer.
This explains why I don't understand teen movies.
"indoctrinated"?!?!? lol
it's not communism for gawds sake
yeah
most of us spent our teen years Before computers existed
Bravo!!! Great Video
Well, you really went hard on yourself for that essay. It's good.
I agree with this analysis. A lot of teen films my daughter watches are not representative of what a real teen goes through. There ain't champagne get togethers or witty, smart dialogue. When I was a teen, a party was people showing up with the hope that there would be beer or attractive people. Nobody sat at beautiful restaurants or dressed up formally (maybe some did but I speak in general). American Graffiti really hit me hard because I went through all of those feelings and attitudes of trying to be big or trying to act tough. And the dialogue is closer to things my friends and I would say (but with 90's slang of course). My kids actually told me I didn't understand what they had to go through in high school. Boy, are they wrong, I went through worse. But I told them "Hey, teens will never change. From ancient Babylon till today. Right now you're playing the same game just on a different console."
Quick Question: How are the central characters introduced to us? What are some of the specific challenges posed to the central characters and how do they confront and overcome these challenges?
@@mrteaparty6090 Sounds like you want us to do a homework assignment for you!
I have my DVD copy on the shelf within arm's reach - maybe it's time for another viewing. I remember when the film premiered, watching it on the big screen and primarily (at first) thinking, 'Boy, Opie really grew up!' But yeah, for those of us who grew up with Wolfman Jack, watched Richard Dreyfus transform from quiet semi-nerdboy to major Hollywood star, and yes rode around in cars because we didn't know what to do with ourselves - and getting an old guy to buy us liquor - AG is an excellent nostalgic tour de force.
Really great analysis. I'd add Fast Times at Ridgemont High to the list
With the tone you speak of with this film, what do you make of the sobering text that end the film?
Love this video. I think (& this might be just me) that I have 2 distinct feelings as a teen about to head off to college.
1st: the existential crisis side of deep thoughts trying to figure out why I'm here. & that seems like a richer side to try to capture on film which is why I think a lot of films do that (Perks, Fault) but
2nd: is the just bored side. The wanting to just fool around with buds and just be dumb for the night. And that is, I feel, either ignored or blown out of proportion and turned into a raunchy comedy (Superbad, which I love).
So I see both sides but I appreciate so much American Graffiti's honest look at teenhood and why I might consider this film to be the best teen film ever made.
This is a great video! I think Juno also nails it on the head.
I think that just became my favorite George Lucas quote, even above "we've got to get Jar Jar working"
Liking this because I'm from Modesto and this movie was about and/or shot in Modesto. Also was a great video
Couldn't agree with these statements anymore! I remember my youth and thinking more like these movies esp Dazed and Confused esp at my high school in the 90's.
Cameron Crowe nails the soundtracks every time. Animal house is great too.
The most important decision Lucas made is having the fates of Milner and Toad laid out in the last seconds of the movie. It's real and changes everything upon repeated viewings.
Totally agree on the teenagers talking and thinking a certain way in more recent films, two of the most relatable recent films for me are Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Edge Of Seventeen, they actually spoke and thought like teenagers. The main characters are awkward and overdramatic in a way that's not super cheesy but more like those kind of "The world is going to end because my parents are super embarrassing" thoughts we all had as teenagers.
Why doesn't this have more views?!
I got into music very young cause of this movie - My love of the beach boys started here too they had two songs on the soundtrack
I wish George Lucas would do more films like this.
I think there are few movies that capture it! Almost Famous is my favorite teen movie which to me has a perfect use of music
If it's so difficult for writers not to write in retrospect, why not do what the "To Kill A Mockingbird" book did and make the whole movie about looking back? They can narrate over in retrospect instead of the narration being false teenage thoughts. In fact, make the whole movie about looking back with regrets and manipulated memories! Make it fake, make it a collection of dreams, whatever! If it's in retrospect or regret, then go ahead and admit it! No one has to, but it's an option.
Damn dude your description sounds exactly like my last Summer, hahaha
Honest to goodness the only other film that I have seen perfectly match age and tone is The Sandlot .
Couldn't have said it better. It even looked unvarnished. My teens were more dazed and confused 70s but they had the wonderful innocence of 'Graffiti.' It was nice being stupid.
Breakfast club. It is that obsessed and self indulgent movement of a writer reliving his teen years. But the group trapped in the library allows a scene where is plausible.
Despite the "writers writing teenagers" bit, this is still a great video; why do you hate it so much?
What happened? That will always be the greatest question. Steven and Marty no matter how big their films have gotten they have never forgotten their characters. Every time I watch "American Graffiti " it's so painful. Not because it's terrible but because it's so perfect. So what happened between here and "The Phantom Menace"?
It may be my bias, but I think it works bc it takes place in Modesto. Small city in the middle of nowhere.
As someone who just turned 21 in the year 2021...
Teen movies about this last couple of years will be depressing as shit...
like holy fuck i know I had good times with friends and all but we were shown beheading videos at 14 and it only got worse form there.
Pokemon GO was really the only cultural happy moment of my teens.
sadly they'll be written by aging Gen Xers, like me, who can't relate to any of this
I liked Palo Alto and The Spectacular Now when I saw them. Might have to watch them again after seeing this video to see if my opinion on them'll change.
But let's not forget that all 3 new teen movies you showed clips from are based on previously written material. And that both American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused are original screenplays. So I think the aim of these two categories of films might be completely different and shouldn't necessarily be looked upon the same way.
I've never understood why the film world considers it wrong to compliment George Lucas on his screenwriting. American Graffiti, Star Wars, Indiana Jones... classics and some of the best stories of all time. I think hating on George Lucas is considered the cool thing to do now, which is a shame since he created stories that have transcended generations and become a large part of our culture.
Thing is, George Lucas, while he is a creative man, never really was much of a writer. George Lucas had a co-writer or someone else writing the screenplay during his peak years. The original version of Star Wars was considered really bad and was saved by the editing done by Marcia Lucas. We have seen the results of when Lucas has full control of his films (the Star Wars prequels, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). What the dude needs are people who can challenge him, which is what happened in the '70s-early '80s.
prequels aside, penatrating exactly who we are is something ol' George excells at.
Perks of being a wallflower was one of the few teen movies that resonated with me though because I belong to that tiny demographic that DOES talk like that and for once it was nice to see some representation (how rare is it to come across teen movies that don't follow the regular old jock queen bee n nerd characterisation template anyway?) so I get what he's saying but I also think he's underestimating teens a bit when he says "kids don't talk or even think this way"
This video to me perfectly explains the problem with teen movies in the post-Juno film world. Not everyone is an emotionally distressed problem child, and not all parties are project X. Sometimes a film about cars and friends and drinking and smoking is what we all need a little bit more of.
Agree 100%
Being a teenager and being in high school varies a lot depending on when and where you were a teenager went to high school. To claim any one movie is the most accurate depiction of teenage-hood is a subjective and inaccurate statement. And my friends and I definitely didn’t talk like the stereotypical teens. We spoke more like adults. In most people was fairly well spoken, with a few exceptions, and then also equally offensive and creative uses of obscenities. Depending on the group of friends I hung out with I either used a slightly larger range of my vocabulary or swore more frequently. To be honest, I don’t really see either of these portrayed often in a realistic fashion, including this film.
it depends on your background. i found it easier to relate to films like boyz n da hood, city of god, kidulthood etc
You black son ?
Jesus your channel is grossly under-appreciated. You deserve more views all though I can tell you don't make the videos for that.
true i agree
Excellent analysis. So-called 'teen' movies of the past 20 years and more absolutely don't get it. Teens are awkward, passionate, and trying to find where they fit in; they are NOT intellectual hipsters with perfect skin, superb social skills, and witty banter. ''American Graffiti' absolutely works because--aside from music being part of the characters' lives--it deals with the main aspects of (American) teendom: drinking (or getting stoned as in 'Dazed and Confused') sex, cars, and wondering what you'll do with your life. Another terrific teen movie that comes to mind is 'Better Off Dead' (1985) because it takes some dark aspects of teenage life (suicide, awful part-time job, demented best friend, trying to be good at sports) and blows them sky-high for laughs.
Interesting