Teen film is a
film genre
A film genre is a Genre, stylistic or thematic category for Film, motion pictures based on similarities either in the narrative , narrative elements, aesthetic approach, or the emotional response to the film.
Drawing heavily from the theories ...
targeted at
teenager
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...
s,
preteen
Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...
s and/or
young adult
In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
s by the
plot being based on their special interests, such as
coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
, attempting to fit in,
bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
,
peer pressure
Peer pressure is a direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests and experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, religion and beh ...
, first love, teen rebellion, conflict with parents, and teen
angst
Angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity. ''Anguish'' is its Romance languages, Latinate cognate, equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin.
Etymology
The word ''angst'' was introduced in ...
or alienation.
Often these normally serious subject matters are presented in a glossy, stereotyped or trivialized way. Many teenage characters are
portrayed by young adult actors in their 20s. Some teen films appeal to young males, while others appeal to young females.
Films in this genre are often set in
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
s and
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
s, or contain characters who are of high school or college age.
Types
Teen film genres include
*
Teen drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...
*
Teen comedy
Additional types of teen films can be divided again into sub-categories. These can be found at
list of teen films.
Beach films
Early examples of the genre in the United States include the "
beach party films" of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the ''
Gidget'' series.
Codes and conventions
Codes and conventions of teen films vary depending on the cultural context of the film, but they can include
puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a female, the testicles i ...
,
prom
A promenade dance or prom is a formal dance party for graduating high school students at the end of the school year.
Students participating in the prom will typically vote for a ''prom king'' and ''prom queen''. Other students may be honored ...
s,
alcohol
Alcohol may refer to:
Common uses
* Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds
* Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life
** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages
** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
, illegal substances,
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
, parties,
virginity
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereo ...
,
teen pregnancy, social groups and
clique
A clique (AusE, CanE, or ; ), in the social sciences, is a small group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests rather than include others. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardles ...
s, interpersonal conflict with peers and/or the older generations, fitting in,
peer pressure
Peer pressure is a direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests and experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, religion and beh ...
, and
popular culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art f. pop art
F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet.
F may also refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems
* ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function
* F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
.
The classic codes and conventions of the teen film come from American films. One of the most widely used conventions is an emphasis on
stereotype
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
s and social groups. The stereotypes most commonly used include:
*
The Jock / Cheerleader
*
School Diva
A queen bee is a woman who dominates or leads a group, is in a favoured position or behaves as such. The term has been applied in several social settings.
Businesses
In a business environment, ''queen bee'' may refer to women who are emotionally ...
(Alternately The
It Girl
An "it girl" is an attractive, well-known young woman who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging.
The expression ''it girl'' originated in British upper-class society around the turn of the 20th&nbs ...
)
* The
Geek
The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...
/ Nerd
* The Rebel
* The Misfit /
Outcast
* The
Boy/Girl next door
* The New Kid
* The Loner
* The Band Geek
* Class Clown
* The Athlete
* The Queen Bee
* The Foreign Exchange Student
Apart from the characters, there are many other codes and conventions of teen film. These films are often set in or around high schools and places frequented by teens, such as shopping malls and themed restaurants. This technique allows for many different social cliques to be shown. These settings are typical for the classic romantic comedy teen film.
Common archetypes
A good example of the use of
archetype
The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...
s in the teen film was displayed in the 1985 film, ''
The Breakfast Club
''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...
''. These archetypes have since become a larger part of the culture. The jock,
cheerleader
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...
, and
social outcast, among others, become a familiar and pleasurable feature for the audience. However, genres are dynamic; they change and develop to meet the expectations of their target audience.
Notable writers and directors
Herman Raucher
Herman Raucher, along with Robert Mulligan, popularized the genre with ''
Summer of '42'' (1971), and Raucher continued the trend by writing ''
Class of '44
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
'' (1973).
George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
has been credited for perfecting the genre by writing and directing ''
American Graffiti
''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat ...
'' (1973).
John Hughes
The genre gained more credibility during the 1980s with the works of writer and director
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment Literature
*John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet
*John Hughes (1790–1857), English author
*John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet
*John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
. His legacy of teen films, including ''
The Breakfast Club
''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American independent teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. The ensemble cast includes Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ring ...
'', ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...
'', ''
Sixteen Candles
''Sixteen Candles'' is a 1984 American coming-of-age teen comedy film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall. Written and directed by John Hughes in his directorial debut, it was the first in a string of f ...
'', and many more, proved to be popular not only with audiences but also with critics.
Gregg Araki
Gregg Araki
Gregg Araki (born December 17, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is noted for his involvement with the New Queer Cinema movement. His ''Teenage Apocalypse'' film trilogy, consisting of ''Totally F***ed Up ''(1993), ''The Doom Generation ''(1995) ...
filmed
independent films
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
in the 1990s. His films, particularly the ''Teen Apocalypse Trilogy'' (consisting of ''
Totally Fucked Up'', ''
The Doom Generation
''The Doom Generation'' is a 1995 independent film, independent black comedy thriller (genre), thriller film co-produced, co-edited, written and directed by Gregg Araki, and starring Rose McGowan, James Duval and Jonathan Schaech. The plot follow ...
'', and ''
Nowhere
Nowhere may refer to:
Music
* ''Nowhere'' (album), an album by Ride
* '' Nowhere: Music from the Gregg Araki Movie'', a soundtrack album from the 1997 film (see below)
* "Nowhere" (song), a song by Therapy?
* "Nowhere", a song by 112 from '' ...
''), are notable for capturing the disaffected attitudes of suburban teenagers of
Generation X
Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...
.
Éric Rohmer
Éric Rohmer
Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the Post-war, p ...
, a pioneering director of the
French New Wave
The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...
, was notable for focusing on young adults or youth and their complications with love in a number of his films. Some of these works are ''
La Collectionneuse'', ''
Claire's Knee'', ''
Pauline at the Beach'', ''
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend'', and ''
A Summer's Tale
''A Summer's Tale'' () is a 1996 French Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in his ''Contes des quatre saisons'' (''Tales of the Four Seasons'') series, which also includes ''A Tale o ...
''.
Noteworthy actors
Popular actors in teen films have included
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. She began her professional career at age 12, becoming one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the original ''The Mickey Mouse Club, Mickey Mouse Cl ...
,
Hayley Mills
Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promisi ...
, and
Sal Mineo
Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award ...
in the 1960s and 1970s;
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and translator. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and '' The Facts of Life'' (both 1979–1980) before being nominated for ...
,
Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall (born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall; April 14, 1968) is an American actor, producer and comedian. After his film debut in ''Six Pack (film), Six Pack'' (1982) and a supporting role as Russell "Rusty" Griswold in ''Nat ...
,
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox drama series ''24 (TV series), 24'' (2001–2010, 20 ...
,
Luke Perry
Coy Luther "Luke" Perry III (October 11, 1966 – March 4, 2019) was an American actor. He became a teen idol for playing Dylan McKay on the Fox television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' from 1990 to 1995, and again from 1998 to 2000. ...
,
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...
,
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress, singer, dancer and director.
She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990), Beverly Switzler in ''Howard t ...
,
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. With a career spanning five decades, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, along with nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.
After appearing in se ...
,
Winona Ryder
Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...
,
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...
,
Michael J. Fox
Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...
,
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...
,
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...
and members of the
Brat Pack
''Brat Pack'' is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. The term ''Brat Pack'', a play on ''Rat Pack'' from the 1950s and 1960s, was first popularized in a ...
in the 1980s and early 1990s; and
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted by a talent agent as a young child, she made her film debut at age six in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). She had her first lead ...
,
Jonathan Brandis,
Tatyana Ali
Tatyana Marisol Ali (born January 24, 1979) is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' from 1990 to 1996. She starred as Tyana Jones on the TV One original ser ...
,
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell (; born October 3, 1973) is a Canadian actress. After working in Canadian and American television, Campbell emerged as a scream queen for her starring roles in horror and thriller films. She has also appeared in blockbu ...
,
Chris Evans,
Rose McGowan,
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, producer and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel serie ...
,
Heath Ledger
Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...
,
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
,
Brandy Norwood
Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model and actress. Born into a musical family in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist ...
,
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989) and has since starred in several film and television productions. She has received several awar ...
,
Shannon Elizabeth,
Breckin Meyer
Breckin Meyer (born May 7, 1974) is an American actor. He is best known for his work on the Adult Swim animated sketch series ''Robot Chicken'', which has earned him two Annie Awards and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Meyer gained tract ...
,
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor. His film debut was '' The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting roles in comedy films in the 1980s, including '' Radio Days'' ( ...
,
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent Maguire (born 27 June 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for starring as Peter Parker (2002 film series character), Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in film#Sam Raimi's trilogy, ''Spider-Man'' tr ...
,
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...
,
Gina Ravera
Gina Ravera (born May 20, 1966) is an American actress. She has appeared in the films '' Showgirls'' (1995), ''Soul Food'' (1997), '' Kiss the Girls'' (1997), and '' The Great Debaters'' (2007). She co-starred as detective Irene Daniels in the T ...
,
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986), also known as the Olsen twins, are American fashion designers and former actresses. Mary-Kate Olsen, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Ashley made their acting debut as infants playing Mi ...
,
Frankie Muniz
Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor and racing driver. Muniz came to prominence in the 2000s playing the title character of the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), for which he was nominated for an E ...
,
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer, author and businesswoman. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hilary Duff, various accolades, including a World Music Awards, World Mus ...
,
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...
,
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook (born October 4, 1979) is an American actress and model. She has starred in the films ''The Baby-Sitters Club (film), The Baby-Sitters Club'' (1995), ''She's All That'' (1999), and ''Josie and the Pussycats (film), Josie and ...
,
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...
,
Freddie Prinze Jr.,
Drake Bell
Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...
,
Josh Peck
Joshua Michael Peck (born November 10, 1986) is an American actor, comedian, and YouTuber. Peck began his career as a child actor, appearing in the film Snow Day (2000 film), ''Snow Day'' (2000) and the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''The Ama ...
,
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress. Bynes began her career as a child actor, appearing on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series '' All That'' (1996–2000) and its spin-off series '' The Amanda Show'' (1999–2002). ...
,
Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Christine Trachtenberg (October 11, 1985 – February 26, 2025) was an American actress. After beginning her career in television commercials at age three, she made her television debut in her first credited role on the Nickelodeon ser ...
,
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
,
Matthew Lillard
Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes Chip Sutphin in '' Serial Mom'' (1994), Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein in '' Hackers'' (1995), Stu Macher in '' Scream'' (1996), Stevo in '' SLC Punk!'' ...
,
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films '' She's All That ...
,
David Arquette
David Arquette (; born September 8, 1971) is an American actor, producer, and retired professional wrestler. Arquette's breakout came with his starring role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film '' Scream'' (1996), a role which he later reprised i ...
,
Jason Biggs
Jason Matthew Biggs (born May 12, 1978) is an American actor. The accolades he has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, alongside nominations for a Daytime Emmy Awards, Daytime Emmy Award and a Satellite Award ...
,
Paul Rudd,
Megan Fox
Megan Denise Fox (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the family film ''Holiday in the Sun (film), Holiday in the Sun'' (2001), which was followed by numerous supporting roles in film and television, such a ...
and
Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Lesley Panettiere ( ; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has starred as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' (2006–2010), Kirby Reed in the slasher film, slasher Ho ...
in the mid-to-late-1990s and throughout the 2000s. Many of these actors were either pre-teens or teens themselves when the movies were made.
Notable teen genre actors in the 2010s and 2020s include
Maya Hawke
Maya Ray Thurman Hawke (born July 8, 1998) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of Hollywood actors Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. She began her career in modeling, and subsequently made her screen debut as Jo March in ...
,
Leah Lewis,
Leighton Meester
Leighton Marissa Meester ( ; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is known for her starring role as Blair Waldorf on the CW television series ''Gossip Girl'', which ran from 2007 to 2012. She has also appeared in fi ...
,
Zendaya
Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( ; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. List of awards and nominations received by Zendaya, Her accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award. I ...
,
Noah Centineo
Noah Gregory Centineo ( ; born May 9, 1996) is an American actor. He began his career performing on television, featuring in ''Austin & Ally'' (2011–2012) on Disney Channel and had a main role in the television series '' The Fosters'' from 20 ...
,
Timothée Chalamet
Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...
,
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' film ...
,
Lucy Hale
Karen Lucille Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She has received various accolades, including seven Teen Choice Awards (the most for any actress in a single series), a Gracie Awards, Gracie Award, a People's Choice Aw ...
,
Lucas Hedges,
Tom Holland
Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...
,
Anna Kendrick
Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. Known for playing upbeat and endearing characters in comedies and musicals, List of awards and nominations received by Anna Kendrick, her accolades include nominations for an Aca ...
,
Katherine Langford,
Keiynan Lonsdale,
Ezra Miller
Ezra Matthew Miller (born September 30, 1992) is an American actor. Their feature film debut was in '' Afterschool'' (2008), which they followed by starring in the dramas '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011) and '' The Perks of Being a Wall ...
,
Evan Peters
Evan Thomas Peters (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor. He made his acting debut in the 2004 drama film '' Clipping Adam'' and starred in the ABC science fiction series ''Invasion'' from 2005 to 2006. Peters gained wide recognition fo ...
,
Gabriel LaBelle,
Cole Sprouse,
Amandla Stenberg
Amandla Stenberg (born October 23, 1998) is an American actress. She began her career as a child and received recognition for playing List of The Hunger Games characters#Rue, Rue in the action film ''The Hunger Games (film), The Hunger Games'' ( ...
,
Emma Stone
Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actr ...
,
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles on-screen and in theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatric ...
,
Geraldine Viswanathan,
Charlie Heaton
Charles Ross Heaton (born 6 February 1994) is an English actor. He is known for starring as Jonathan Byers in the Netflix science fiction horror series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present) and for his roles in feature films like '' As You Are'' ...
,
Justice Smith
Justice Elio Smith (born August 9, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom'' (2018), '' Detective Pikachu'' (2019), '' All the Bright Places'' (2020), '' Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Th ...
,
Shameik Moore
Shameik Alti Moore (born May 4, 1995) is an American actor and musician. He made his lead acting debut in '' Dope'' (2015), and is best known for voicing Miles Morales / Spider-Man in the animated film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2 ...
,
Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...
,
Odeya Rush,
Madison Iseman,
Dylan Minnette,
Storm Reid
Storm Reid (born July 1, 2003) is an American actress. After early roles in the television show '' A Cross to Bear'' (2012), the drama film ''12 Years a Slave'' (2013), and the superhero film '' Sleight'' (2016), she played the lead role of Meg ...
,
Asher Angel,
Jack Dylan Grazer,
Charlie Plummer,
Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Anne Hudgens ( ; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in '' Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (200 ...
,
Sophia Lillis
Sophia Lillis (born February 13, 2002) is an American actress. She starred as Beverly Marsh in the horror films '' It'' (2017) and '' It: Chapter Two'' (2019), as well as a teenager with telekinesis in the Netflix drama series '' I Am Not Okay ...
,
Angourie Rice
Angourie Isabel Teresa Rice ( ; born 1 January 2001) is an Australian actress. She began her career as a child actress, coming to attention for her roles in '' These Final Hours'' (2013) and '' The Nice Guys'' (2016). She played Betty Brant in ...
,
Finn Wolfhard
Finn Michael Wolfhard (born December 23, 2002) is a Canadian actor, musician, and film director. He is known for playing Mike Wheeler on the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). He also played Richie Tozier in the horror film ...
,
Lana Condor
Lana Therese Condor (born Trần Đồng Lan; May 11, 1997) is an American actress and YouTuber. She made her acting debut starring as Jubilee (comics), Jubilee in the superhero film ''X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016), and gained international recogni ...
,
Ramona Young,
Liza Koshy
Elizabeth Shaila Koshy (born March 31, 1996) is an American YouTuber and actress. Her main YouTube channel has amassed almost 17 million subscribers, and her two channels have a combined total of over 3 billion views. She has received four Str ...
and
Mckenna Grace
Mckenna Grace (born June 25, 2006) is an American actress and singer. Born in Grapevine, Texas, she began acting professionally at age five and relocated to Los Angeles, California, as a child. Her earliest roles included Jasmine Bernstein in ...
.
See also
*
List of teen films
*
List of film genres
*
Teen drama
In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...
(
List of teen dramas)
*
Teen sitcom
A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people (Preadolescence, tweens, Adolescence, teenagers and, to a lesser extent, Young adult, young adults). In general, these types of prog ...
(
List of teen sitcoms)
*
Teen pop
Teen pop is a sub genre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards Preadolescence, preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop". About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Often, the artists themselves are teenagers during their break ...
*
Teen magazine
Teen magazines are magazines aimed at teenager, teenage readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include posters, label, stickers, small samples of cosmetics or other products and inserts.
The teen maga ...
(
List of teen magazines
This is a list of teen magazines.
Magazines
See also
*Teen magazine
Teen magazines are magazines aimed at teenager, teenage readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include posters, label, stick ...
)
*
Brat Pack
''Brat Pack'' is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. The term ''Brat Pack'', a play on ''Rat Pack'' from the 1950s and 1960s, was first popularized in a ...
*
Cringe comedy
Cringe comedy is a subgenre of comedy that derives humor from social awkwardness, guilty pleasure, self-deprecation, idiosyncratic humor, and personal distress. A type of a cringe comedy are pseudo-reality TV shows, sometimes with an air of a mo ...
*
Gross-out film
Gross-out is described as a movement in art (often with comical connotations), which is intended to shock the viewer(s) and disgust the wider audience by presenting them with controversial material (such as toilet humor and fetishes) that might ...
*
Coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
References
Further reading
* Bernstein, J. 1997. ''Pretty in Pink: The Golden Age of Teenage Movies.'' St. Martin's Press.
*
Driscoll, Catherine. 2011. ''Teen Film: A Critical Introduction.'' Berg. .
* Shary, Timothy. 2005. ''Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen.'' Wallflower Press.
* O'Neill, Patrick. 2016. ''Investigating the 1980s Hollywood Teen Genre: Adolescence, Character, Space''. PhD thesis, Kingston University, UK.
External links
* http://ew.com/gallery/50-best-high-school-movies-0/50-splendor-in-the-grass-1961
*
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Film genres