Genre Database

Genre: Teen Drama
Genre conventions (content): story about adolescence, growing up, and the trials of youth. There are cliques, stereotypes, “teen issues” (peer pressure, being the outcast, hating life). The main setting is usually a high school. Main character usually narrates the film, allowing audience to understand what the character is feeling and thinking throughout the movie.
Genre conventions (production techniques): dull lighting (portrays gritty and bleak nature), closeup of characters, low angle and high angle shots (to portray strengths and weaknesses amongst characters), clear shots and angles show different groups within the cast. A soundtrack is usually present and the music is usually classic songs or modern day so the audience can form a connection.
Institutional conventions (marketing): Trailers, film posters, talk shows, promotional tours, stars promoting the film/ TV show, critique reviews.
Film sample #1: Mean Girls (2004)- This film perfectly embodies the genre of teen drama as it makes use of a commonly used idea in this type of genre: cliques. Mean Girls is a movie about a new girl coming to a school for the first time and falling into the hands of the wrong clique, who try to changer her completely. This movie acknowledges cliques and uses them to show the different types of people there are in the world, or in this case in high school. The movie clearly shows the different cliques there are in a scene of the movie, where all the different types of people are seen separated by groups, or cliques. For example, they discuss cliques such as “the ROTC guys”, “ the Asian Nerds”, “ the Cool Asians”, and the “Varsity Jocks”. They also make us of stereotypes, making the “popular and pretty girls” dumb and self-centered. This movie takes place mostly in a high school, which is the case for many teen dramas. Additionally, the unique story line that almost all teen dramas share is clearly shown in this movie: there is an underdog character or the “new kid” in school, which is the case in Mean Girls, and there is also always a love interest present in the movie. The main character in this movie is the one who narrates the movie, allowing the audience to see how she thinks and feels during specific moments throughout the film. This film used trailers to promote the movie back in 2004.
Film sample #2: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)- This film fully embodies the genre of teen drama as it deals with teen issues teenagers can relate to. 10 Things I Hate About You is a film where the main character is the unpopular girl who does not care about what others think about her but unfortunately, she has a popular sister who tortures her for feeling this way. In this film, peer pressure and wanting to “fit in” are the most-discussed issues. The film takes place mostly in high school, as most teen dramas do, and it clearly shows the different types of groups, or cliques, there are. The “popular kids” usually do not mix with the characters who are not. The main character of this film is a headstrong woman who “hates life” and wants to move far away, in this case go to a college far from home. The soundtrack used in this film, although now people may not recognize most songs, the audience back when the film was released, enjoyed and connected to the film through this music. This film mostly used trailers to promote the movie back in 1999.
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