# The representation of youth in movies and TV. Who got it right? Who got it wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397 "2015-01-31T02:04:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/1 "2015-01-31T02:04:26Z")
I don’t think it’s always cut-and-dry. I found the kids in \*\*‘American Pie’ \*\*to be un-relatable when I saw it in the theaters. They were my age. My friend, on the other hand, thought they were a good representation of youth at the time. I was a weird kid, so… I could be wrong. I think to movies like \*\*‘The Goonies’ \*\*and \*\*‘The Sandlot’ \*\*did a pretty good job not patronizing most of it’s audience. I was a little older when ‘The Sandlot’ came out, and it’s also set in a time before I was born, but I think the kids were great. The movie \*\*‘Stand By Me’ \*\*seemed like it _could_ be pretty authentic, I think the freedom to have them use dirty language gives it an advantage if they use it in moderation. The movie **‘Kickass’** had a unrealistic little girl that was extremely violent and vulgar, but that was obviously the intention. Kids can act too ‘adult-like’ too, though I can’t think of any examples off the top of my head. TV is the worst offender. I never saw **‘Freaks and Geeks’** , but I’ve heard it was one of the best representations of youth. Then there’s **‘Boy Meets World’**. Sappy garbage. You can’t bring up **‘Boy Meets World’** in this thread without mentioning **‘The Wonder Years’**. It seemed to try, but I was young when I watched it. I use to think Winnie Cooper was way too sensitive, and Kevin Arnold was a moron. Love it, or hate it… **‘Saved by the Bell’** was obviously cheesy. Then you have the garbage that The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon produce. Anyone want to chime in? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/2 "2015-01-31T03:02:34Z")
Wild in the Streets got it right. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/3 "2015-01-31T03:19:42Z")
My daughter just got really into Full House in the last few months. I’m thrilled, I really like rewatching all those old episodes and they still hold up very well. However, that family was way over the top with the sappiness. The hugging (which became sort of a meta-joke in and of itself), the ‘we care about what happens to you’, the lessons in each episode, everything was laid on pretty thick. However it was a very family oriented show and it was really meant to teach morals and good behavior and consequences and doing the right thing even when it feels wrong. Great show, not how a real family operates (even ignoring the extra people living in the house). As for things that were closer to reality…Maybe movies like Big or Little Monsters. I know they were ‘supernatural’, but take out that element and the dynamics of the friendships and relationships with the kids and parents (from what I recall) were close to normal. Also The Breakfast Club. Added drama to make it a movie, but still. How about The Simpson’s. Again, over the top drama, but the family dynamics are more similar to a real family than, say, The Brady Bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/4 "2015-01-31T03:33:46Z")
The movie **Election** resonates with me as being pretty accurate, inasmuch as it depicts the class of 1999, a year before mine, and all of the extras and some of the cast were the students at the school where they filmed, they all look right and seem genuine. It’s a very good movie, also. The TV show **Salute Your Shorts** is stylized, but weirdly accurate in some ways, as I recall. I like Zee-Zee. I can’t say right now if the **Mighty Ducks** films capture 90s kids that well, because it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them, and I never saw the third. Now **Daria** , despite the inevitable stylization that comes with animation, is beloved because of how true-to-life it is. When my nephew asks his parents about growing up at that time, I hope they show him the DVDs I got for them. A show about straight-A students (among others) can be funny! ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/5 "2015-01-31T04:20:24Z")
**My So Called Life** got High School correct. The drama affecting teens was treated as urgent and important but meaningless as time went by. **The Wire** season four got High School correct for poor people. The children would like to learn and do good in school, but they have much more pressing concerns to deal with, like homelessness, drug addicted parents, etc… Poor Dukie. **Boyhood** was pretty accurate with their main character. The children on **The Sopranos** were accurately stupid and selfish. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/6 "2015-01-31T08:43:33Z")
Boyz n the Hood > **[Boyz n the Hood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyz_n_the_Hood)** > > Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American coming-of-age crime drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Tyra Ferrell, Laurence Fishburne, Regina King, and Angela Bassett. Boyz n the Hood follows Tre Styles (Gooding Jr.), who is sent to live with his father Furious Styles (Fishburne) in South Central Los Angeles, surrounded by the neighborhood's booming gang culture. The film's title is a double e Si... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/7 "2015-01-31T08:59:52Z")
Realistic portrayals of kids are rarer than hen’s teeth. One of the few would be the movie Kids, a controversial study of teenagers. Another one that has an eerie realism was the 1963 version of Lord of the Flies. As adults we want to see ourselves in our youth and our children idealistically, but the reality is that children and teenagers are incomplete humans, entirely selfish, dull witted, and really not very interesting to observe. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/8 "2015-01-31T10:14:17Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Kids can act too ‘adult-like’ too, though I can’t think of any examples off the top of my head. **‘Juno’** ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/9 "2015-01-31T10:24:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Realistic portrayals of kids are rarer than hen’s teeth. One of the few would be the movie Kids, a controversial study of teenagers. Another one that has an eerie realism was the 1963 version of Lord of the Flies. As adults we want to see ourselves in our youth and our children idealistically, but the reality is that children and teenagers are incomplete humans, entirely selfish, dull witted, and really not very interesting to observe. I saw **‘Kids’** , when I was about the age of the kids. You’re right. It would be difficult to top that film in realism. I also saw 63’s **‘Lord of the Flies’** but don’t remember much. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/10 "2015-01-31T10:40:38Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > **My So Called Life** got High School correct. The drama affecting teens was treated as urgent and important but meaningless as time went by. > > **The Wire** season four got High School correct for poor people. The children would like to learn and do good in school, but they have much more pressing concerns to deal with, like homelessness, drug addicted parents, etc… Poor Dukie. > > **Boyhood** was pretty accurate with their main character. > > The children on **The Sopranos** were accurately stupid and selfish. I would like to see **‘Boyhood’** , but of those examples I’ve only seen **'The Sopranos**. Meadow was a typical teenager. I don’t know how I felt about Anthony Jr. **Ken007** I also saw\*\* ‘Boyz n the Hood’\*\*, but don’t remember much. It was shown in my Sociology class. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/11 "2015-01-31T11:54:00Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > **My So Called Life** got High School correct. The drama affecting teens was treated as urgent and important but meaningless as time went by. > \*\* > **The Wire** season four got High School correct for poor people. The children would like to learn and do good in school, but they have much more pressing concerns to deal with, like homelessness, drug addicted parents, etc… Poor Dukie. \*\* > > **Boyhood** was pretty accurate with their main character. > > The children on **The Sopranos** were accurately stupid and selfish. Sorry to nitpick but I think this is also wrong. This is what many people like to believe of kids. Sure some poor kids are like this, I’d say the default setting for _most_ is not. The default setting for most is casual indifference. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/12 "2015-02-01T02:02:38Z")
People may laugh, but **Leave It to Beaver** actually got the kids down pretty well in the first season. The plots and the parents were totally false of course, but the characters of Beaver and Wally were drawn and played well. Unfortunately, the quality didn’t last. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/13 "2015-02-01T02:14:56Z")
I know this move is a love it or hate it thing around here but the kids in **Napoleon Dynamite** seemed very real to me. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/14 "2015-02-01T02:20:59Z")
_Dazed and Confused_ got high school absolutely accurately. I dunno if 1976 was like that, but the mid-90’s were. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/15 "2015-02-01T02:24:33Z")
Two WWII movies from the 80’s got pre-adolescent boys right, too. _ **Hope and Glory** _ and _ **Au Revoir les Enfants** _ both hold up well. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/16 "2015-02-01T02:29:21Z")
**Superbad** was very true to my teenage years. Not in a documentary kind of way, of course, as it is obviously a scripted movie that plays for laughs and its few sweet moments, but it has veracity in the way that it could be a distillation of the highlights of a particular semester. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/17 "2015-02-01T02:35:38Z")
Got it right: **The Squid and the Whale Ratcatcher Moonrise Kingdom** (stylized as it is, I’ve definitely met kids who talk and act like that…) ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/18 "2015-02-01T02:47:12Z")
**Mean Girls** captured the feeling of snotty girls being awful really well. **Heathers** did too, but I think MG did it a little better. ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/19 "2015-02-01T03:17:00Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > _Dazed and Confused_ got high school absolutely accurately. I dunno if 1976 was like that, but the mid-90’s were. I came in here to mention “Dazed and Confused”. I was 15 in 1976, but yes, this is absolutely my senior year of high school. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397/20 "2015-02-01T03:17:18Z")
Jebus, I can’t believe “Kids” (the movie) is 20 years old now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-representation-of-youth-in-movies-and-tv-who-got-it-right-who-got-it-wrong/711397.md?page=2)