High School Never Changes!

American Teen takes its cue from the classic teen movie Breakfast club. Most politically correct people would say that there are no easy stereotypes in high school and that this movie does not represent the true American Teen. Well, I hate to break it to these people, but ... there are and even though our town of Warsaw might be labeled affluent it's what I would consider middle America. Every high school has its cliques, the privileged, the underprivileged, the in crowd, the out crowd, etc.

This documentary tells the senior-year story of four and a half(The half being Mitch) very different teens living in our small town of Warsaw. I found each story compelling in its own way. Hannah, the rebel, wants out of Indiana(I related to her the most). Colin, the jock, needs a basketball scholarship. Megan , the queen bee needs to be accepted to Notre Dame. Jake, the geek, wants a better social life. And last but not least is Mitch, the heart throb.(Enough said)What I truly liked about American Teen apart from the obvious fact that it was filmed in Warsaw, was the sheer brilliance of the director in how she was able to make us feel both the excruciating pain and overwhelming joy, that comes with being a teenager. When you're that age and in high school, all that really matters is your world and your issues and while most of those said issues are trite they are and will remain huge issues to teenagers.

 Some would say that this film isn't really a documentary because a few of the scenes and situations seem set up or scripted. Whether real or scripted I think American Teen skillfully captures the tumultuous time of Senior year and the mixture of optimism, uncertainty, and the transition of a group of complex young people trying to find their way into adulthood. And even though the times have changed the hopes, fears and stresses of high school remain the same for each and everyone of us.

No matter how long it's been since you've been in high school, you will find yourself identifying with these teens and also remembering those pressures of growing up(Now the issues and pressures seem so few). High school...you either loved it or hated it. You either grew and went on to bigger and better things, or you didn't and realize high school is all you have, meaning you peaked.

It's been close to 5 years now since the documentary was shown and I would be interested in catching up with these teens who are now adults and seeing how different or the same they are from their teenage selves. Each had the potential for awesomeness, just wondered if they achieved it!