Dear Anniebabe,
Before I begin to answer, may I note that I asked you to clarify your
question because there's a huge difference between the demands of a
term paper and a doctoral dissertation. This applies especially to an
issue such as youth representation in 1980s cinema, which was already
researched and there's already much analysis available (see suggested
bibliography bellow).
There are several directions you could go with a general title of
"youth representations" in 80s cinema. The most readily available
direction, regarding this topic, is to go for John Hughes, who is
almost an attribute of 1980s cinematic youth culture, with films such
as "16 candles" (1984), "The Breakfast Club" (1985) (see suggested
filmography bellow). This is mainly because there's much to rely on,
regarding previously written material. Most of Hughes' films from the
80s present the lives of suburban middle-classed white youth. In that
context, several interesting research questions rise:
- How do Hughes' films represent the economic conditions of the 1980s?
- How is the "other" represented? In that, I mean African American,
Jews (and other ethnic or religious minorities), urban dwellers or
country folks, gays, etc.
- How do values of the 1970s and 1960s - such as women liberation -
represent themselves in the main characters' families?
- Do gender roles implied and reflected through the representation of
youth in his films?
Your theoretical basis could be a critical text analysis from a
feminist, or a Marxist viewpoint, for example; It could also consist
of a comparison between the "real" condition of youth in America at
the same period, and its representation.
You could avoid studying Hughes, which is probably the most researched
creator in this topic. You could choose a whole different path -
taking "adult" films, and see if and how are youth marginalised or
misrepresented in these films. In IMDB (where else?) you could find a
list of the "top 50 films" of the 80s. Your research question, of
course, might be worded as:
"
A third research question is to make a comparison. Not between films
of the 80s, as suggested before, but between American cinema of the
80s and something else:
- British or European cinema of the same period.
- Representations of youth in American cinema of another decade (the
1950s is a classic one to compare, but you could also try the 1990s,
or 1960s-1970s).
Cinemography
============
"Sixteen Candles" (1984) directed and written by John Hughes,
Universal Studios (US)
"The Breakfast Club" (1985) directed and written by John Hughes,
Universal Studios (US)
“Weird Science” (1985) directed and written by John Hughes, Universal
Studios (US)
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986) directed and written by John Hughes,
Paramount (US)
"Pretty In Pink" (1986) directed and written by John Hughes,
Paramount (US)
“Some Kind Of Wonderful” (1987) directed and written by John Hughes,
Paramount (US)
John Hughes' filmography at IMDB
http://yoursay.imdb.com/Name?Hughes,+John
Bibliography
************
Bernstein, Jonathon (1997) Pretty in Pink: The Golden Age of Teenage
Movies
St Martin’s Press : New York
Brake, Mike (1980) The Sociology of Youth Culture and Youth
Subcultures
Routledge and Kegan Paul : London and Boston
Fishman, Arielle (1998) John Hughes' Depiction of the Impacts of Class
and Family on Suburban Teens
http://www.80s.com/saveferris/essays/fishman.txt
Hay, James "Rethinking the Intersection of Cinema, Genre, and Youth"
Scope - an online journal of Film Studies
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/film/journal/articles/cinema-genre-youth.htm
Lewis, Jon (1992) The Road to Romance and Ruin: Teen Films and Youth
Culture. New York/London: Routledge.
McRobbie, Angela (1991) Feminism and Youth Culture: From Jackie to
Just Seventeen MacMillian : Basingstoke and London
Messner, Adam (1998) Youth Culture And Teen Movies- A Comparative
Overview
http://www.80s.com/saveferris/essays/messner.txt
Murphy, G. Media Influence on the Socialisation ofTeenage Girls in
Curran, J, Smith, A, and Wingate,P \(eds), Impacts and Influences,
Metheun, 1987
Parry, Louise "Representations of Youth"
http://members.tripod.co.uk/louisaparry/youth.txt
Reed, Joseph (1989) American Scenarios: The Uses of Film Genre
Wesleyan UP : Middletown
Thorburn, James (1998) Eighties Teen Movies - Nostalgia, Thy Name Is
Judd Nelson
http://www.80s.com/saveferris/essays/thorburn.txt
I hope that answered your question. I searched the Internet for terms
such as "representations of youth" "cinema OR film" and specific names
of films or creators to find material for you. If you need any
clarifications on this answer, please let me know. I'd be pleased to
clarify my answer before you rate it. |
