What Makes a Coming of Age Film?

      My partner Julia and I have been trying to decide what genre we wanted to go for in our short film opening and decided to further research the coming-of-age genre. This genre centers around teenage protagonists and covers a rite of passage storyline. The coming-of-age genre seems perfect for our short film since our teacher always tells us to write what we know, and there's nothing we know better than being a teenager going through constant angst. This genre promotes self-discovery and growth since it shows a transition from childhood to adulthood. The coming-of-age genre relies on dialogue, character growth, and social commentary as a method of storytelling. The dialogue really helps the audience gain a deeper understanding of the emotions of the characters since they are expressing how they feel. A common conflict the teenagers in this genre face is man versus self, which is a more familiar type of conflict to write. The coming-of-age genre will take the audience along on an emotional or spiritual journey where the main characters grow as a result of issues and emotions. For further reference, we looked at a popular, classic coming-of-age film:

The Breakfast Club (1985)

     One of the most classic coming-of-age films is The Breakfast Club directed by John Hughes. The opening scene includes all the credits including the director, main actors, producers, editors, and production designers against a black screen before the actual shots are shown. As for sound, the film uses a voiceover where one of the main characters provides background information on the setting of the film (date, time, location). The voiceover also discusses a common characteristic included in teenage movies: cliques. Immediately from the start, there is an established social caste system that will differentiate the characters from each other. There is an establishing shot of the school and the following clips are implied to be all around the school. The Breakfast Club uses an interesting technique where they focus on specific details throughout the school, rather than the setting as a whole. For instance, they will zoom into the writing of a particular locker or show a specific poster hung in the school rather than just showing classrooms and hallways. The voiceover combined with the composition of the shots is a technique I will definitely keep in mind when filming my own short film. As the voiceover comes to an end, the main characters all arrive at the school one by one, and the dialogue they have before they enter the school helps bring a little insight as to who they are but still keeps the audience curious as to why they are all there on a Saturday. The viewing of this film opening (video below) has inspired me to include a catchy song as non-diegetic sound, utilize voiceover or dialogue as a way to build any characters, focus on specific details of the mise-en-scene, and build up a vague background story to keep the audience interested. 

Sources:

Kathryn ButtKathryn is an MA graduate in Film and Television from The University of Bristol. After moving from the depths of the countryside. “What Makes a Coming-of-Age Film? (Genre Series).” Raindance, 13 July 2021, https://raindance.org/coming-of-age-genre.

MasterClass. “Coming-of-Age Movies: What Is the Coming-of-Age Genre? - 2022.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 24 Sept. 2021, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/coming-of-age-movies#10-notable-comingofage-movies.