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Coming Of Age Film Analysis

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Coming of Age As Represented in Film

Teenagers are often portrayed as angst filled, sullen beings who act out and against authority. Several distinct connections can be made between the texts Submarine, Kings of Summer, White Bird in a Blizzard and The Squid and The Whale. The loss of innocence, the power struggle between the main characters own voice and their parents, and the realisations the main characters make to understand the world they live in are just a few of the boxes the directors of these coming of age films tick. Many adults are of the view that growing up is one of the best times in life, yet these films have the ability to shed light on the darker side of adolescence, enabling viewers to reconnect with the deeper issues it …show more content…

In these four coming of age films, parents are often portrayed as a means to hinder young adults rather than further them. Oliver, Walt and Kat all struggle with the guilt of having parents fall out of love. Oliver (Submarine) feels as though it is his responsibility to keep them together, forging suggestive love letters to rekindle their passion. Frank and Walt (Squid and the Whale) are caught between their parents, being used as pawns in their psychodrama. Frank says to Walt, it’s “Mom and me versus you and Dad”. Both boys feel as though they have to draw lines between each other in order to take the strain of joint custody off their parents, even though their parents should be the ones trying to take the strain off of them. Kat (White Bird) feels as though she is the reason behind her mothers sudden disappearance. She feels guilty of stealing her mother’s youth, of “wearing something of hers that she wanted back”. Was she the reason her parent’s marriage devolved? Was she the reason her mother “stepped out of her body and left it behind”? Often, children feel they are the cause of their parents misfortunes. They feel as though they prevented their parents from following their dreams. This guilt can easily take over the thoughts of a young adult, having an adverse effect on their

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