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Article: THE JOCK, THE GEEK THE REBEL AND THE PRINCESS: BLURRING REALITY AND FICTION IN AMERICAN TEEN
- Article from:
- Australian Screen Education
- Article date:
- January 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright The Australian Teachers of Media Inc Winter 2009. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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It has all the hallmarks of narrative cinema, but American Teen is a documentary. Or is it? Myke Bartlett considers the deliberate construction of identity and the influence of online media in the world of the twenty-first century teen.
THEY were five total strangers with nothing in common. The jock whose father drove him to win at all costs, the impossibly popular princess, the shrunken geek, the bad boy and the strange girl waiting to be redeemed by a new hairstyle and some strategic make-up. Yet brought together, they become bonded for life, against all odds. There's even an unlikely pairing-up or two. Add a modem, popalicious soundtrack and you have the makings of a Hollywood teen ...