As teens, our parents expect us to be many things. Respectful, disciplined, smart and successful. Yet the media seem to think that to sell anything, we must be portrayed differently.
We are constantly bombarded by images of ourselves as something we’re not.
There is a small box we are shoved into, and it’s giving us a bad rep. Adults giving us glares when our music is too loud in the car, when we laugh too loud or are annoying in movies.
The media has shaped all these stereotypes, and now we are expected to be exact copies of the drunk, loud and dumb dropout.
I was flipping through channels this weekend, and after becoming thoroughly frustrated that nothing was on, I came across “American Pie,” directed by Paul Weitz. This movie, while classic, made me want to punch Mr. Weitz in the face. No wonder so many adults give us nasty looks. This movie only escalated the stereotype that we are loud, messy, annoying “mini-adults.”
Personally, I don’t think these portrayals are fair. Sure, they can be good selling points, but does every movie or show need to blacken the name of adolescence? We already have enough stress put on us, and when adults don’t even expect us to live up to the expectations, then sometimes we feel like it’s not even worth trying. We stand up, adults knock us back down.
I’ll admit, every once in a while there is the occasional teen who fits perfectly into the stereotypical teen box the media has created. A tall jock who is mean, bullies the nerd, and has the gorgeous girlfriend. There’s the skinny, blonde cheerleader with a D- average. The quiet kid in the back of the room who studies all weekend, the dude with black nails and eyeliner who frequently gives you a death glare; these are molds we are expected to fit.
Not all movies slam us. Take the movie, “To Save A Life,” released in 2009. If only more people made (and watched) movies like this. The movie follows a teen boy, initially fitting the jock stereotype, who changes his lifestyle and has to make a tough choice after one of his old best friends commits suicide. More people watching movies like this would lift us up and out of the box we’ve been involuntarily shoved in.
I’m not saying these stereotypes are 100 percent false. We like to party, listen to our music loud and who hasn’t yelled at their parents? Maybe if we did more to show the community how great we really are, they’d stop glaring and start viewing us differently. Open the door for someone, let the person with five items go in front of you in the grocery store or turn your music down every once in a while.
They also aren’t completely accurate, either. Not all of us party every night, sneak out to clubs, drink our parent’s beer and use curse words as the majority of our vocabulary. I’m sure some may do one of those every once in a while, but it’s not how we live our life. It’s just how the media portrays us.
The media most likely won’t stop stereotyping us, but maybe people over the age of 21 won’t be as influenced by the media, and listen to us. We have a lot to say, and it’s not just curse words.
