MovieChat Forums > Teen Films > Which sub-genres have been the teenagers...

Which sub-genres have been the teenagers'...


... main movie/TV trend since... well, since you can remember? I can only remember these 3:

-Dystopia: THE HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT, THE MAZE RUNNER, THE GIVER, THE 5TH WAVE, etc.
-Vampire: TWILIGHT, TRUE BLOOD, VAMPIRE DIARIES, etc.
-Musical: HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, CAMP ROCK, etc.

reply

18

reply

Horror
Fantasy
Comedies
Sex comedies
Coming Of Age
sci-fi
thriller

Horror should be somewhere near the top. There are so many classic teen horror movies. I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream, When a Stranger Calls, etc. You have your fantasy movies like Harry Potter, The Golden Compass, and Eragon. I would also include The Goonies here. Then there's comedies and sex comedies. I consider these two different genres. You have your comedies like She's All That and Clueless, and your sex comedies such as Not Another Teen Movie, American Pie, Weird Science, and Porky's. The main difference is that sex comedies are aimed at a more mature audience and contain sexual themes. Admittedly these two genres blur together somewhat, and there aren't many teen sex comedies made anymore.

Short clip from Not Another Teen Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LArygQ6I7Vc Contains adult language ☺

Finally there's Coming of Age movies, probably the most obvious of all. Coming of Age movies are about kids growing up and are usually dramas, but can also include comedies, fantasy, etc. Examples of coming of age movies: The Man in the Moon (1991), My Girl 2, Life As A House, and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. I would also include The Fault in Our Stars here.

Trailer for The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb8JliHH9x8

Edit: Two more common teen genres are the sci-fi and thriller genres. You already touched on sci-fi when you said dystopia. But there are lots of non-dystopian sci-fi movies like Donnie Darko and +1. Then there is the teen thriller genre which includes movies like 4.3.2.1. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svw1DgQtgnc

reply

Also the 'quintessential summer' teen movies - like The Way Way Back and Kings of Summer, etc.

reply