The Sense of Self in Adolescence Teenager Movies Essay

Who are you? This question could be exceedingly intricate to answer if you were to ask an adolescent. Teens are experiencing countless changes in their development, which is why it is such a significant time for them. During this time teenagers develop their sense of self. Film has helped portray some of the changes that occur during this evolving developmental period. For this paper, I will be describing the differences between two adolescent films to depict differences in developing the self. Some differences I will cover include types of self, Erickson’s Identity Crisis, Marcia’s Identity Status Interview theory, and culture over time.(Arnett, 2013) Perks of Being a Wallflower (Halfon, Malkovich, Smith Chbosky, 2012), is a film that†¦show more content†¦He was also not afraid to get up in front of the whole school and defend his best friend. When Patrick was being called names and tripped for being gay, Charlie selflessly stood up for him, even though he k new people might even think he was gay for doing so. He always did what he wanted to do and never let anyone including himself stray from who they truly are. (Halfon, Malkovich, Smith Chbosky, 2012) On another note, you have Ronnie. Most of the film he was portraying his ideal self. A prime example of this is when the report cards came in the mail for the semester. He and his family were sitting around the dinner table and his parents were reading his little brothers report card. Afterwards, they asked Ronnie where his were and he claimed he hadn’t received his report card and that it shouldn’t matter, because he was invariably a â€Å"straight-A† student. The truth was that he had received his report card, but since he was popular he chose to stop caring about his grades which caused them to drop dramatically. He cared more about being popular, than doing what he was actually capable of. (Mount Rash, 1987) Erickson’s Identity theory was also illustrated in both films. Part of Erickson’s theory was identity achievement vs. identity confusion. Adolescents who are in the identity achievement category know who they are and where they belong in the world around them. IdentityShow MoreRelatedThe Duff Is A Teen Movie1494 Words   |  6 Pagesknown as the popular girls at school. Jessica and Casey got party invitation from the mean girl Madison, and they decided to bring Bianca to the party too. At the party, Bianca was just one of those nameless and faceless people in a sea of popular teenagers. The only boy who approached her and talked with her is Wesley Rush, who is Bianca’s next-door neighbor she was known her whole life. 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