Movies to See before You Graduate from High School

Michael Howarth

Most teens love to watch movies—whether a young adult fantasy or the latest comic-book-to-screen adaptation. Alongside the usual summer blockbusters, though, are more down to earth fare, movies that best define what it means to be an adolescent. Such films provide insight and depth into the challenges and issues that many teens experience as they move from childhood into adulthood.

In Movies to See before You Graduate from High School, Michael Howarth examines sixty coming-of-age films that are essential viewing for teenagers. Whether serious or silly, scary or profound, the films discussed here comment on the trials and tribulations of adolescence. Each entry provides a plot summary, identifies key themes, and includes other useful details such as running time and MPAA rating. Most important in each entry is the “gist” section—a relaxed and informal discussion of the film’s merits and why teens should add it to their viewing list.

The films discussed here span five decades, but many of the titles are recent features that contemporary teens will appreciate—from Easy A and Edge of Seventeen to Lady Bird and Love, Simon. The films also represent a range of genres, including comedy, horror, animation, and drama. Additional elements include classic lines of dialogue, “double feature” suggestions, and more than 30 photos. And with five dozen titles to choose from, some teens will want to catch up as soon as possible! Movies to See before You Graduate from High School is the guide to some of the best films for young adult audiences.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 264 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-1-5381-2001-9 • Hardback • December 2019 • $44.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-5381-2002-6 • eBook • December 2019 • $41.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Juvenile NonFiction / Performing Arts / Film, Performing Arts / Film & Video / Genres

Movies to See before You Graduate from High School

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Most teens love to watch movies—whether a young adult fantasy or the latest comic-book-to-screen adaptation. Alongside the usual summer blockbusters, though, are more down to earth fare, movies that best define what it means to be an adolescent. Such films provide insight and depth into the challenges and issues that many teens experience as they move from childhood into adulthood.

In Movies to See before You Graduate from High School, Michael Howarth examines sixty coming-of-age films that are essential viewing for teenagers. Whether serious or silly, scary or profound, the films discussed here comment on the trials and tribulations of adolescence. Each entry provides a plot summary, identifies key themes, and includes other useful details such as running time and MPAA rating. Most important in each entry is the “gist” section—a relaxed and informal discussion of the film’s merits and why teens should add it to their viewing list.

The films discussed here span five decades, but many of the titles are recent features that contemporary teens will appreciate—from Easy A and Edge of Seventeen to Lady Bird and Love, Simon. The films also represent a range of genres, including comedy, horror, animation, and drama. Additional elements include classic lines of dialogue, “double feature” suggestions, and more than 30 photos. And with five dozen titles to choose from, some teens will want to catch up as soon as possible! Movies to See before You Graduate from High School is the guide to some of the best films for young adult audiences.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 264 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-1-5381-2001-9 • Hardback • December 2019 • $44.00 • (£35.00)

978-1-5381-2002-6 • eBook • December 2019 • $41.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Juvenile NonFiction / Performing Arts / Film, Performing Arts / Film & Video / Genres

Author

Michael Howarth is associate professor of English at Missouri Southern State University. He is the author of Under the Bed, Creeping: Psychoanalyzing the Gothic in Children’s Literature ( 2014) and a work of fiction for young adults, Fair Weather Ninjas: A Novel (2016).

Table of Contents

Congratulations, Class of . . . Senior Superlatives
Almost Famous
American Graffiti
American Pie
The Babysitter
Better Off Dead
Billy Elliot
The Breadwinner
The Breakfast Club
Call Me by Your Name
Christine
Clueless
Coming through the Rye
Coraline
Dazed and Confused
Easy A
The Edge of Seventeen
Eighth Grade
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Flirting
Heathers
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Igby Goes Down
It: Chapter One
Juno
Lady Bird
The Last Picture Show
Love, Simon
Lucas
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Mean Girls
Moana
A Monster Calls
Monster House
My Bodyguard
Napoleon Dynamite
Orange County
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Pretty in Pink
Princess Cyd
Raising Victor Vargas
Ready Player One
Rebel without a Cause
Risky Business
Rushmore
Saint Ralph
Say Anything
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Sing Street
Sixteen Candles
The Spectacular Now
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Stand by Me
Submarine
Superbad
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Valley Girl
The Way Way Back
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Whale Rider
Appendix A: Main Themes
Appendix B: Genres
Appendix C: Top-Five Lists

Movies to See before You Graduate from High School

Michael Howarth

Movies to See before You Graduate from High School

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