Genre Database

COMING OF AGE

Content conventions:

• Story relating to growth of a person
• Ordinary setting that can be adaptable to tone of the film
• Everyday situations
• Could be sentimental at some point
• Life lesson is taught (occasionally)
• Personal approach
• Involve the past
• Simple plot, not difficult to understand
• usually promoted in a non-flashy way

Production techniques conventions:

• No flashy editing or stunts
• Simplistic
• "homemade" feel
• If based on a different era, aim is to make it seem as authentic as possible
• ^this is done through the use of set modifications as well as costume
• and also focusing on colors and editing frames to fit a vintage image

Institutional conventions:

• Promoted in a non flashy way; no merchandise, no big trailers
• Soundtrack is usually an important part and is well thought out
• Usually includes acoustic, soft music to emphasize homemade feel

Film sample #1

Submarine (2010) dir. by Richard Ayoade

A brief synopsis:
Oliver is a Welsh teen who has some things on his mind.

First is losing his virginity before his 16th birthday. He sets out to woo his feisty classmate Jordana.
Then Oliver focuses on holding his family together.
His father, a depressed marine biologist, seems unequal to the task of preventing
Oliver's mother from succumbing to the dubious charms of a spiritual guru from down the road.

Why this is one of my all time favorite films:

• Beautiful soundtrack performed by Alex Turner
• Quirky, dry humor
• Based on a really good book
• Very peculiar characters
• Includes a bunch of cliches, but manages to make them work

How this film embodies my genre:
This film documents the troubles of Oliver Tate in terms of education, love, and family.

It involves a personal approach to which many people can relate to,
even if they have already grown out of their teenage years. Besides being sentimental,
the audience still manages to get a good laugh from it.

Review:

https://filmschoolrejects.com/review-submarine-is-a-refreshingly-sincere-coming-of-age-tale-bcd22a2b3d91/

Film sample #2

Ladybird (2017) dir. by Greta Gerwig

A brief synopsis:

Christine "Lady Bird" MacPherson is a high school senior from the "wrong side of the tracks." She longs for adventure, sophistication, and opportunity, but finds none of that in her Sacramento Catholic high school. LADY BIRD follows the title character's senior year in high school, including her first romance, her participation in the school play, and most importantly, her applying for college.

How this film embodies my genre:

The overall lesson of the film embodies the idea that there is no place like home. “Lady Bird” aspires to come out of her shell and explore what is beyond the city of Sacramento, California, where she attends a Catholic high school. Despite her constant arguments with her mother, it all goes back to unconditional love. Once she arrives to New York for her career, she realizes that the place where she most wanted to be was good old Sacramento.

Sidenote:

I watched this film when it first came out, which was about three months after I moved from Lima to Weston, and being able to connect to the main character was a beautiful thing. This is something that only a good coming of age film manages to do in my opinion.

Here’s a really good video about the realization of Lady Bird. It shows the director’s ideas and point of view, as well as insight on the actors and their characters, production techniques used, and the work put into the score.

More Coming-of-Age examples:

• Dazed and Confused (1993) by Richard Linklater
• Empire Records (1995) by Alan Moyle
• The Breakfast Club (1985) by John Hughes
• Heathers (1989) by Michael Lehman
• Dead Poets Society (1989) by Peter Weir
• Call Me By Your Name (2017) by Luca Guadagnino
• Stand By Me (1986) by Rod Reiner
• The Edge of Seventeen (2016) by Kelly Fremon Craig

Genre Research: Coming of Age

I decided to research about a genre I hold very close to my heart: Coming of age. No genre of film creates a personal connection with the audience as well as a good coming of age film does.

What made me gain even more interest in Coming of Age films and made me appreciate them more was this video

Coming of age is defined as: a genre of literature and film that focuses on the growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood. Coming-of-age stories tend to emphasize dialogue or internal monologue over action, and are often set in the past.

In terms of the target audience, it may vary. However, in general, Coming of age stories are based on teenagers growing up into adulthood, due to the fact that this stage (being very important in life) is recognized as the one where an individual is going through the process of finding itself.

Conventions of a coming of age film:

• Story relating to growth of a person
• Ordinary setting that can be adaptable to tone of the film
• Everyday situations
• Could be sentimental at some point
• Life lesson is taught
• Filmed with simple techniques; no flashy cinematography
• Personal approach
• Involve the past 
• Simple plot, not difficult to understand
• usually promoted in a non-flashy way 

Film examples:

• Submarine (2010) by Richard Ayoade
• Ladybird (2017) by Greta Gerwig
• Dazed and Confused (1993) by Richard Linklater
• Empire Records (1995) by Alan Moyle
• The Breakfast Club (1985) by John Hughes
• Heathers (1989) by Michael Lehman
• Dead Poets Society (1989) by Peter Weir
• Call Me By Your Name (2017) by Luca Guadagnino
• Stand By Me (1986) by Rod Reiner
• The Edge of Seventeen (2016) by Kelly Fremon Craig