In our house we love movies. We’ve even been known to catch a double feature from time to time. Yet even with cinema and Sky On Demand, Netflix and Amazon, the biggest problem I have lately is finding something to watch with my tween daughter.
Of course there are the unrated movies that we all enjoy (The Incredibles, The Toy Story’s). These are fun, but as my daughter nears her teen years, I’d like to watch films together that feature situations that look like her life.
Almost everything on offer is all innuendo and stereotypes, “hot” girls and in-charge boys. No stories or characters, just blow-em-up action movies or unfunny comedies. Even when we watch the classic movies like Grease, the storylines are so male-centric and objectifying of the girls that I find it hard not to verbally annontate the entire time (“Rizzo kind of has a bad reputation but do you think a boy would too if he did the same things?” I subtly chime in).
It’s hardly the Bechdel Test but below are 5 things I want to see in teen movies. What would you to see?
- Weirdos and non-conformists (and not just because the main character is “artistic”)
- Girls who have personal goals beyond getting a boyfriend or cool clothes
- Functional families with parents who act like parents
- Girl World politics
- Stories set somewhere other than California, New York or London
And 5 things I don’t:
- Boob jokes (enough already!)
- A breathless quest to get a boyfriend
- Model-like actresses described as “plain” or “ugly”
- More than 1 fart joke
- Girls who have their problems solved by somebody else
So what do you like or not like about the movies you watch with your children?
Image by Jaimie Duplass via Shutterstock
About Jennifer Howze
Jennifer Howze is the Creative Director and co-founder of BritMums. She blogs about family travel at Jenography.net, tweets at @JHowze and Instagrams at @JHowze. Previously, she wrote the Alpha Mummy blog at The Times and as a journalist has contributed to The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Wall Street Journal, Travel & Leisure, Budget Travel, CNN.com, Allure, SELF and Premiere, among others. She won The Maggie Award from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America for a health article in Seventeen magazine.
Suzanne
Saturday 30th of May 2015
So hard to find a decent movie for this age group isn't it? I watched 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' with my 13 year old the other day and was pleasantly surprised - we both loved it!
Trish Stone
Saturday 30th of May 2015
You said it Jennifer! I feel like teen movies nowadays are in quite a rut so to say. I'm sure it will get better but that can't happen soon enough!
Heather
Tuesday 26th of May 2015
What I like in a kids film is pretty much the same as what I like to see in any films: well rounded, believable characters and plots.
There's definitely a tendency in kids movies to be lazy with the writing, and throw in a lot of stereotypes before ramming a 'message' down your neck at the end. Sometimes it works, other times it stands out too much from the storyline to be anything other than irritating.
My kids favourite films are all of the Harry Potter's and War Horse (although not as good as the book apparently). So I reckon a great story with well written characters is probably the key for us. I'd agree that those elements are often a bit thin on the ground when it comes to the movies though.
Jennifer Howze
Wednesday 27th of May 2015
Heather, you're entirely right about the "message". Kids know when they're being preached to and like the rest of us, they don't like it much. I haven't seen War Horse yet. That's one for the list.