Media and film studies

American Teen Cinema: Coming of Age on Screen

Module code: P5034
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Film, Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework

This module examines the formal strategies, narrative conventions, and industrial contexts of teen cinema in a manner that promises to engage Film, Media and Cultural Studies students alike. While the module moves from the 1950s to the present day, we are not simply concerned with the histori-cal development of a genre. Topics will include questions of exploitation, industry and audience, while thinking through constructions of gender, sexuality, race and class. Since youth is mediated through an adult lens, we will engage with issues of nostalgia and methodology. You will deepen your skills in independent research and higher-level contextual and textual analysis.

Module learning outcomes

• Demonstrate a coherent and specialist knowledge of the teen movie
• Demonstrate understanding of key debates in scholarship related to the topic
• Demonstrate an understanding of the industrial and socio-cultural contexts in which these films were produced.
• Provide sophisticated critical analysis of a range of teen films, and effectively argue a position.
• Demonstrate appropriate capacity for individual research and skills in written communications.