Kelechi Campbell

HowareteenageprotagonistsrepresentedinAdulthood(2008)

and
ProjectX(2012)?
In this essay, I will be discussing the ways in which teenage
protagonists are portrayed in my two case studies of films,
Adulthood(2008) and Project X(2012). I will be analysing how both
films portray teenage protagonists and discussing the
interpretations that could be made.
Adulthood(2008), BBFC certificate 15 and is a British drama film
directed by Noel Clarke. The films main stars are Noel Clarke, Adam
Deacon, Jacob Anderson and Ben Drew. The film is a sequel to the
film KIdULTHOOD, set six years after the murder of Trife. Sam Peel
is released from prison but finds that life on the outside is just as
hard as life inside prison. As he adapts back to normal life, he is
followed by a new generation of young boys who want revenge. For
the duration of the Film, Sam attempts to stop the cycle of violence
but it doesnt change the motives of his pursuers.
The second film, Project X(2012), BBFC certificate 18 and is an
American Comedy film directed by Nima Nourizadeh. It stars
Thomas Mann, Jonathan Daniel Brown and Oliver Cooper. This
followers a group of high school friends who try to throw the most
epic 17th birthday party ever. They document an experience that
turns from normal, to out of control very quickly.
In both films, there are similar representations of teenage
protagonists. In Project X, it portrays teenage protagonists
negatively, showing them as being reckless and generally
hedonistic. This is shown through key characters such as Costa, who
is seen pressuring Thomas to have the biggest party possible just to
benefit himself. Similarly, in Adulthood, they portray British
teenagers in a negative way throughout the film, showing signs of
morality but clearly indicating various stigmas attached to the
teenager stereotype such as drugs, gangs and being rebellious. I will
be analysing how, through the use of micro elements;
cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.
Project X uses the narrative to present the teenage protagonists in a
negative way, it represents them in the expected manor they should
be acting in according to the stereotypes that are associated
towards teenagers. In the film teenage protagonists are portrayed
as confused and lost. This is shown through the narrative as the film
is shown as found footage seen through a digital camera and
iPhones, so the faces of the characters come across primarily of
blurs, the blurred faces connote to the audience a sense of
inebriation which links back to the stereotypes associating
teenagers to partying and rebellion.

Kelechi Campbell
Project X, similarly to Adulthood, presents the teenage protagonists
as adhering to the stigma put onto them by society. This is
presented through the diegetic sound in the form of dialogue. In the
film, the students of the high school discuss Thomas upcoming
party. In the scene they include such dialogue such as Get high,
f**k b**ches, you already know. Nourizadeh uses this to convey the
thoughts of teenagers, they are hedonistic, which is shown through
their desire to indulge in illegal drugs and fornication. When the
character says you already know it connotes to the audience that
society already expects this from them and it comes as no surprise
that they are pursuing these things.
Project X presents the teenage protagonists, Thomas, Costa and J.B.
as being hungry for acceptance by their peers and it shows them
striving for popularity. Nourizadeh does this using the
cinematography, during the start of the film, Nourizadeh uses high
angled shots shots to present the boys as being lower than their
peers, portraying them as the bottom of the food chain in terms of
popularity. This is emphasised by people not knowing their names,
when people are asked about Thomas party some of the kids
respond with who?. Nourizadeh presents the strive for popularity
through the party scene where Thomas wants to stop his party.
Through this Nourizadeh shows Thomas moral strain as he decides
to shut down the party, this conveys that teenagers are conscious of
consequences and are willing to fight against peer pressure
suggesting to the audience that all teenagers may not be adhering
to the stereotype. However, Thomas falls to the pleasure of being
popular and decides to let the party
go on. Nourizadeh
shows this
by using low angled shots on
Thomas as he stand on a chair, this
presents Thomas as higher than his
peers indicating him being popular,
this is emphasised by the diegetic
dialogue of his peers cheering
Thomas over and over again. By
the use of cinematography this scene to convey the message and
values that the strive for popularity has overridden the morals of
Thomas and his friends, supporting the stereotype of teenagers
wanting to be popular.
As Project X progresses, it shows no signs of contrasting the
expected teenage stereotype. Nourizadeh uses a variety of micro
elements to convey messages of rebellion to the audience. After
upsetting his crush, Nourizadeh uses a tracking shot to follow
Thomas, accompanied by diegetic music, drowning out the rest of
the environment, this presents Thomas as being incoherent and lost
as he wonders through the crowd. This connotes to the audience

Kelechi Campbell
that girls are such a big component in a teenagers life, that without
them they are both confused and lost.
There is also a scene in project X where Thomas, Costa and J.B. are
on top of the roof of the house. This scene represents the rebellious
side of the teenage protagonists. Nourizadeh uses mise-en-scene in
the form of character positioning of the three boys on top of the roof
to suggest to the audience that this is
in fact the peak of their popularity.
Mise-en-scene in the form of lighting is
also used as a spotlight shines down
on Thomas, this indicates that the
entire even is centred around him and
all the attention is on him. When the
news camera is on Thomas, he stick
his middle finger up and says My party is the sh*t, this shows the
audience that the journey for acceptance for his peers has gone so
far that Thomas doesnt care about any post-consequences
anymore and he is only concerned with his party being epic. Thomas
is shown being blinded by the light in his eyes, this could suggest he
has been blinded by his peers into having this party, drinking
alcohol and doing drugs, prior to him only wanting to have a small
get together.
Similarly, Adulthood presents their teenage protagonists in a
negative way from the outset of the film. Clarke uses
cinematography in the form of an establishing shot to make the
location clear to the audience. The location of a party is made, it is
shown to be underneath a motorway, this connotes to the audience
that the party is socially unacceptable and has to be hidden from
the surface, much similar to gangs. He also uses a montage of fast
paced short cut shots, this is used to represent the stereotypes of
teenagers, associating them with drugs, criminal activity and
fornication. An example of this is Clarke using mise-en-scene in the
form of props such as blunts to link the perceived stereotype of
teenagers to drugs. The connotations of this continue through
aspects of mise-en-scene such as costumes, wearing tracksuits or
hoodies, giving the suggestion of gang affiliation and a lower
economic group. Later in the film, where three boys, Oman, Henry
and Dabz rob a car. By analysing the mise-en-scene such as centre
positioning in shots, the audience immediately know that Dabz is
the protagonist, there are a lot of close up shots of Dabz used to
indicate the significance of his character. As they are committing a
crime in broad daylight, it is alerting to the audience as it implies
they do not care who sees, which links to the perceived stereotype
of teenagers being rebellious to societies morals and rules. This
reinforces representations of criminal acts and teenagers,
emphasising the stereotype of teenagers. This scene is used to
indicate Dabz and his boys as fearless characters with bad traits.

Kelechi Campbell
The non-diegetic music in the form of rap music, glorifying criminal
activity is played with the diegetic dialogue to match themes of
gang activity and teenagers. Dialogue is also used to reinforce the
portrayal of teenagers, colloquial language is used by a majority of
the teenagers to communicate to everyone else for example Im
gonna beat that bruv!, insinuating connotations of street life and
lower economic groups among the boys to present the values of the
teenagers, showing they are heavily invested in girls.
There is a scene where Sam is
going leave the house to murder
someone, he is confronted by his
mum at his front door, Clarke
uses close up shots to show the
audience the emotion that is
being conveyed between the two
parties, you can see the pain both of them are feeling, despite this
Sam still leaves, showing the messages and values of Sam,
indicating crime as a stronger hold on the teenager then family
does. This is used by Clarke to portray teenagers in a negative light
as it shows even in their most vulnerable place where they are faced
with the person they love most, they will still stray and conform to
the stereotypes of teenagers. This presents the message of the hold
the street culture has on teenagers.
In the fight scene between Sam
and Jay, Clarke uses an arc shot
to show the audience the reality
of the situation, both characters
have a stand off with a baseball
bat and a gun, this characterises
Sam and Jay without Clarke
having to use dialogue. The
dialogue used later in the scene
by Sam such as You think I
wanted this bruv? with close up
shots used by Clarke invokes feelings of empathy through the
audience. When Sam takes the gun off Jay and pulls the trigger to
his own head, nothing happens as there are no bullets in the gun.
This scene in the film may be used to imply the things you see on
the surface could all be a front. The guns, drugs and clothes, could
be used to hide their insecurities and fears of life. This is because he
had a gun, used for the purpose of intimidation, yet when it came
down to the crucial moment, he didnt live up to the stigma of
teenage stereotypes. The costumes are also significant, in the fight
scene, Sams clothes are in a dirty state. The representation of the
clothing being dirty is aimed to make the audience believe that they
have fought a brave amount to restore their problems, a message

Kelechi Campbell
and value that teens are willing to change if put in a harsh enough
situation.
Through my analysis of both films, I believe that the films had
differences but for the most part were similar in the way that they
portray teenage protagonists. Both films start by representing the
teenage protagonists as rebellious, disobedient and unmanageable.
Both of the films teenage protagonists support societies
stereotypes. In Project X, they show the teenage protagonists to be
rebellious in a light hearted way compared to Adulthood, using the
narrative of them pursuing popularity to transfer into drugs,
fornication and crime. Whereas, Adulthood takes a more direct
approach, presenting teenage protagonists Sam and Jay to show
little to no significant indication of improvement in character. They
still surround themselves with the lifestyle of drugs, gangs and
crime that the audience expects
them to stray to, leading the
audience to not only
acknowledge the stereotype but
agree with it. Therefore both
films I have studied represented
their teenage protagonists as
teenagers who adhere to
societies negative stereotypes.
Word count : 1945