Essay \"An analysis of the film \'thirteen\' and its representations of youth and gender in a postmodern society. \" - grade H2A PDF

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An analysis of the film 'Thirteen' and its representations of youth and gender in a postmodern society. ...

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EDUC30067: Assessment 1

Christine Fenton 641005

Talking Back and Acting Out: An Analysis of Thirteen and its Representations of Youth and Gender in a Postmodern Society

Christine Fenton

Previously, academics have turned predominantly to history books that chronicle past events to gain insight into the sociocultural climate of a particular place at a particular point in time- whereas sociologists have increasingly turned to popular media (Nairn & Wyn, 2015). Popular media is both influenced by and reflective of the social practices and politics of society and as such functions as a lens through which varying representations of gender, identity and mainstream cultural discourses can be examined (Nairn & Wyn, 2015). Representations of youth in popular media present a particularly significant site of sociocultural analysis. Young people, or more specifically; adult’s expectations of and responses to them, reflect societal fears, ideals and norms as well as the contradictory tensions of shifting cultural politics (Nairn & Wyn, 2015). In particular, ‘coming of age’ narratives allow us to engage with and better understand adult anxieties associated with young peoples ‘transition’ into adulthood and how these anxieties complicate and problematize the construction of young people’s gendered identities (Nairn & Wyn, 2015). With reference to existing literature, critiques and feminist discourses, this paper will engage with Catherine Hardwicke’s controversial film Thirteen (2003), providing an analysis of how the characters perform their gender identity and both embody and expel the dichotomous and gendered expectations thrust upon by neoliberal culture. By exploring how Thirteen speaks back to the post-feminist ‘can-do’ portrayals of young women frequently celebrated in 1

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contemporary films, this paper ultimately hopes to provide a valid perspective on the complex and tumultuous nature of girlhood within Western, individualized society (Kearney, 2002).

Increasingly since the early 1980s, as a result of large-scale transformations in the production and distribution of films, there has been an influx in the amount of women who’ve been able to actively exercise their creativity in writing, directing and producing motion pictures (Nairn & Wyn, 2015). Resultantly, feminist perspectives have gained more legitimacy in film and we have seen an increase in storylines that focus on the distinct complexities and challenges faced by young women today (Nairn & Wyn, 2015). However, despite there being more women within the industry, mainstream films that portray ‘girlhood’ predominantly depict young women as highly motivated and hyperactive ‘can-do’ girls- such as the characters of Bend it Like Beckham (2002). These young women are presented as the “idealized form” of the self-determining individual- successful in their heterosexual relationships, social lives and academic and athletic pursuits as a result of their own perseverance (Gonick, 2006). Though, of course, viewers can take feminist or empowering messages from these films, this paper contends that they are somewhat limiting. These ‘can do’ representations of girlhood downplay larger sociocultural factors that influence and restrict young women’s lives and make them responsible for their perceived failures- or rather; for their failure to achieve an idealised gender identity and a ’healthy’ transition into adulthood (Kelly, 2006). Furthermore, many of these popular girlhood narratives depict characters of upper-middle class status that have the resources to engage with mainstream, feminine consumer culture (Gonick 2006). This is problematic for multiple reasons. 2

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Firstly, many young women watching these films cannot relate to this class status or its accompanying privileges, thus alienating them from the popular media that is supposedly catered to them. Moreover, as a result of encountering the neoliberal discourse promoted by ‘can-do’ characters, young women are led to understand that their own experiences of failure, including the ‘failure’ of their parents to provide the capital promoted in these films, is a product of their own individual effort, or the lack thereof, of their families (Gonick 2006). Keeping these narratives in mind, this paper will now go on to assess how Thirteen offers a significantly more relatable representation of girlhood for many young women and will analyse how the characters develop and exhibit attitudes and behaviours traditionally associated with both masculinity and femininity within the context of a contemporary neoliberal society (Kearney, 2002).

The true gift of Hardwicke’s Thirteen is its honesty. The film provides viewers with an exception to the rule- incorporating multiple, but not extraordinary- stresses within the characters development and plot line and its authenticity and believability is a credit to its inclusive creation. Thirteen was co-written by Hardwicke and the then thirteen-year-old Nikki Reed -whom stars as Evie in the film- and is based off of her real life experiences at that age (Fuchs, 2003). The film documents the rise and fall of the intense friendship between the films protagonist, Tracy Freeland, and Evie Zamora- both lower middle-class thirteen year-old girls from Los Angeles. At the beginning of the film, we see Tracy adhering to adult expectations of childhood femininity; playing with childhood friends, doing her school work, babysitting and dressing in ‘childish’ clothing (Teufel & Greytak, 2016). At this point 3

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in the narrative Tracy appears to be on route to transition into the young woman that society hopes she will become- one that is academically inclined, partakes in domestic chores and whose sexually is diffident. Despite this adherence to adult ideals, the audience is made privy to Tracy’s inner turmoil and the complexity of her character through her sombre poetry and desire to be accepted by the in-crowd, despite having a supportive group of friends (Teufel & Greytak 2016). After being teased for her childish attire at school Tracy seeks to befriend Evie, a charismatic ‘popular girl’, by dressing more provocatively. The beginning of Tracy and Evie’s friendship marks the first sign of Tracy’s identity transformation and the impact of consumer culture on the young girls gender performances. Whilst on a bus to meet Evie for the first time, Tracy is bombarded with aggressively sexualized advertisements for alcohol, beauty products and big name clothing brands such as Calvin Klein. Neither Tracy nor Evie, who both come from single income households, have the resources to buy the brands that popular culture endorses. Tracy is embarrassed and resentful towards her mother for this and as such steals a wallet to purchase both the goods and, subsequently, Evie’s conditional affirmation. This is an important scene in the film because it critiques consumer girl culture and exemplifies the disparity between the lifestyle depicted and promoted in popular girlhood films, such as Mean Girls (2004), and the economic reality for many young people. Hardwicke also makes an important point in her direction not to blame the girls for their petty crime or “at risk” behaviours (Kelly, 2006 p.25), but rather tries to demonstrate how the characters attempt to navigate and make sense of the conflicting attitudes of adults and the popular culture and advertising that surrounds them (Fuchs 2003).

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A major point of contention and discomfort for many watching the film was the ways in which Tracy and Evie used their bodies; in their consumption of drugs and alcohol and, particularly, their sexuality. Susan Bordo, in her text ‘Unbearable Weight’ (1993) describes the body –how we dress, what we consume, the “daily rituals” through which we attend to the body – as a medium of our culture (p. 165). By applying this framework of physicality to Thirteen we can see how societal attitudes regarding youth and gender are attached to the characters use of their bodies. Tracy’s manor of dress is understood as either childlike (at the start of the film) or overly sexualized, reflecting the virgin/whore dichotomy that exists as a trope in our culture and that is heavily applied to young women. In response to the controversy surrounding the film, Hardwicke commented that Tracy is “just doing what we’re telling her to do” and that “we’re horrified that she does it” (Fuchs, 2003). This is true of both her fashion choices and sexuality. Tracy exists in a world where sexualized imagery is the bread and butter of advertising and popular media yet when she embodies it, the collective conscience is appalled. Critiques of the film have argued that Tracy’s sexual behaviour adopts a “traditionally masculine” and “ironic” openness to sexuality- claiming that in her pursuits of sexual empowerment she only seems to gratify her male sexual partners (Hinrichs, 2008). This is a reductive interpretation of Tracy’s agency and limits potential dialogue about the film. It is possible that Tracy could have felt empowered by ‘loving and leaving’ the males she pursues, as the film does not depict her seeking out the classic heterosexual relationships we have come to expect in mainstream cinema, nor does it depict her regretting her sexual practices. Many critiques of Thirteen also epitomize the gross cultural double standards that are applied to young peoples sexuality. In one scene Mason, Tracy’s older brother, makes a sexualized comment 5

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towards a young woman, whom is facing away from him and dressed in a sexualized manor. Unbeknownst to Mason at the time, the young woman was Tracy. However, when the two siblings enter into a row in the next scene Mason calls Tracy a “slut” and comments on her drinking- though he himself was drinking in the previous scene (Hardwicke, 2003). Almost all reviews of the film refer to Mason as a “decent” guy- his sexualisation of females is not commented on (Hornstein, 2016). This reproduces and reinforces the victim blaming mentality that it is okay to make such comments about women and their gender performance, but it is not okay, or moral, to be the target of such comments- particularly if you’re young.

It is evident that the young women in Thirteen –and by extension, many young women- are burdened by the dichotomous and contradictory societal attitudes that surround their gendered identity construction. The beauty of this film is that it makes Tracy’s experiences with and responses to these burdens both relatable to young people, and palpable to “well-meaning adults” (Teufel & Greytak, 2016). Though this paper does not wish to encourage practices that puts the wellbeing of young people at risk, it does believe that this film presents academics and society at large with an opportunity to reflect on their responses to its honest representation of girlhood. What are we worried girls like Tracy will not become? What forms of identity was she not performing? Is our discomfort with her sexuality related more to her age or the fact that it is not congruous with traditional understandings of gender (Kelly, 2006)? This paper does not claim to have all of the answers, but it does contend that rather than placing judgment on Tracy, or young women, we should -as Thirteen encourages- attempt to deconstruct the “oppressive structural forces” and attitudes that drives her behaviour (Hinrichs, 2008). 6

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Bibliography

Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture and the Body. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Fuchs, C. (2003). Interview with Catherine Hardwicke: Thirteen. Retrieved from http://www.popmatters.com/feature/hardwicke-catherine-030903/.

Gonick, M. (2006). Between “Girl Power” and “Revising Ophelia”: Constituting the

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Neoliberal Girl Subject. NWSA Journal, 14 (2), 1-23.

Hardwick, C. (Director). (2003). Thirteen [Motion picture]. United States: Working Title Films.

Hinrichs, N. (2008). A Feminist Critique of Thirteen. Retrieved from http://wmst2010.blogspot.com.au/2008/04/hinrichs-media-analysis.html.

Horstein, J. (2016). Two Perspectives on Thirteen a film by Catherine Hardwicke, co-written with Nikki Reed: Reflections on Race in Thirteen. Retrieved from http://www.urbanedjournal.org/archive/volume-2-issue-2-fall-2003/twoperspectives-thirteen-film-catherine-hardwicke-co-written-nik.

Kearney, M. (2002). Girlfriends and Girl Power: Female Adolescence in Contemporary U.S Cinema. In F Gateward & M Pomerance (Eds), Sugar Spice and Everything Nice (pp. 125-142). Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Kelly, P. (2006). The Entrepreneurial Self and ‘Youth at Risk’: Exploring the Horizons of Identity in the Twenty-first Century. Journal of Youth Studies. 9(1), 17-32. Nairn, K & Wyn, J. (2015), New girlhood and lost boys: analysing the cultural politics of gender and education through film. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 6 (36), 821-832.

Teufel, T & Grytak, E. (2016). Two Perspectives on Thirteen a film by Catherine Hardwicke, co-written with Nikki Reed: Thirteen: A view into the complex, inner life of an adolescent girl. Retrieved from http://www.urbanedjournal.org/archive/volume-2-issue-2-fall-2003/twoperspectives-thirteen-film-catherine-hardwicke-co-written-nik.

Waters, M. (Director). (2004). Mean Girls [Motion picture]. United States: M.G. Films.

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