Heeb

By Julia Young

American Teen, the new documentary from Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein, follows the lives of five teens in their senior year of High School in Warsaw, Indiana. One-by-one, we meet the jock, the geek, the rebel, the princess and the heartthrob, but despite the film’s marketing materials, they are less Breakfast Club than an episode of The Hills. But for all of its unscripted drama, American Teen has something that no MTV show can ever hope to capture: insecurity.

Each teen subject has his/her own problem, which include getting dumped, being unpopular, college acceptance and scholarships, and even just graduating.The subjects are surprisingly candid and open, perhaps to a fault. It crossed my mind more than once how comfortable each felt in front of the camera. In the age of rampant reality television, can we expect the subjects to be able to communicate their story lines without simultaneously constructing them? Are the teens emblematic of pop culture or are they merely imitating it? Would the action unfurl the same way if there were no cameras around?

Not all of the drama feels manufactured; there are some truly authentic moments in the film. Hannah, the rebel and easily the most mature teen in the film, suffers an anxiety attack after a breakup and misses 20 days of school. We feel bad as she sobs in front of her father and refuses to go back to school. But it is when Hannah, discussing graduation with her principal, proclaims “I don’t want people to think I’m weak”, that we truly fall for her. Mitch, the heartthrob, falls for Hannah as well. A more Midwestern pinup boy you will not find, replete with athletic skills and the teen penchant for following the crowd. And in a move straight out of a teen movie, he breaks up with her via text message.

Not too long ago I was an American teen. Now I’m an American young adult, but with surprisingly similar issues. Years after high school, everyone is still preoccupied with fitting in and making friends. It’s just now called “networking.” As the film’s resident geek, Jake, asks: “My life sucks now, but what if it’s even worse after high school?