R+P Post 6: Our chosen genre and how we plan to connote this

The genre we have chosen is 'coming of age', however we will also incorporate conventions of comedies and teen dramas. Our key inspirational references are "Superbad", "The Breakfast Club" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" as they include a social hierarchy and outsiders in a high school environment.

Our genre will be communicated through narrative, segregation of social groups (including minority characters), and character convetions such as their appearance, costume and dialogue. Unlike teen dramas, our production will invert typical ideas about high school students (similarly to "The Breakfast Club" in which five teenagers, each a member of a different high school clique come to realise that they are more than their respective stereotypes). Although, our film aims to be more representative of a British school (such as in "Wild Child").

The main theme of "The Breakfast Club" is the constant struggle of teenagers to be understood, by adults and by themselves. It explores the pressure put on teenagers to fit into their own realms of high school social constructs, as well as the lofty expectations of their parents, teachers, and other authority figures. This is appropriate for the 'coming of age' genre and these ideas will be adapted for our film, while including elements of comedy, as in "21 Jump Street" and "Pineapple Express".

We chose our genre because it is relatable for most people, therefore attracts a wide target audience. The themes and key characters in coming of age films are generally recognisable which makes the film more realistic. The visual style of coming of age films is well-known and does not only appeal to a niche audience.