Teaming to Grow Up: Patterns of Development in Recent American Films
Teaming to Grow Up: Patterns of Development in Recent American Films

Summary/Abstract: One of the most popular genres of Hollywood films is the coming-of-age narrative. This genre of film charts the growth process of its protagonists from ignorance to cognition. However, this journey or growth process is not wholly physical or completely psychological, and it is predicated on the attainment of cognition. This quest towards cognition may involve physical or psychological journeys which the protagonist must embark upon. This essay examines the way Hollywood films, such as Gridiron Gang, Finding Forrester, Take the Lead and You Got Served, reflect, through their unique and definitive content and visual style, the visual topography of growth. By applying the concept of the Bildungsroman, a German narrative form articulating human growth process or a narrative form which foregrounds the protagonist in the process of evolving, one can explore the politics of growth by looking at how young protagonists deal with the universal problems of coming of age, sexuality, and the search for identity. The essay shall equally demonstrate how these films subvert the traditional form of the Bildungsroman to give voice to marginalised protagonists.

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