Feminism at the movies: sex, gender, and identity in contemporary American teen cinema

Abstract

Teen cinema is one of the most dynamic popular cinematic genres, constantly changing to remain relevant to its youth audience. This article investigates how a recent cycle of teen cinema–represented by popular US films Blockers, Dude, and Booksmart–has been praised as “feminist” teen storytelling. All three films are the debut feature of a woman director, and all focus on girl characters navigating the final moments of adolescence: the prom, graduation, and the final night of high school. As this article highlights, Blockers, Dude, and Booksmart are claimed as “feminist” for gender-swapping three cinematic tropes associated with young men: the sex quest, stoner comedy, and ultimate party. With attention to industrial context, representational politics, and reception, this article analyses both the rhetoric surrounding these films and their representations of adolescent girlhood. This analysis illustrates how describing this cycle as “feminist” functions as both a discursive frame for navigating issues of sex, gender, and identity and a commercial strategy to appeal to a new generation of teen audiences.