I’ve seen a lot of criticism of the new movie Kick-Ass for being violent and/or dirty-mouthed. Okay. If it’s your thing, it’s your thing. If it’s not, it’s not. What I’m having a little trouble with is that it seems to be marketed to teens and the teenaged at heart. And it has an R rating. So basically, a large chunk of the target audience will either have to ask their parent’s permission to see it (and aren’t most parents supposed to object to this sort of thing?), or they’ll have to break the rules. It’s kind of the Joe Camel of movies.
It’s that weird intersection. Adults who aren’t ready to grow up and teens who are growing up too fast. And movies like this are really the McDonald’s of brain food. Quick, delicious and (I’m guessing) no nutritional value. Then again, so’s the whole Twilight franchise.
In the last 10 years, young adult fiction has come so far. There are great books out there for teenagers. And the not so young. I love YA books. Generally, they have less elaborate plotting, and tend to rely less on $20 words. But, many stand up on a literary basis to books written for adults, and they deal with tough social issues that some adult lit doesn’t even touch. J.K. Rowling is the cross-over sensation, along with Stephanie Myers. But Libba Bray, Scott Westerfield, Holly Black and Eoin Colfer, among many others, are writing some really good stuff aimed at teens. And adult authors like James Patterson, Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates and Michael Chabon have all released books in the YA field. This is not dumbed-down fiction. It’s good fiction written for a young audience. If you haven’t read YA since Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret, you would be stunned. If you need a good beach read this summer, check out the YA section.
But movies haven’t made a similar jump. There is no movie that is as serious and relevant for teenagers the way a book like The Wintergirls is. Which, frankly, sucks. And the ones that have crossed over, Harry Potter and Twilight, aren’t even the best of what’s out there (sorry, Muggles and Twi-hards). The kids got the fuzzy end of the lollipop on this one. Is it any wonder that the serious adult movie is dying when we never give young adults something to teethe on?
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2 comments:
Kick Ass being rated R - think the title says it ALL.
I think there are a few great teen films out there like Ghost World. But smart, great films of lasting value are of rare stock for any age group.
But at least with adults, somebody appears to be trying. At the Dallas International Film Fest, there were a few thoughtful adult entries, and one very good one for little kids. But I didn't see one thing that was aimed at teenagers. And in Hollywood theory, that's where the money is. Big disconnect.
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