The Teenager
A very lucrative invention. (Vol. 2; Issue 31)
Welcome aboard The Bus!
The Stop
Defined by the World Health Organisation as the transitional phase of growth and development between ages 10 and 19, adolescence is a ‘unique stage of human development’ in which humans experience intense and rapid ‘physical, cognitive and psychosocial growth.’1 In many societies, adolescence is ‘narrowly equated’ with puberty and the accompanying changes which lead to reproductive maturity. However, in other - generally Western - societies, adolescence - in addition to the physical aspects of maturation - is understood as a period of psychological, social and moral development. In these societies, the term is ‘roughly equivalent’ to the relatively recently invented idea of the teenager.2
Though people have been turning 13 since the dawn of the calendar and the recognition of birthdays, the ‘teenager’ is one of the ‘most culturally significant inventions of the past century’ and would have been an alien concept before the 20th century. Until the Industrial Revolution, most children would have entered the (largely agrarian) world of adult labour from the age of seven, and as industrialisation grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, they became factory workers alongside their adult peers.3 In the early 20th century, however, changes in Western living standards and education policies led to an increasing number of young people who were able to be supported financially and emotionally by their parents for longer than at any previous time in history.4
Though the term teenager (or teen-ager) had occasionally been used before the Second World War, in the late 40s/early 50s the term acquired a more specific denotation because of the ‘confluence of three trends in education, economics, and technology.’ High schools - the result of an early 20th century push towards compulsory education - provided young people a place to build a separate culture apart from their family, the invention of the car ‘emancipated romance from the stilted small talk of the family parlour,’ and - most importantly - the post-War economic boom provided them with a disposable income, either earned or taken from their parents. Coupled with a shift in social attitudes which recognised the importance of the ‘rights of young people’ while concurrently weakening the sense of these same young people’s ‘duty to serve their parents,’ the wishes and values of the teenager began to be heard more than at any previous historical point. And the sector of society that listened most closely to these needs was commerce.
In the 1950s, companies realised teenagers could be influencers capable of setting trends and spreading fashions. Recognising this capacity could be ‘marketed to for great profit,’ the teenage market quickly became a ‘driving force’ in popular (rock) music, film, television and clothing. The result was that the very nature of ‘adolescence was transformed by the emergence of teenagers as consumers with money to spend,’ a reality encapsulated in 1958 by a writer for the New Yorker who wrote that, ‘to some extent, the teenage market - and, in fact, the very notion of the teenager - has been created by the businessmen who exploit it.’
Though in the early days of the ‘teenager’ the market capitalised on ‘rebellion, hot-rods and rock n’ roll’ - a different beast from the social media-heavy world in which they live today - the ‘perception of teenagers as cool, trend-setting and influential’ remains as much a ‘creation of commerce and media as a reflection of reality.’ Whether you’re a teenager or not, the music, fashion and language of this demographic ‘ripples across the rest of society,’ influencing everything from entertainment and fashion to driving the desire for perpetual youth to which Western society appears yoked.
Throughout history, many societies developed formal ways for older individuals to help young people become members of the community. Rituals including initiations, vision quests, and many other rites of passage enabled young men and women during their transition from childhood to adulthood. One particular feature of these rites was an emphasis on ‘instruction in proper dress, deportment, morality, and other behaviours appropriate to adult status.’ However, in today’s society where youth reigns superior and commerce reinforces this belief, teenagers as a whole have ‘few meaningful responsibilities’ other than being themselves - an attitude ‘supercharged by industries established to profit from them.’
The Detour
Today’s Detour is a short (7:04) documentary exploring the use of the ‘shot/reverse shot’ edit in the films of Joel and Ethan Coen. The brothers – directors of films including Raising Arizona (1987), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998) and No Country for Old Men (2007) – are masters at using this technique as the building blocks of on-screen conversations. An interesting exploration into this aspect of film editing.
Joel and Ethan Coen - Shot/Reverse Shot
The Recommendation
Today’s Recommendation is Boyhood (2014). Directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater, Boyhood is the story of the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans, Jr from the age of 6 to 18. Described by Rotten Tomatoes as ‘epic in technical scale but breathlessly intimate in narrative scope,’ the film is a ‘sprawling investigation of the human condition.’ Rather than telling the story conventionally by using different actors to portray Mason at different ages, Linklater chose instead to film the same cast over 12 years. Other than a few basic plot points and an ending, he had no completed script when he began production, choosing instead to write each year’s section after rewatching the previous year’s. He also incorporated changes in the actors and included them in the writing process so they could bring elements of their lives into the story. The result is a film that combines a sense of documentary realism with a fictitious narrative that flows effortlessly from one year into the next. Focussing not on life’s milestones but on its small moments, the result is profound - and highly recommended.
Boyhood streams on various platforms.
The Sounds
Given the topic of today’s Bus, I’ve selected five tracks that embody aspects of adolescence in its various glories: ‘I Wish I Was Him’ (Noise Addict, 1993), ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ (Wheatus, 2000), ‘Pictures of Lily’ (The Who, 1967), ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ (Arctic Monkeys, 2005) and ‘In the Garage’ (Weezer, 1994).5 Enjoy!
The Thought
Today’s Thought is from the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900):6
‘A man’s maturity consists in having found again the seriousness one had as a child, at play.’
If you have a thought on this Thought - or any part of today’s issue - please leave a comment below:
And that’s the end of this stop - I hope you enjoyed the diversion!
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This development occurs over three stages: early adolescence (10-13), which is characterised by the onset of rapid physical growth and changes which inspire curiosity and anxiety; middle adolescence (14-17), in which the pubertal physical changes continue but are now accompanied by increased interest in romantic and sexual relationships; and late adolescence (18-19) in which physical development is complete and the person has a developed sense of their own individuality and values.
I’ve taught adolescents/teenagers for my entire career in education, and despite encountering a number of ‘difficult’ ones, the overwhelming majority have been - and continue to be - brilliant. Though I’ve never once thought I’d like to do it again! Sources for today’s Stop include Adolescence (Britannica), Teenagers/History (BBC) and A Brief History of Teenagers (Saturday Evening Post).
As recently as the late 1800s, US children contributed ‘around a third of family income by the time their father was in his 50s,’ and without universal schooling, there was no alternative to work available. Not to mention that only the wealthiest would have been able to rely on their parents to provide food and shelter.
In the UK, school became compulsory up to the age of 15 in the late 1940s and in the US, high school graduation rates increased from under 10% at the start of the century to around 60% by the mid-1950s.
The very lo-fi Noise Addict track is from the short-lived Australian band’s EP Young and Jaded – recorded in the lead singer’s bedroom when its members were 14. Various connections led the band to catch the attention of the Beastie Boys’ Mike D who signed them to the Beasties’ Grand Royal Records label.
Though the topic of a future Bus Stop, you can find more about him here: Nietzsche (Britannica).
I'm reminded of That 70s Show and its sequel, That 90s Show, which is about to be released. Big Star's In The Streets would be another great addition!