Thursday 27th October 2022
Hey Everyone! I'm back with a new podcast episode and even more thoughts! Feel free to check out the podcast episode, the link is down below.
Spoiler-free Synopsis of the episode: Bodies Bodies Bodies, Scream and the fears of relating across generations
A little personal. I am mostly thinking through things in the movement. This discussion/unfolding of thought comes in response to the films Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) and Scream (1996). I compare how Gen Z and Gen X are shown in the teen horror genre and what it says about each generation.
This discussion is a continuation of that, but nothing is spoiled if you start here first. Without further ado, let's add Jennifer's body to the mix of this compare-and-contrast article.
PART ONE: Breaking Down Youth Culture and Generational Teen Movie Formulas
According to @jstoobs (on Tiktok), the closest teen horror film to representing millennials is Jennifer's Body. This is partly because the horror genre after 9/11 didn't really care about the fears of that generation at that time, so there were not many social critiques/analyses of millennials through the genre of horror. However, Jennifer's Body comes closest to exploring youth culture through horror during the time and follows the trend/formula of teen movies at the time. For example, a formula in modern-day teen films is relatability, internet language, being deeply flawed, complex/non-existent family interactions, neon/colourful lights and outfits that are currently worn/desired to be worn. For Gen X, I need to watch more films, but the grainy cameras used, the connectedness of people, and community, the use of pastiche and the seamless use of technology that doesn't control their lives, just upgrades access to things and each other. For Millenial teen movies, female friendships were important. @jstoobs explains more in detail the formula/concerns of Millenials in films, so I recommend it more ideas that are more in-depth. Basically, Jennifer's Body is for the gays and girls AND partially because in a meta sense it was misunderstood, it's for Millenials too, because it's the best representation of Millenials through horror, even if that was not the original intention of this feminist, queer cult classic.
PART TWO: On that note, Queerness and Sexuality as shown in film generationally
It's clear that queerness is more taboo and complicated in Jennifer's body. The film serves as a generational bridge in that way in the depiction of queerness in the teen horror genre. A step towards representation. Bodies Bodies Bodies does have its close-up lesbian kiss but the characters are casually proud of their queerness, instead of being shrouded in the complete confusion and unresolved anger that can amount. In this way, it perfectly reflects the different generations' reactions to sexuality. Likewise, Scream takes note of the virgin trend and even critiques it with (mini spoiler) the final girl not being a virgin. Jennifer's Body flips the virgin trope on its head by having her lie of being a virgin make her a target (not victim blaming, just explaining what the film does), and her past sexual experiences be her saving grace (in the form of not dying and instead becoming succubus that grows in strength and can kill "both ways". Interestingly enough, she doesn't use this strength to act revenge and defend against evil men, (spoiler alert) her friend does. It almost goes to show, how in terms of activism, millennials were not unified by matter. Whereas in Bodies Bodies Bodies, it is clear that Gen Z's activism is unified through the social fear of being outcasted and/or perceived as morally wrong by peers, and thus may be more performative than Needy's brave act (of course it's worth noting that there is no supernatural activity in Bodies Bodies Bodies and Scream). Regardless of the varying performances on being an activist, all the "final girls" end up being non-virgins at the end of their respective films, with all the characters in Bodies Bodies Bodies starting the film as implied non-virgins, making it a non-issue in surviving. However, queerness is seemingly non-existent in the world of Scream. But to be fair, it was released a year before Ellen Degeneres came out, thus suggesting that at the time, this generation-defining movie had not quite caught up with the times yet.
All in all, the teen horror genre can serve as a time capsule for youth culture and fears and as a necessary critique of the common social relational problems of the time.
Check out the podcast episode right here: https://anchor.fm/ysa2/episodes/Bodies-Bodies-Bodies--Scream-and-the-fears-of-relating-across-generations-e1ps6k3
It is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Look for Season 2 Episode 27 if you are having trouble. Here is also the link to the Linktree with the various podcast/site links: https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2F%2Flinktr.ee%2Fysaofficialplatform&e=ATPrEss1Oa8g2fJAJZs2Mo-DGj4veErInx3YE_RIUKcAlEbIuTzo3kTBreKv6yIszqRbfMKboRZt2Czlat1eRkU&s=1
Stay Safe this Scary Season
Zukiswa