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Teen Dreams: Reading Teen Film and Television from 'Heathers' to 'Veronica Mars'
In this pioneering and entertaining book, Roz Kaveney examines the crucial films and television shows in the teen-driven genre and reveals the inner workings of their consistent themes. From John Hughes' early films, to the cheerleaders of Bring It On , the films and their characters deal with sex and gender relations, presenting a picture of the hidden life of teenagers. Hit teen films can also promote products, launch bestselling soundtrack albums, and be career-makers for young actors. Kaveney also shows how the teen genre has absorbed classic material in the case of Clueless , has made up gender etiquette manuals like American Pie , and how teen films and TV series deal with the tragic and comic undersides of the American dream.
232 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 2006
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November 20, 2016convinced the dream is using ur degree to write critical analysis of gilmore girls and buffy
September 8, 2007
As the title suggests, this is a critical analysis of the "teen movie" and its television heirs, starting with the seminal John Hughes films from the '80s and going all the way up through the first season of Veronica Mars. I've read several of these kinds of books before and have always had mixed reactions, since in an anthology of essays the level of quality can vary quite a bit. (, in particular, was a bewildering mixture of brilliant insight and pure crap.) By contrast, this book is by one author - and holy hell is she one of the good ones! Reading analysis of this depth by someone this intelligent is incredibly exciting and completely satisfying, and I absolutely want to pick up her other books now. I've already read
- it was an essay anthology, but she was the chief contributor and editor - and other critical books by her are
and an upcoming volume on superheroes. Highly, highly enjoyable.
August 18, 2012
i give up, this book is so awful.
January 30, 2024
when you say a character is autistic because he fucked an apple pie i can’t take anything you say seriously.
i read this for the essay on veronica mars. mistakes were made. i’ll just list everything.
overall lackluster, directionless, and felt more like a summary of a bunch of movies and shows rather than any kind of meaningful and connected analysis.
the author decided teen movies/shows about nonwhite teens don’t count as part of the teen genre. for some reason.
if you’re not a john hughes girlie, the first 38 page chapter might be a bit of a snooze for you, as it was for me.
queer readings here amount to “these guys hate each other, obviously they want to fuck� and “these girls like each other, obviously they want to fuck.�
seriously, the author says mac (from veronica mars) had “more than a passing sexual interest� in veronica and then moves on without ever expanding on it or giving any reason to believe it.
another essay on veronica mars that skirts around naming what happened to veronica on the night of the party when she was drugged. she was repeatedly sexually violated (raped twice and sexually assaulted many times over) that night. be frank or don’t even bother discussing it.
the author made sure to add a note about how veronica/logan is similar to hermione/draco in fanfiction. randomly. apropos of nothing. super fucking weird.
says nothing of the sexual subtext of veronica and eli’s relationship but argues the sexual/romantic subtext of veronica/lilly, veronica/mac, and logan/eli. okay.
content/trigger warnings; discussions of ableism, r slur, racism, homophobia, f slur, lesbophobia, d slur, transphobia, misogyny, child abuse, sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, drugging, murder, physical violence, incest, classism, amatonormativity,
i read this for the essay on veronica mars. mistakes were made. i’ll just list everything.
overall lackluster, directionless, and felt more like a summary of a bunch of movies and shows rather than any kind of meaningful and connected analysis.
the author decided teen movies/shows about nonwhite teens don’t count as part of the teen genre. for some reason.
if you’re not a john hughes girlie, the first 38 page chapter might be a bit of a snooze for you, as it was for me.
queer readings here amount to “these guys hate each other, obviously they want to fuck� and “these girls like each other, obviously they want to fuck.�
seriously, the author says mac (from veronica mars) had “more than a passing sexual interest� in veronica and then moves on without ever expanding on it or giving any reason to believe it.
another essay on veronica mars that skirts around naming what happened to veronica on the night of the party when she was drugged. she was repeatedly sexually violated (raped twice and sexually assaulted many times over) that night. be frank or don’t even bother discussing it.
the author made sure to add a note about how veronica/logan is similar to hermione/draco in fanfiction. randomly. apropos of nothing. super fucking weird.
says nothing of the sexual subtext of veronica and eli’s relationship but argues the sexual/romantic subtext of veronica/lilly, veronica/mac, and logan/eli. okay.
content/trigger warnings; discussions of ableism, r slur, racism, homophobia, f slur, lesbophobia, d slur, transphobia, misogyny, child abuse, sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, drugging, murder, physical violence, incest, classism, amatonormativity,
August 25, 2016
I don't like how Roz Kaveney left out African-American teen movies. While she has a point for they run on different tropes, she could have at least mentioned what these movies are. The chances that she'll have another book to talk about these movies are low. On the same page, she also mentions wanting to write about the 'Bill and Ted' movies, but not having enough space to do so.
Besides that, I wish she'd have subheadings when she'd introduce a new movie or theme. This book loses some of its value if you have not watched every work discussed, although that's on the reader.
Besides that, I wish she'd have subheadings when she'd introduce a new movie or theme. This book loses some of its value if you have not watched every work discussed, although that's on the reader.
February 20, 2011
I finished it, but it was iffy. This book is riddled with errors. So many errors, and so poorly edited. Incorrect quotes, misspelled names, incorrect character names, flawed plot descriptions, countless misplaced commas, and so on. Furthermore, I don't know that the author accomplishes what she sets out to - the book is surprisingly light on analysis and academia; instead, the bulk of the text is spent simply describing the plots of various films and TV shows. Not what I was looking for.
July 26, 2015
really more like a 3.5/5 but you can't expect me to not round up an academic text with this book cover
June 6, 2019
I think collections on specific shows or even on narrower genres within this genre provide richer analysis. Better for a beginner in film studies or casual reader rather than a critic or academic.
February 3, 2018
I really enjoyed this. Though I definitely felt like it focused more on the films than television - the analysis of teen television was minimal and mostly just on Veronica Mars right at the end. Still, there was interesting and insightful analysis on John Hughes movies, Heathers, Clueless, Bring It On and Veronica Mars. The American Pie section was maaaaybe a bit long though, I could have done with less of that.
February 16, 2022
I’ve read this book twice now and apart from the odd mistake (wrong character names here and there) I love how in-depth it revisits some of my most influential films, from a time when I only had the video shop as my friend. I felt that perhaps the ending is rushed, and could benefit from a longer concluding chapter but on the whole it’s a great read. This book is of its time, and it is aware of its limitations. Thanks Roz!
January 8, 2017
While I'm sure the author had good intentions, this book was not entirely what I expected. The author spent the first 1/3 of the book seemingly bashing John Hughes and his films describing their short comings in a way that suggested not only did she dislike JH and his movies, but they somehow just annoyed her to the point that she wanted to get rid of them all together. Honestly it was like she despised them and the entire concept of John Hughes as a creator was laughable and the films he produced were far beneath her. (As my own personal side note it also seemed as if her dislike of both was personal as if she had been rejected by JH and now was making it her personal mission to drag anything associated with him through the mud, which I'm sure isn't the case but that's just the sort of attitude that come off). Basically, it was very off-putting at times especially when she seemed overly arrogant in her analysis (not just in the John Hughes section, but throughout the book). She goes on to praise The Heathers and it's creator(s) and spends the rest of the book summarizing various teen series/movies such as Clueless, American Pie, Bring It On, Cruel Intentions, Popular, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. sometimes paying way too much attention to name dropping actual episodes (No one should be that committed to Popular honestly). Some of her descriptions and analyses of movies were good (I especially liked her attention to 10 Things I Hate About You, Cruel Intentions, the admittedly underrated Girl Next Door and Bend It Like Beckham), but unfortunately some of this was really clouded by her constant 'grasping at straws to seem profound' approach. She tired way too hard at times and seemed like she was doing more guess work at times than anything and looking for deeper meanings where there simply didn't seem to be any (and I say this as a person who has watched most, if not all, of these movies/tv shows countless times). Actually....I rolled my eyes a lot while reading this book. All in all I just hope her other writing is better than this one. It was good in the sense that it looked at movies and shows that sometimes get ignored but it left a lot to be desired. No one wants to read something where the author seems like a pompous ass for most of the book, at least in non-fiction anyway.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2012
Roz Kaveney is living the dream. Do you know how much I love analyzing teen pop culture? I'm pretty sure I'd be willing to skirt the bounds of legality if someone promised me I could have an academic career half as interesting as hers.
This book offers an analysis of the teen movie genre, beginning from the John Hughes films of the 1980s and ending with Veronica Mars. I hope it gets an updated version someday because the minute I hit the Veronica Mars chapters I wondered how she'd discuss the widely derided second and third season only to discover she'd published it before either came out. I'd also love to read her take on Glee.
In terms of what she actually deals with, I enjoyed it. She does alot of summarizing of her sources which I had mixed feelings about. Appreciated it when it came to the things I haven't watched � the only Hughes movies I've ever seen is The Breakfast Club and she's very interested in Heathers which I've never seen� but I wanted a little more time spent on analysis with the movies I was familiar with. Her primary focus is on sex and gender relations with frequent discussions of queer subtext (she mentions early on that she comes to these films out of a fannish context, I definitely would have guessed). Mostly this book left me wanting to watch (or rewatch) everything she talked about with her insights in mind. 3.5 stars
This book offers an analysis of the teen movie genre, beginning from the John Hughes films of the 1980s and ending with Veronica Mars. I hope it gets an updated version someday because the minute I hit the Veronica Mars chapters I wondered how she'd discuss the widely derided second and third season only to discover she'd published it before either came out. I'd also love to read her take on Glee.
In terms of what she actually deals with, I enjoyed it. She does alot of summarizing of her sources which I had mixed feelings about. Appreciated it when it came to the things I haven't watched � the only Hughes movies I've ever seen is The Breakfast Club and she's very interested in Heathers which I've never seen� but I wanted a little more time spent on analysis with the movies I was familiar with. Her primary focus is on sex and gender relations with frequent discussions of queer subtext (she mentions early on that she comes to these films out of a fannish context, I definitely would have guessed). Mostly this book left me wanting to watch (or rewatch) everything she talked about with her insights in mind. 3.5 stars
August 24, 2011
I love Roz Kaveny from her Buffy academic work - "Why Buffy Matters" is masterful. I wasn't as bowled over by Teen Dreams, but that's probably more emblamatic of the source material just plain not being a good. Kaveny is a "Heathers" disciple, and she doesn't really cut much slack to the rest of the twenty years the genred existed (I can cop to liking Mean Girls just as much, but I can see why she sees Heathers as a more important film. ) So whether you're a stoner, a jock, a cheerleader, a princess, a dweeb or miscellaneous, jump in and have a closer look at what American Cinema did to our own perceptions of teenagehood.
July 3, 2010
This book was an analysis of major teen films. The author spent a lot of time recounting and recalling what happens in teen films and then analyzing some of the scenes. I enjoyed a lot of this, and remembered why I love both Veronica Mars and Buffy. There were a few mistakes in this book (one spelling, one wrong actor identified) but it was still enjoyable.
One thing that was particularly interesting what Kaveney's analysis of some of the homo-erotic tension in "Bring it on". She described it in a way that made perfect sense.
One thing that was particularly interesting what Kaveney's analysis of some of the homo-erotic tension in "Bring it on". She described it in a way that made perfect sense.
July 8, 2016
I appreciate that the usual suspects weren't included (ie 90210, My So Called Life, Carrie, and so on), but some of the chapters felt like a reach rather than a genuine and authentic look at teen media. Overall, I enjoyed this book nonetheless and I appreciated Heathers and Clueless more.
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