High Schoolers- Basically Adults, Right?

Practically every teen movie out there features one actual teenager, if that. The casts consist of the most attractive and popular 20 or 30 year olds of the time trying to sell their biggest problems involving whether or not Johnny in their physics class wants them. “Pretty Little Liars” takes worst offender here. Even the characters in financial straits show up to school red carpet ready, and the all-adult cast gets away with far more than the average student would even attempt.

Prom Night: The Night of Dreams

Prom night never made it as the biggest night of a high schooler’s life. Not in the real world, anyway. Senior year draws to a close, classes wind down, and everyone teeters on the cusp of adulthood. In real life students get together with their friends and darlings for a night of glitter and debauchery, of barbecue restaurants in red dresses and laughter unmuffled by meddling parents. Hollywood, however, convinces people the main event happens behind a closed door between the token couple.

The Devil-Spawn Jocks and Cheerleaders

The antagonist of teen movies, almost always a “jock” or his cheerleader girlfriend, has many cronies and rules the student body with extreme cruelty. While their real life counterparts do not exactly present saintly qualities, they do not count as devils either. Like literally everyone else, as actual people, they have a variety of personalities. Some well rounded, others focusing more on their activities, while others only seek to enjoy their high school years.

‘That One Teacher With a Real, Physical Vendetta

“The Breakfast Club” really cemented this trope with Richard Vernon, the teacher who made the kids’ detention session insufferable. Every high school movie has this teacher in some way, shape or form. Often the students achieve victory over the teacher in a manner that results in his leaving the school through humiliation, or his higher-up finding out about the abuse. In real life, however, students usually hate teachers for superficial reasons, and they never go away.