Review of American Teen (2008) by Ripö M — 08 Jul 2009

American Teen is a bit like a bruise. You bump yourself, you feel it, you forget it until a few days later when there's a mark, which draws your eye to it. That's when you push it and the pain comes back.

You push it a little more and the pain is still there. It's a repetitive cycle that brings nothing new just the same old understanding that this is what happens when I bump myself and this is how it feels afterwards.

High School for many is a nightmare and whilst that's squarely on show here, somehow it manages to still show everything that everyone seems to get out of it as well. Sure, the cliches abound and that's not helped by the fact that the chosen candidates we follow are in and of themselves characters indicative of this genre within both fiction and reality-based programs, yet somehow there manages to be that sense of memory that's triggered with each new scene that rings absolutely true.

There are significant scenes here of merit and ones that show real depth to Burstein's study - Megan's revelation, Colin's breakdown, Jake's self-observation; however, I'm not sure that it ends up being the groundbreaking expose it seems Burstein may have been intending.

Still, it's a very good anecdote of the high school experience.