Page 4 - The Lotus Jan-Feb 2021
P. 4
COVER STORY COMING-OF-CLICHÉ
By Akanksha Pai Lies from the Movies
From standing in a jeep with your hands from learning in their own way and the
spread out while the wind hits your face to most certainly are not scary. Most movies
singing and dancing in sync with your portray teachers as not friendly and there is
friends like in musicals, we see high a group of students that the teacher hates
school experiences being highly which is also not true.
romanticized. Passing notes in class, Another cliché is that the lives of students
walking past the mean girls in the are easy. They party, go out all the time
corridors, hanging out with only a certain and do everything but actually study. Now
clique that shares the same interests as enjoying your life is not a problem but it
you, quirky friends and the massive becomes one when you forget to do the
change from when you were younger. The one reason, you’re in school. Studying.
only thing true about all of this is the Movies and books seem to romanticize the
change.
high school experience by showing that
Movies about coming of age portray only studying is not important. At least not as
one thing. Social hierarchies. The mean much as a party.
girls at the top with the jocks who are For some reason, the “geeks” or the
shown as bullies. This behaviour of theirs smarter students are always pitted against
is often laughed off and said to be normal the “jocks” or the athletic students. In real
in high school. These jocks are given a lot life friendships are not formed because of
of value and the people they bully are so called social hierarchies. In fact, these
usually the “nerds” or “geeks”. This do not even matter in real life. These
category includes all those with a passion divisions created by high school movies
for reading, music, theatre etc. In these and books do make it difficult for
movies there’s also the “loner” who is teenagers because they try to “find their
usually alone and nobody is willing to be group”. Cliches make high school
their friend.
experiences more dramatic and difficult
And although all of us want to be free of especially since you actually have to study
the work we have and sing and laugh with unlike in the stories. These cliches
our friends all day, the reality of high encourage harmful behavior like bullying,
school is sadly much more mundane. This peer pressure and even limit a person in
however doesn’t mean that high school certain ways.
isn’t fun and that memories aren’t made. Now maybe high school is not really how
They are but just not in the manner shown they show it on screen or maybe its not
in these films.
very perfect but it can still be the best four
Movies and books are how high school years of your life. Some days it is exciting
cliches have come up and there has been a and some days stressful. It may go by in a
time we have all fallen victim to this blink or take forever to get over but these
standard. The biggest cliché is the “scary days are significant in every teenager’s
principal” or “scary teacher” trope which life. Maybe it will take time for you to
is present in most high school stories. This settle in but once you do, high school is
is not at all true. Teachers do not about learning, making friends and
unnecessarily punish or restrict students memories. But beware, it definitely won’t
be anything like high school musical.
Akanksha Pai from 11 A has many interests, but it’s mainly reading,
writing and binge-watching shows. She took up writing because it helps
keep her focused and has an interest in psychology (and no, that doesn’t
mean she can read your mind)
Photograph: Mithil Anup
