This tactic fails to support body diversity in the media. ![]() They may also need tutoring to supplement traditional schooling, which the production pays for.īecause of this, directors often cast actors and actresses that have a particular body type to represent an age group. Additionally, actors under 18 require a guardian to watch over them on set. ![]() Child labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act prevent teenage actors from being able to meet the allotted time required to work on set for a T.V. “Growing up, it was disheartening to see the lack of representation of male vulnerability on-screen.”Įven though the age disparity can harm teens, teenagers usually can’t play teenage roles in the entertainment industry. “As a boy, there has always been an insecurity with vulnerability,” Kumar said. High school junior Karthik Kumar believes this common aspect of adolescence is misrepresented on-screen and is a tangible fix. This can cause teenagers to believe that their insecurities are abnormal and unimportant. “The complete physical difference makes their emotions less genuine.”Īdditionally, teen characters aren’t usually portrayed as having insecurities, or their insecurities are deemed too irrelevant to mention. “Actors playing high schoolers often miss the true emotional depth and variety that teens possess in real-life scenarios because of their hormones,” Fryaman said. High school sophomore Mark Fryaman feels that the age disparity between an actor and the character they play makes portrayal less authentic. This issue isn’t isolated to female characters. A Sage Journal study concluded that comparing oneself with celebrities is associated with poor body image. This idea is statistically supported as well. Silverstein realizes that comparing her presentation to that of celebrities playing high school characters can make individuals unnecessarily insecure. “Seeing how the actors dressed and how they interacted with things in their lives set my expectations really, really high.” “When I was younger, I thought I was going to look different and dress differently,” Silverstein said. Like me, high school junior Nora Silverstein also had unrealistically high expectations for her anticipated high school physical appearance due to shows like teen drama “One Tree Hill.” I was only 12 years old at the time, yet I compared us as if we were nearly the same age, which resulted in insecurity. Dunne was 20 playing a 15-year-old when the show premiered in Jan. While she had a defined jawline, I still had baby cheeks. While Dunne always had sleek and well-styled hair, mine always tied itself in knots. Veronica Dunne portrayed this bubbly, fierce blonde on the Disney show “K.C. I also compared myself to characters I related to on an emotional level, especially Marissa Clark. My breasts were still developing, and the outfits I styled in honor of my favorite movie characters never fit me the way I wanted them to. In tenth grade, I didn’t have the stylized appearance or the physical development of 17-year-old Cassie Howard, portrayed by 24-year-old Sydney Sweeney in “Euphoria.” I was tall and physically awkward after so many growth spurts. When I was in middle school, I believed that I would grow to look and act like the characters I saw on the screen, but this expectation couldn’t have been further from the reality of my high school self. ![]() However, these characters hardly ever accurately depict teen life, appearance, or otherwise.įrom iconic high school comedy “Mean Girls” to Emmy award-winning teen drama “Euphoria,” I’ve watched a lot of on-screen depictions of high school throughout my life. shows similar to themselves to build their identities. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that adolescents mirror characters in T.V. The average age disparity between adult actors and the teenage role they play is around eight years. These adults have fully developed bodies and glamorized appearances that don’t represent the average school-aged student. The problem with the execution of said-media is that adults almost always portray the “teen” adolescents they see and compare themselves to. shows about teenagehood is a common way for teens to indirectly relate their life experiences or desires through the actors on the screen.
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