Comments on: Must Watch: American Teen Movie Trailer

By: tywaldo

tywaldo — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:22:30 +0000

I grew up in warsaw indiana. honest to god. went to warsaw community high school, class of 02 went to purdue and am now in grad school. I know a lot of kids in this movie… their families…. their stories… hell, the whole tiny town. I would describe warsaw from my 19 years living there as the galapagos of the midwest. The town seems to breed some of the craziest characters, the oddest cliques, and classic stories…. all while surrounded by hillbillies and corn. (that may be a bit harsh) My lil brother is one year ahead of the “characters” and he told me the plotlines (if you can call them that) are obviously exaggerated, but if they shot for a long enough period of time you would probably get even better ones… personally the movie seems stupid to me but thats because i will always think of those kids as the little mouthy 12 year olds…. prolly not gunna pay 9 bucks to see what i saw for 4 years

By: nick

nick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:44:47 +0000

um im sry but all warsaw is about is how much money you have to play sports im not the only person who has said this and i no who you guys are and i have a family of 5 and my dad works 3 jobs i think i no wat its like there so dont pull that it was staged every thing about it was i have talked to alot of poeple who have watched it and they said it was bullshit wat they did sry im not tryin to be a dick but i dont like how it played out this is the same hollywood bullshit but w.e im done

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:15:37 +0000

To Nick: Since when do you know our financial situation? The “jock’s” dad is from a large family. He has six brothers and several of them live in Warsaw and are quite successful business men. Yes, his dad used to own a restaurant in Warsaw, but one of his brother’s has owned it since 2000. People who don’t really know them confuse one for another quite often. I think you must be doing the same, because his dad is not one of the richest men in Warsaw. How many rich parents work two jobs to make ends meet? He and I both do. It takes alot to support four children these days. I can say we are not dirt poor, but we don’t fit in the rich category, either. How do you know if we had money put away for college or not? I wish we did, but we didn’t! I can honestly say that is why he had to rely on a scholarship to be able to go to college. That was not scripted or staged. Nick, just be careful what you pass on to other people as to what you think is true.

By: Me

Me — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:27:09 +0000

I can’t wait to see this movie! I worked with Hannah, and she is one of the most interesting people I have ever met! She’s goofy, smart and totally out there!

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:09:58 +0000

I went to this school, I was a Junior when they came and filmed for this terrible movie. Anyone who went to WCHS during the time of this movie can tell you just how fake it really is. They staged fights, they staged dates, they paid for those flowers you see the so called “geek” holding. They try to sell “geek” role by making it seem as if he has never had a GF. He has several Girl friends, he even had one who he dated for several months and then dumped her due to a dare from his friends. He was in no way a loner. This movie also ruined prom for that year.
They staged king and queen and even had to have a re-vote so the couple they were filming, would be the winers. One girl dropped out of this movie because of all the staged fights they wanted her to have with her friends and boy friend. Trust me, Warsaw is a boring school, and a boring town. ANY and ALL drama you see in this movie is completely set up. Lastly, If a camera crew were to follow around the high-school kids in Warsaw, they would be spending the majority of their time either at the kid’s house, or Wal-Mart. Trust me, this movie is complete garbage and a waste of time.

By: nick

nick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:21:52 +0000

o and to the basketball guys mother sry but you guys have alot of money i think its bullshit how it played off you didnt and he “needed” this scholarship im sure you had some stashed away for him soo dont play that this was very scripted but awesome it happened in my home town ha

By: nick

nick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:15:34 +0000

this was meant to show you the life of a high schooler witch almost ever high school is the same so im sure it wont show much different but to let you the the “jock” is very rich and i have not yet seen it they will not let us see it till it gets closer to the release date but he is very rich his dad is one of the richest in town soo he had money to go to collage just to let that out there and the rebel has had a bf for 4 years now and he was not her real bf witch kinda upset us here how they would lie about it to make it better but

By: Enrique

Enrique — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 22:15:09 +0000

@ nick, we’re not bashing you (at least I’m not), I’m just saying this movie doesn’t show me anything different than what most of us experienced in high school.

By: nick

nick — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:37:14 +0000

well i live in this town and this is our real life and we live in a small town called Warsaw, In look it up not that hard we got a chance to show you guys our lives and you bash on us wow your reall cool

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:07:15 +0000

If you don’t want to see the movie, don’t see it. Not every movie has to please everyone or set the new standard. It’s called American Teen and there they are.

If you want the real gritty stuff that’s kind of hard for a camera crew.

By: Andy Plaster

Andy Plaster — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:00:38 +0000

I am interested in seeing this movie as this documents where I live… I know most people won’t understand it but to see people where I live on a documentary is something I have never seen. I watch many movies and can’t wait to see this… Yes we are not a radically diverse town but this is a place in Indiana- I love to visit place with more diversity and wish we had more of it but some people are not so accepting of it.. For being a reality TV show junkie I am very interested. There are many archetypes of these people all over. I am sure there will be something in this film that people can relate to who lived in a smaller town. Although most films and reality tv is not really “real” per se this will be probably the closest that most people will see of my town. I really love this town and am glad that others can see life in Warsaw… no matter how “staged” it may seem… if this doesn’t interest you don’t see the movie…

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:31:16 +0000

First of all, the sooner everyone realizes that this movie is NOT about “Warsaw, IN” as a whole and not about ALL teens in America, the better appreciation one will have of it. It is a movie about these particular teens and THEIR trials, tribulations, fears, successes….THEIR lives. Many people will be able to relate to these story lines because many of us have lived through the exact same situations in our own lives. Not everyone will, but I bet the majority will.
And in response to George’s comment about the basketball guy, it sounds like you are a “stereotypical” person who has a “stereotypical” opinion about “jocks” being “dumb”. For your information, the basketball guy is not just another “dumb jock”. He has earned a 3.8 grade point average in college and has made the Dean’s list while playing college basketball. (Oops, I hope I didn’t give anything away…) Yep, he sounds like a “dumb jock” to me! NOT! Sorry, George, I just had to clarify that. I should know…..I am his mother!

By: Kari

Kari — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:12:24 +0000

Wow, I was in the graduating class after Hannah, Jake, and all them and this is really cool yet awkward to see my hometown going to the big screen. Who would’ve thought…

I’d say it is going to be pretty awesome. They were all interesting people in their own ways. Let’s hope the directors did a good job at portraying what it was like to grow up in warsaw…

By: kikelodeon

kikelodeon — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:39:06 +0000

it’s seems a good movie

i want to see it now!!

By: Fataculture Must Sees 2008 “American Teen” « Fataculture

Fataculture Must Sees 2008 “American Teen” « Fataculture — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:27:10 +0000

[...] to /FilmÂ the film is [...]

By: Tiger

Tiger — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:04:22 +0000

Hi. I’m a student from the Warsaw High School class of ‘06. In other words, a member of the class that was filmed for American Teen.

Full disclosure: I have not seen this film. With that said, there was a lot of talk that went around the high school that year about the film being largely faked, or at least heavily influenced by the crew: Students forced to do certain things or act a certain way or else they would be dropped from the film, students acting out scenes that weren’t captured the way the filmmakers hoped. I remember hearing that they filmed a scene where Jacob’s girlfriend breaks up with him four times, in four locations, so that they could have more control over how it fit into the final product. I heard about the filmmakers providing alcohol to the students they tailed, and of them encouraging students to vandalize.

I have read several reviews of the film, and most of them seem to feel that the film is both entertaining and inspiring, but also feels prearranged and staged. I plan to see this movie out of curiosity for how they choose to portray things, but I have no expectation that the year shown in the movie will be very similar to my own memories of the same year at the same school with the same people.

By: MIND DANCER

MIND DANCER — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:33:27 +0000

While you get older, long for clarity, what you just said makes no sense.

By: Steelo

Steelo — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:21:41 +0000

@Mind Dancer

I’m aware. I suppose I’m getting older and long for common sense.

By: Gabe Asher

Gabe Asher — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:47:20 +0000

The Emperor has no clothes.

By: MIND DANCER

MIND DANCER — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:24:40 +0000

@Steelo

Unfortunately, stereotypes sell. They are a means to an end. Stereotypes are used on the SURFACE to get to something DEEPER. Why? Well, becuase stereotypes are immediately identifiable. The idea is to take a generic plate and expand upon it. One should not discard a stereotypical surface before exploring what is beneath.

A trailer’s function is to appeal to a mass audience and generate buzz. The best way to connect to the most people is to present a generic picture. A broad sell gets people buying tickets.

The utilization of stereotypes has been a tool of artists since Buster Keaton. After the characters are made accessible to a broad audience, it’s what the artist does next that should be judged.

People seem to be whining because these characters do not apply to them directly and uniquely … ‘they are too broad’ etc … but having them broad is the first step … and a first step of a successful trailer … hold back on the lashings until you see what the artist does with their character analysis … don’t judge the surface … explore the deeper theme when the movie is released and then judge the complete package.