Heathers, the iconic and underrated 1989 black comedy, has a lot going for
it: Winona Ryder in her early days, crazy 80s fashion, biting wit, and harsh
reality. Perhaps the harshest of said realities that the film serves up is the
way the film portrays adults’ perspectives of teenagers.
Most teen films feature
parents one way or another; after all, so much of being a teenager is about
your relationship, or lack thereof, with your parents—fighting with them,
bonding with them, being annoyed with them. The lesson of most teen movies is yeah, parents can be annoying, but they only
mean the best. Think about it: Kat from 10
Things I Hate About You eventually convinces her father to let her leave
the nest as they face their differences and accept each other for who they are;
Andie’s dad from Pretty in Pink gets
her her killer prom dress.
But Heathers takes a darker, if not caricatured, approach to the
parent/child relationship. For example, two separate scenes in Heathers mimic each other almost exactly
in dialogue, as Veronica’s parents discuss the same things each time. The movie
seems to imply that they hold no regard in finding new things to talk about
with their child, and instead settle for the mundane and repetitive instead of
engaging in an interesting conversation with their daughter.
When Veronica complains to
her parents that teenage suicide is being glamorized in the media, she tells
her mother, “All we want is to be treated like
human beings. Not experimented on like guinea pigs, or patronized like bunny
rabbits.” Her mother scolds her harshly: "’Treated like human beings?’ Is
that what you said, little Ms. Voice-of-a-Generation? How do you think adults
act with other adults? Do you think it's all a game of doubles tennis? When
teenagers complain that they want to be treated like human beings, it's usually
because they are being treated like human beings.” “Well I guess I picked the
wrong time to be a human being,” sighs Veronica. Her mother’s complete
disregard for Veronica’s disgust at this romanticized version of suicide and
her annoyance with Veronica’s request for respect encapsulates how Heathers views the adult world: full of
contempt for youth and unable to properly respect and appreciate the ideas and
opinions of teenagers. And unlike other team films, there’s no resolution—this
is the last conversation we see Veronica and her parents having. No tear filled
apologies and forgiveness here.
Heathers furthers this perspective with a cast of adults who lack
respect for teenagers: the guidance counselor who uses an outbreak of suicides
to make herself look good, the board of teachers whose only concern about
student deaths is how many days of school to cancel, J.D.’s father who
completely fails to take on the role of a father. Everywhere you look in this
movie, parents fail to fulfill their duties as supportive and compassionate
parents to their children.
And when you think about it,
many films are filled with this view of parents. While Ferris Bueller’s parents
may be adoring, his friend Cameron’s father seems to value his precious Ferrari
more than he does his son. The school dean thrives off of Ferris’ failure and
tries to bring about his downfall. And how about The Breakfast Club? Parents are off screen in this film, but
forefront in each of their kids’ minds. Whether their child is torn between divorcing
parents, desperately trying to fill their parents outlandish expectations for
them, abused, or just flat out ignored, these kids do not have the loving and
caring parents that we all hope for and cherish.
Maybe the adult world isn’t
as cruel as these movies make it out to be. But sometimes a caricature of a
real problem can make it stand out to viewers. Being a teenager is hard, and
criticism and cynicism from adults doesn’t make it any easier. These films go
very far in their negative portrayal of parents, but they surely point to an
issue in our society. Every parent/child relationship is different, but I
imagine many teenagers can relate in some way to the parental dynamics
portrayed in these movies.
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