In many recent television shows depicting modern life, the dreaded text bubble haunts the TV screen. It feels like any piece of media made recently is heavily reliant on the technology of Generation Z to relate to audiences.
Given that Gen Z audiences themselves depend on that same technology, including it isn’t necessarily a bad strategy to increase relatability. However, considering the fast pace at which social media trends and technology change, movies and shows that appear contemporary just feel outdated mere months after their premieres.
In my exploration of this topic, there was one question I couldn’t shake. “Is it only recently that the media has amped up the pop culture references until they’re undecipherable years later, or has it always been like this?” And, most importantly, “Does it matter that media is becoming outdated so quickly?”
In my opinion, the worst offenders of them all are coming-of-age movies and young adult fiction novels.
Themes of adolescence exist outside of time. From ideals of young love to the loneliness of being an outcast, feelings of youth may take different forms depending on your respective generation, but will always remain the same at heart.
The problem of the current media is that it overlooks the core of the coming-of-age story. Naturally, if you’re over the age of 20 and attempting to write a story about high schoolers, you’ll feel out of touch. That’s the mistake when making movies about the youth.
Creators prioritize superficial means of connection versus timeless, emotional ones. Videos from “BookTok,” a section of TikTok which discusses upcoming books, often speak poorly of new books which make pop culture references. One TikTok points out the book “Window Shopping,” written by Tessa Bailey, where the character references “Twilight,” “Harry Potter” and a popular TikTok dance called the “Renegade.”
These forced real world examples within media distract audiences and pull them out of the story. Drowning stories in social media, references to celebrities, and other popular pieces of media create artificial “relatable moments” that deters the audience from connecting with the film on a deeper sentimental level.
This is a shame because the sentiment of a story is often what stands the test of time and makes a piece timeless.
In John Hughes’ film “The Breakfast Club,” the only things that come off as dated are the very 80’s outfits adorned by the characters. But beyond that, the work itself embodies youth. Whether watching “The Breakfast Club” in 1985 — the year the movie came out — or in 2022, the main theme and sentiment is still conveyed.
The movie tells a story of people from different cliques — separated by the strict social boundaries of high school — finding common ground and joining as one. The same story is told in “High School Musical” two decades later.
Obviously in 1985, pop culture existed. There were plenty of cultural references Hughes could have elected to utilize to make his film even more relatable with an 80s audience.. Instead, he reached beyond the surface to create movies which will stand the test of time.
Modern movies like this also exist, such as “The Edge of Seventeen” and “The Half of It.” Despite existing in the present day, the coming-of-age narrative ensures a certain level of cultural endurance.
However, this isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with media that’s meant to have a shelf life. A prime example would be the 2007, as well as the 2021, version of “Gossip Girl.” In the latter, the plot is based around an Instagram account known as “Gossip Girl” which reports on the lives of the show’s ensemble cast.
With a premise so enriched in social media and pop culture, it’s a show that’s meant to be binged with today’s climate. In the series’ pilot, the producers make it clear they’ve just come out of the very pandemic that still encompasses the real world.
In one scene, for example, a character who is a social media influencer has a moment of crisis and wonders what she’s done to deserve all that bad things in her life happening to her. “You were in the Imagine video,” one of her friends replies, referencing the infamous 2020 video which clipped together different celebrities singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” in an attempt to raise worldwide morale amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The earlier version of “Gossip Girl” also featured a gossip blog. However, it was a literal blog on the internet, seeing as social media was still in its early stages. In this version, characters were still shown typing on “Sidekicks” — an early cell phone — and the outfits screamed mid-2000s.
These shows are meant to act as time capsules. They embody the years in which they take place for better or worse. Using pop culture knowledge, the shows devise a clever means to become era-defining pieces for their respective generations.
An example of a more modern film with a timeless feel is 2018’s “Eighth Grade.” The film encapsulates the dreadful and awkward experience of being 13, something that anybody over the age of 13 can relate to. Still, it takes place in a time that only truly applies to people born between the years of 2000 to 2005 as indicated by the 2016 Snapchat filters to the main character’s botched attempts at vlogging. The movie proves it’s possible to convey an ageless emotion while still portraying a hyper specific experience exclusive to a generation.
Social media and pop culture are free for inclusion as long as you use them creatively to generate a snapshot of pop culture’s current moment, or combine them with ever unfailing themes of youth.
Discretion is necessary. If you truly seek to bond with young people, don’t let an obsession with relevancy stall you from creating worthwhile media.
