Back to School 7—The Outsider

When we think about someone who’s an ‘outsider’ in school, it seems to me that nearly everyone has felt like that ‘outsider’ at one point or another in their school career—so it’s a storyline that everyone can relate to. Seriously, whether you’re the most popular cheerleader, debater, football player, singer, actor or whatever in school, at one time or another, for one reason or another, you feel like an outsider. This makes, of course, for great films!

Let’s look at three films about outsiders in school that span 40 decades: Carrie [1976], by Laurence D. Cohen, Mean Girls [2004], by Tina Fey, and The Duff [2015], by Josh A. Cagan. It’s interesting to note that all three of these films were based on books.

Carrie may be the ultimate ‘outsider’ high school film. And of all the films we’ve been discussing when looking at back to school films, it’s the only horror film. One of the cool things about Carrie, is that we see her so badly treated by her classmates, we see her sketchy family environment, and feel SO sorry for her but we don’t know what’s coming—because her telekinetic powers are going to do far more than level the playing field. It’s not often that the victim of school abuse has the power to so effectively annihilate her tormentors… and it leaves us on edge. Do we feel sorry for her or are we afraid of her? Both? Probably, and it’s a terrific example of a main character that isn’t a stereotype—she’s not just one thing, she’s truly multi-dimensional.

Mean Girls is played more for laughs as, frankly, are most outsider high school films. Cady has spent her childhood trailing after her parents in Africa, so American schools are new to her. Talk about feeling out of place. In trying to fit in, she makes the mistake of ditching some genuine friends and responding to the popular girls—girls she initially found phony and plastic. It’s played for LOTS of laughs, but it’s really sweet at times, too. It’s a timeless look at high school cliques that will probably never get old.

The Duff is also played for laughs. It’s about Bianca, who discovers that, amongst her group, she’s the DUFF—Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Now, of course, the first irony of this is that the actress playing her is neither fat nor ugly, by any definition of either. But if you can get past that, the story has some resonance. It’s about high school pecking order, bullying, and how labels can define you if you let them.

Writing a high school script about an outsider can be funny or dramatic or maybe a little of both, and as long as teens interact, about 80% of them will consider themselves an outsider in one way or another, so it’s a good bet for a movie--just try and find a twist on that classic outsider that hasn’t been done before!

Next Week: The Teacher

Copyright © Diane Lake

21Oct18

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