Socialization is as intrinsic to character development as academics, if not more so. When I think of high school, I think of Dickens, “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times”. What we learn in the hall ways, cafeterias, and extra curricular activities ultimately define who we are. Some people hold dear to the cliques and clichés that defined them in high schools, while others use it as a challenge to change or reinvent. High school not only teaches academic intelligence, but social intelligence, which is an essential part of maturation. Below is a list of films, some serious, some satires, some seething, that try to capture the “high school experience” (I purposefully left off many mainstream high school romps so don’t expect Fast Times or Mean Girls):

 

The High School Experience:

 

Hard Times at Douglass High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card (2008): Critical look at an inner city school in Baltimore and the controversial “No Child Left Behind” policy.

 

The Class (Entre les murs)(2008): An intimate look at an inner city High School in Paris.

 

Election (1999): What Hilary Clinton may have been like in High School.

 

Heathers(1989): Teen angst at its finest, but look how well Shannon Doherty, Christian Slater, and Winona Ryder turned out.

 

Actions of Today, Blueprints for Tomorrow: Youth Organizing to Transform Education (2004) (Educational Video Center): Documentary on youth organizing for school reform.

 

American Teen (2008): Documentary focusing on high school archetypes.

 

Our Song(2000)(TFI Media Arts): Three girls come of age in the Crown Heights Section of Brooklyn.

 

Zero Day (2003)(Avatar): A glimpse into the world of best friends Andre and Cal, alienated adolescent boys determined to carry out a violent attack on their high school.

 

The Virgin Suicides(1999): Sophia Coppola’s debut film  is both a beautiful and haunting depiction of growing up.

 

Hoop Dreams(1994)(Frederick Marx):Documentary on two inner city students dream and work hard to become professional basketball players.

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