Character Research

We researched the typical main characters in coming-of-age dramas to help us construct our own characters in our film opening.

THE MAIN CHARACTER IN A COMING-OF-AGE FILM IS OFTEN:

Lily (left) and Alison from 'Little Birds'

• a little quirky
• quite natural
• not interested in material things
• artistic
• thoughtful
• socially awkward
• usually represented as quite naive - wanting to be too independent for their age
• there is not a stereotype for gender with coming-of-age characters - the main character can either be male or female

THE OTHER MAIN CHARACTERS ARE USUALLY:

Zoey from 'Now Is Good'

• caring and understanding
• also a little unusual, but a little materialistic
• more practical
• the girls are often quite flirty and wear more slutty clothes
• usually quite funny characters - add comic relief to a story that might otherwise be quite solemn
• a stereotype is that the boys are quite sensitive

Patrick (left) and Sam from 'Perks of Being a Wallflower'

This clip from 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' shows the quirkiness of all 3 characters, but Charlie especially, who is also portrayed as quite socially awkward. We also see here that Sam (the girl) is quite cute and flirty, and that Patrick is quite sensitive and caring.

                   This clip from 'Little Birds' shows how the main character in a coming-of-age film can be quite reckless; in this instance, Lily has just shoplifted some snacks. This extract also shows how the secondary character can be more sensible and practical - Lily's friend, Ali, decides to go and pay for the stolen snacks.

   
This is a clip from the coming-of-age film 'Now Is Good' and shows how the secondary character can be very flirty, but that both of the characters can be a little reckless and naive.