How are Teenagers Represented in ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ and ‘The Maze Runner’?

My essay will focus on Levi-Strauss’ theory of opposites in a film and how teenagers fit into these roles such as good vs evil and the hero vs the villain. As well as this I will mention stereotypes and some of Propps’ character roles. I will be comparing two clips from ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ to the final trailer for ‘The Maze Runner’.

Generic teenage stereotypes in action adventure films vary but we generally expect them to be clueless at the start and act older than they actually are. Often we expect them to act the adults in films without losing their youthful charm. We expect to have a hero and a villain with supporting characters such as the brains behind the operation and an object for the hero’s affection. In these two films I am focusing on the ‘helper’ role of Propps and the bully stereotype alongside the ‘hero’ role.

In ‘The Maze Runner’ we have the bully through the character of Gally. To show he is a ‘bad guy’ he overuses violent physical contact and is shown as an outcast in the trailer. We get this impression when we see a long-shot of him shoving Thomas showing not only his physical size but his brute strength as he knocks Thomas off his feet with one push. He fits into the general ‘muscle’ stereotype as we don’t see him coming up with any plans or doing anything that really adds to the plot.

This is where the helper part of the character comes in. The ‘helper’ and bully isn’t the villain as he helps the hero realise either his abilities or something important to do with the plot. In ‘The Maze Runner Gally’ helps Thomas realise his name. The bully isn’t necessarily the villain as they don’t add anything to the plot or inhibit the hero’s quest but they are needed to get the audience to empathise with the protagonist and help them along through giving them valuable knowledge. For this they fall into the ‘helper’ role of Propps’ theory.

Gally is also shown as this when a short mid-shot of him with a group of other boys shows him as bigger than them due to him being closer to the camera and slightly separated from the group. All of the boys wear dirty clothes but Gally’s are slightly tighter again showing his muscle and physical dominance over the other characters.

In ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ the character of Flash is similar to that of Gally’s in that he contributes the same role but to a different film. In the fight scene we see Flash throwing a ball at Peter’s head which immediately creates a ‘bad guy’ image in the audience’s eyes. The use of the basketball (mise-en-scene) shows that he fits into the ‘jock’ stereotype of teenagers. The sporty and muscular character without a high intelligence. In both scenes he wear figure hugging, if non-descript, clothing as with Gally. However, while Gally has no reason that is obvious to bully Thomas, Flash clearly does it because he is threatened by Peter’s intelligence. This apparent when we see Flash back down when Gwen mentions her tutoring him.

In the basketball scene (after seeing him in the ‘bully’ role) we see him in the ‘helper’ role. He is still carefully shown as the bad guy due to him verbally abusing the painter girl by saying “No, but I wish I did.” When she accuses him of knocking over her paint on purpose. However, he helps Peter realise he can do the right thing and seek justice for those who can’t themselves as, using his newfound abilities, he is able to not only humiliate Flash but show everyone that he is better as basketball than they thought. While this isn’t the only thing it shows it is the only thing relevant to the scene. It also shows the extent of Peter’s abilities. Flash is now shown as low through the high angled shot as Peter shoves past him to get to the basket. This is a contrast to the fight scene as Flash is shown as much bigger

than everyone in the crowd through a birds eye shot of his holding the small boy and through the use of low angles (from Peter’s perspective) looking up at Flash. So while Flash is shown as a bully he isn’t a villain as he helps not only the audience but Peter himself realise that Peter is a hero.

One teenage representation here is of a stereotypical bully who has an underlying use of helping the hero be the hero.

Another one of the roles teenagers are represented in is the ‘hero’ or ‘good guy’ who has some sort of mission and leads all the supporting characters to succeed in whatever this mission may be. We see this role reflected clearly in both of these films through the characters of Thomas and Peter. The hero often starts as clueless and comes into either the supernatural abilities that help him save the day or the knowledge that leads him to save the day.

In ‘The Maze Runner’ we see Thomas at the start as completely clueless and slightly whiny. We see this as in the trailer at the start through a section of diegetic dialogue, Thomas says “I don’t remember anything.” So he clearly has completely no idea what is going on. This is done to include the audience. We learn as he does and so empathise with him. We know Thomas is the protagonist through him being shown in most shots through the trailer. A lot of level shots and close-ups confirm that Thomas is the person we are supposed to be following along with. Most of the shots are from his perspective, especially at the start in the elevator. However, it is only about half way through that we start getting information that leads to us seeing Thomas as the ‘hero’. First we see him as different through the use of dialogue when Alby says “You’re not like the others. You’re curious.” After this we see shots of Thomas finding the only clues both inside and outside the maze suggesting him as important. This shows the representation of teenagers as only one will actually succeed in a mission many have attempted before giving us one particular person to root for while the others simply back up this main characters role. Gally allows the audience to root for Thomas even more through us empathising with the victim of a bully. Everything is placed so that the opposite ends up enhancing the other’s character (bully enhances our view of the hero). This is an example of the director’s preferred reading (we see what he wants us to). This makes it more enjoyable to the audience as we get to see Thomas’ transformation.

We see this role in ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ in the form of Peter Parker. In the fight scene we see him as non-confrontational and an outcast. He doesn’t challenge the teacher after being told not to ride on his skateboard but does get back on it after the teacher disappears. This shows him as slightly rebellious but also that he doesn’t want to cause trouble. He does, however, confront Flash when there is another person involved this shows him as selfless and a strong believer in justice. This creates the representation of him being a good guy and standing up for what is right.

In the basketball scene we see him as becoming the hero. He doesn’t just help out the little guy by sacrificing himself but he exacts revenge on the ‘bad guy’. Flash is carefully presented as still being in the wrong even though it is Peter who is humiliating him now. This is done through him being mean to the painter girl in the scene and never backing down from Peter until he is shoved over. Peter is shown as weak through him wearing baggy clothes while Flash wears tight clothes showing his muscles. This shows the representation of teenagers being more mature without losing their youthful charm. There are two roles seen here. The bully (helper) and the hero. This is a negotiated reading. The director wants us to clearly see Peter as the hero but’ upon further analysis, Peter could be viewed as in the wrong. The audience still, however, accepts that Peter is the hero. So it’s a negotiated reading.

Overall, through use of mise-en-scene, camera work and general dialogue, teenagers are represented as brave, and more mature than their age in ‘The Maze Runner’ and ‘The Amazing Spiderman’. They follow only the stereotype of the bully and ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ is more based around stereotypes than ‘The Maze Runner’ due to it being set in a more stereotypical location for teenagers to be in (a high school in a city rather than a dystopian future in the middle of a mechanised maze).