Un genere commerciale. L’origine del teen movie come terreno di exploitation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13136/2281-4582/2017.i9.245Abstract
The aim of this paper is to address the ontology of the teen movie genre as the product of the interaction between process of production and consumption. In fact, more than other cinematographic genres, the teen movie seems to be a chiefly commercial one: to effectively understand its origin and its development, it is crucial to investigate the relationship between the production practices of American film industry and the cultural habits of cinematic audiences. Analyzing teen movies as a genre implies also recognizing and circumscribing the socio-cultural context and the economic conjunctures in which they were produced and released for the first time, with the aim of appealing to an emerging demographic and a newly overriding market niche – teenagers. In this sense, the experience of the film production company AIP and the exploitation movies realized in the Fifties seem to be particularly pertinent. Thus, in this perspective, it is necessary to rethink the teen movie genre as the ultimate product of a commodity culture in which teen audience, as well as teen market, have a new, unprecedented preeminent relevance.
References
Arkoff, Sam, e Richard Trubo. Flying Through Hollywood By The Seat Of My Pants: From The Man Who Brought You I Was A Teenage Werewolf And Muscle Beach Party. New York: Birch Lane, 1992.
Arneel, Gene. “Pix’ Big and Bold Bid for Gold.” Variety 8 agosto 1956: 3.
Betrock, Alan. The I Was a Teenage Juvenile Delinquent Rock ‘n’ Roll Horror Beach Party Movie Book. New York: St. Martin’s, 1986.
Bordwell, David, e Kristin Thompson. Storia del cinema e dei film. Milano: Il Castoro, 1998.
Considine, David M. The Cinema of Adolescence. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 1985.
Di Chio, Federico. American Storytelling. Le forme del racconto nel cinema e nelle serie TV. Roma: Carocci, 2016.
Doherty, Thomas. Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002.
Driscoll, Catherine. Teen Film: A Critical Introduction. Oxford: Berg, 2011.
Goldwyn, Samuel. “Avoids Gats and Gams.” Variety 4 gennaio 1958: 1.
Handel, Leo A. Hollywood Looks at Its Audience. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1950.
Hays, Will H. Annual Report on the Motion Picture Industry. New York: Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, 1933.
Hollinger, Hy. “Teenage Biz vs. Repair Bills.” Variety 19 dicembre 1956: 20.
Ivers, John D. “Aim at Youth and Reduce Violence, Panelists Insist.” Motion Picture Herald 8 settembre 1956: 12.
Jones, Charlie. “Merchant-Exhibitor Collaboration for Better Times for Both on Main Street.” Motion Picture Herald 11 ottobre 1958: 29.
Johnson, Arno H. “Film Future: GI Baby Boom.” Variety 5 marzo 1968: 78.
King, Geoff. La Nuova Hollywood. Dalla rinascita degli anni Settanta all’era del blockbuster. Torino: Einaudi, 2004.
La Polla, Franco. Sogno e realtà americana nel cinema di Hollywood. Roma: Laterza, 1987.
Lazarsfeld, Paul F. “Audience Research in the Movie Field.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 254. 1947: 160-168.
Quigley Jr., Martin. “You Must Be Served.” Motion Picture Herald 23 giugno 1956: 12.
---. “Who Goes to the Movies…and Who Doesn’t.” Motion Picture Herald 10 agosto 1957: 2.
Salisbury, Harrison E. The Shook-Up Generation. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1958.
Savage, Jon. Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture. Londra: Viking, 2007.
Shary, Timothy. “Teen Films: The Cinematic Image of Youth.” Film Genre Reader III. A cura di. Barry Keith Grant. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003. 490-515.
---. Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen. Londra: Wallflower, 2005.
“The Dreamy Teen-Age Market: ‘It’s Neat to Spend’.” Newsweek 16 settembre 1957: 94.
Williams, Whitney. “Exploitation Pictures Paid Off Big for Majors, Also Indie Producers.” Variety 9 gennaio 1946: 36.
“Zanuck: Zip, Zig, and Zag.” Variety 13 aprile 1955: 3.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Iperstoria is an Open Access journal.- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 BY-NC License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of their work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. We require authors to inform us of any instances of re-publication.
