Choosing the Jonra [Genre] (Portfolio Project Post 3)

Hi Glorb! I'm upset. Why you ask? Because why is the word "genre" so weird? Who decided that it's pronounced "jon-ra" and not "gen-ré"? That's a rhetorical question. The word genre originates from French, so we pronounce it the way the French would (Genre | Origin and Meaning of Genre by Online Etymology Dictionary, 2019). Which I think is a stupid excuse. Everyone who says that should go home and crochet a niche lingerie while drinking champagne in their garage. 

(Reddit - the Heart of the Internet, 2018)

My group and I met on Sunday! We wrote out the basics of our story, which allowed us to decide on our jonra; the best fit was "coming of age"

Through a quick look at short films on YouTube, I realized that our theme of academic pressure is an outlier. Most coming of age films surround the awkward feelings of becoming an adult, which isn't always about high performance (Maher, 2022, pp. 1). I assumed that was a common theme in coming of age films because it's common in my day-to-day.  

EXAMPLE 1

https://youtu.be/rd4qdJ-OVo4?si=N2SbulzMZQ9gfzLi 

 (Erika Vianey, 2024)

This is a screen shot from the film W.A.Y., where two friends are sat at a lunch table chatting. What I enjoyed about this is how the film doesn't use the 180 rule, like most short films usually do for dialogue. Instead, it opts for one very long take, which simulates what the situation might look like in real life, thus creating a genuine and realistic feel. The shot is framed as one would see it of they where sat at another table and slowly zooms in throughout. This, I think, is to slowly involve the viewer into the film, opting for closeness when the character's begin to get interesting.

Writing wise, I realize that a lot of coming of age films have simple plots. W.A.Y. is literally about two friends enjoying their lack of responsibility and reflecting on their high school years. This simplicity isn't just because the film is a few minutes too. Longer coming of age films like Stand By Me is also a very plain, simple story. I think this might be intentional, as the appeal of a coming of age film is the ability for viewers to reminisce about a "simpler" time (even though nothing was ever simple, more on this later).

EXAMPLE 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21neRIg_HQA&t=198s 

Because coming of age films focus on very real topics, their visuals and techniques tend to focus on creating a realistic atmosphere. That being said, Crush(ed) takes a completely different approach to portraying the emotions of the subject compared to W.A.Y. Here, our protagonist is mostly shot in close ups, meant to focus on her insecurities--like her hair. This portrays the characters mindset, not the situation (unlike W.A.Y.). It's still realistic because it represents the subjects view of themselves-- in this case, the combination of insecurities a young black girl might have. Not to mention, the close ups highlight how serious this issue is for her at the moment, where as in 20 years she might not think the same way. Thus, the representation is a different kind of realism, a different font, different flavor.

(amandamaryanna, 2022)

Similarly to W.A.Y., this story is very simple-- about a girl confessing her feelings to her best friend in a very lovingly awkward way. However, this story isn't hopeful or bittersweet like the other one. This one is just bitter, like lemonade. but like, without the sugar. Like room tempeture lemonade without sugar that you bought from you neighbor's 7-year-old-son. This bitter lemonade within the script's ink (I'm so tired, does that phrasing make sense?) is even more impactful with the stories simplicity because it notes very real insecurities-- very real situations that can happen to an adolescent. 

Coming of age is meant to mimic the way nostalgia warps how we remember events. Take the protagonist from Crush(ed), who's close-up represent how she might view the event 20 years in the future--as a sad, bitter situation that happened because of her childhood insecurities. 

CITES!

Maher, M. (2022, September 1). Coming-of-Age Films: Is the Genre In Decline? The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat. https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/coming-of-age-films/

Erika Vianey. (2024, February 10). W.A.Y | Coming Of Age Short Film / RED KOMODO. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd4qdJ-OVo4 

amandamaryanna. (2022, March 5). crush(ed) // a coming of age short film. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21neRIg_HQA ‌

Reddit - The heart of the internet. (2018). Reddit.com. https://www.reddit.com/r/me_irl/comments/979iwb/me_irl/

genre | Origin and meaning of genre by Online Etymology Dictionary. (2019). Etymonline.com. https://www.etymonline.com/word/genre