How modern teenage angst was perfectly captured in Bo Burnham’s ‘Eighth Grade’
Teenage angst has been the focal point of many movies, whether they be drama or comedy, but as universal as the experience of adolescence has been, it goes without saying the raft of classics from the 1980s hardly reflect 21st-century society. Bo Burnham‘s 2018 flick Eighth Grade definitely does, though, turning the trials and tribulations of growing up into a powerfully authentic film.
Having risen to fame and gained worldwide attention as a stand-up comedian, multi-talented musician, YouTube personality, and occasional actor with a penchant for the offbeat tinged by satire, nobody knew what to expect when Burnham wrote and directed his first narrative feature.
As it turned out, the result was something achingly and poignantly modern, with social media playing a pivotal part in the coming-of-age dramedy. Elsie Fisher – who earned a Golden Globe nomination in the ‘Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical’ category for their performance, anchors the narrative as Kayla.
An anxiety-stricken teenager desperate to find social acceptance among her peers, she posts motivational vlogs online about confidence and promoting a positive self-image, a far cry from her shy and introverted personality. Her father thinks she’s far too reliant on social media for her own good; she battles against the pressures of high school life and runs afoul of its cutthroat and clique divide.
Social media has created a desperation among its users to present an idealised version of their existence to the world, which can’t be easy for anyone going through high school. Kayla wants to be one of the cool kids but knows she isn’t. She doesn’t get any views on her videos that don’t reflect her real-life awkwardness, and that awkwardness is palpable in the majority of her interactions.
As Burnham explained to Vanity Fair, the film is a reflection on how even though individuals are more visible than ever in a literal sense, it’s an entirely different matter on a figurative level. “I think the scariest thing nowadays is not being seen,” the filmmaker suggested. “I feel with kids – with all of us, really – we’re very conscious of the movie of our lives. And that’s Kayla’s struggle. She’s convinced that the movie of her life sucks.”
Although Eighth Grade doesn’t turn the internet into a hero or villain, the fact it’s effectively a character speaks volumes about how it’s become woven into so many angst-ridden journeys of adolescence. For Kayla’s peers, it’s imperative that likes, shares, retweets, and reactions be used a barometer of somebody’s value and social standing, even if those things doesn’t exist in the real world as soon as the phone gets switched off.
And yet, that’s something she simply isn’t willing to do, with technology and self-worth becoming so intertwined they may as well be two halves of the same whole for modern teenagers. People at that age are prone to self-consciousness and self-discovery in equal measure, something that becomes a whole lot harder with a device of some kind almost always inches away from the face.
It’s becoming a recurring talking point that the information age could potentially be affecting cognitive development, but Eighth Grade illustrates how it can also impact self-esteem, confidence, and the ability for anyone to come out of their shell when there’s no obvious support system in place to guide them through such a tricky and troublesome time that can’t log off at a moment’s notice to cast them adrift all over again.
