Exploring the link between cinema and the death of the ‘preteen’
In the 1990s and 2000s, plenty of movies were made that perfectly catered for that murky ‘tween’ or ‘pre-teen’ era, a time when you’re no longer a small child but not yet a teenager, either. At that age, you’re craving independence and the freedom to be more like the older girls. For many of us, this came in the form of going into town for the first time without a guardian to meet friends, trying out makeup and wearing clothing that now makes us cringe.
The tween stage is a crucial period for self-discovery. We might’ve worn brightly coloured jeans, neon accessories, and slogan T-shirts brandished with slogans such as PEACE and LOVE, but it’s a relief to look back and see that for a while, tweens were embracing childhood experimentation and expression. Now, the tweenager seems to be a dying breed, with more and more girls of this age (between nine and 13) becoming attracted to trends that are designed with older teenagers and adults in mind.
Of course, many children of this age demographic are still embracing childhood, but the fact that many others are desperately trying to emulate the young girls and women presented to them online is undeniable. The invention of social media has been both a blessing and a curse. While platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have their benefits, from sharing vital information to allowing us to connect with others, there’s also no limit to what most users can access.
Girls as young as nine or ten are logging onto these platforms and seeing women use expensive beauty products and wearing outfits that are appropriate for adults – not children. But in an influencer economy, where paid partnerships are increasingly common, these tween girls are becoming inspired by these users, whose accounts are everywhere and impossible to ignore.
Owning costly products advertised by people who can afford to buy such items – because they have an adult wage – have become status symbols among tweens, representative of all things cool (there’s recently been an increase in tweens lusting after and owning Drunk Elephant moisturisers, which retail for over £60). Yet, in the 1990s and 2000s, the absence of social media platforms like TikTok meant that tweens largely took inspiration from television shows, movies and magazines which were specifically geared towards their age demographic.
Movies like The Parent Trap, Aquamarine, A Cinderella Story, Sleepover, the High School Musical series, The Princess Diaries and Nancy Drew were perfect for this age group. Many of these films contained tweenage protagonists, promoted female friendship, and featured girls who wore age-appropriate outfits which were distinctly different from the outfits worn by adults (think layered tops, waistcoats, cropped leggings, sequins, Converse and ruffly skirts).
Franchises like High School Musical, alongside other Disney Channel creations like Hannah Montana and Camp Rock, were also popular with this age demographic in the mid-to-late 2000s. Unashamedly campy and unbelievable and filled with cheesy songs and dance routines, these movies encouraged pre-teens to join in and act their age. Now, it seems as though tweenagers associate Zendaya with Euphoria rather than Shake It Up, based on the popularity of the X-rated show online.
As social media has taken over and influencers have moved away from the simplicity of late 2000s and early 2010s YouTube – where people like Zoella and Bethany Mota were promoting affordable clothing and makeup and posting DIY tutorials – the tween era has started to die out. Subsequently, so have the kinds of movies that used to be popular among tweens. No longer are we receiving family-friendly movies like The Parent Trap or charming pre-teen-oriented chick flicks like Aquamarine or The Clique as we did several years ago – it seems as though studios can no longer see the benefits of making such films.
There are a few more recent examples, such as the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series, but this went straight to Netflix rather than receiving a cinematic release – and it wasn’t particularly good, either. While tweens are most likely still watching movies like The Princess Diaries, that era of filmmaking seems long past. It’s a shame that the tweenage stage has morphed into something less celebratory of childhood and self-discovery, no doubt spurred by the patriarchal pressure placed on young girls to grow up fast, which is widely perpetuated by social media.
Such an important period of childhood, before the realities of growing into an adult are realised, must be preserved. There needs to be more quality filmmaking geared towards this age, and Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a perfect recent example, released in 2023. Also released that year was You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, another refreshing look at the pre-teen stage. It’s sad to think that tweens are growing up believing that they need to get their parents to spend hundreds of pounds on products when they should be embracing their awkward stage instead, defined by fluorescent earrings, sticky lipgloss and crimped hair.
