Easy A

Easy A is about a high school student played by Emma Stone who relies on the schools rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing. The genre of this film is a teen movie however its sub genre is romantic comedy. The film features actors such as Amanda Bynes, Emma Stone and Aly Michalka.

Like most teen comedies it begins with olive a normal insecure teen who hides her sexual inexperience. She lives below the schools raider, gets good grades and spends weekends alone.

Easy A displays many conventional codes throughout the film including themes, stereotypes, locations and binary oppositions. Starting with the characters although they are not in their teens Olive played by Emma Stone is known for her teen movies such as House Bunny, Super bad and Zombie Land. Emma Stones acting as a teen has adds a sense of realism. She speaks with confidence and expression which our generation is full of. This makes what she says believable such as the 'Rumor Mill'.

The codes and conventions of teen film vary depending on the context of the film. Within Easy A it includes the conventional themes and settings such as high school, Basketball Court, Lunch Hall, Bedroom, Kitchen and then you have the common films such as alcohols, parties, love, sorrow and the occasional lose of virginity.

Cliques are a key element to any teen film which is the main reason most teen films are set around a high school. However within Easy A the characters are not in a clique however you could easily assign them a clique. Although the extras within the movies are part of cliques. You have your cheerleaders, Jocks and an unfamiliar clique called Marianne's religious clique. Most teen movies often skim pass characters who are gay/lesbian or working class teens, However it is the gay guy within the film which drives the narrative forward by saying they had sexual interaction at a party even though they didn't just so he could stop being teased.

Different themes are explored throughout the film such as relationship between the two friends ; loyalty and honesty which sadly was not the case which lead to the rumor. Alcohol is another common theme expressed although it wasn't an individual theme as she only drank a sample at a party which comes to our next theme. Parties within teen movies reflect our teenage culture it shows teenagers as irresponsible and childish. The party scene leads to the narratives escalation.

Love and sorrow are two themes which go hand in hand. This theme is explored within every teen film in some way. Whether it be a love for something or passionate love. It is inevitable.  You can't have love without sorrow.  In Easy A there are two different types of love. The love for being noticed & wanted, and the thirst for true love and not the constant ask for fake intimacy which only med things worse for Olive as she then had to experience sorrow, for what seemed 'Cool' at first spiraled into her being protested against. Olive lost her friend, her dignity and social life however as it goes from equilibrium to disequilibrium finally she finds a love interest rates shes always wanted "I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my window. I wanna ride off on lawnmower with Patrick Dempsay".

Easy A establishes stereotypes throughout the film. For example olive the protagonist is invisible within the school. Shes the student every teacher wishes to have,  she gets good grades and study's hard. Then throughout the film we notice the goofy parents who have slight issues who love and want to spend time with their children however in some circumstances olive pushes them away. We then go on to see 'good girl gone bad' when after refusing to repudiate her sexual promiscuity, she sews a capital 'A' onto her clothing, an allusion to Hawthorns - The Scarlet Letter. However the biggest stereotype personally I believe are the 'rumors'. A classic input within most teen films. By having these rumors it makes it easier for the film to be more interesting as the audience nearly always know the truth and they want that truth to come out which of course does, but as well as that it adds a sense of mystery when the audience don't know. Within Easy A we immediately know the rumors are false which then gives us a thrill to see how fast the 'Rumor Mill ' is and the up coming effect of it.

Finally Binary oppositions are included within Easy A. This allows the film to be more interesting for the audience as they get involve by choosing what side they are on for example Team Jacob or Team Edward in Twilight. In Easy A's case it consists of the war between Marianne's religious clique and Olive. Being a religious clique it consisted of going by the laws of God which Olive was suppose to have gone against by losing her virginity. Both clash as both are different that go against each other. Marianne's religious clique decide that olive will be their next project which builds up towards the conflict rather than get upset about it Olive embraces her title.