Eighth Grade Review
It must've been less than two minutes into this movie when I started crying. It wasn't that it was particularly sad at this point, it was just that it was so painfully real. It was quite a visceral and transportive experience, because suddenly I was back to being an eighth grader which was, to put it lightly, one of the worst times of my life.
The movie opens with Kayla recording her vlog on "being yourself," where she proceeds to explain, with no shortage of ums, you knows, and likes, that you should always be yourself, and not change for other people. Kayla does and does not follow her own advice throughout the movie.
This is one of the realest things I've ever seen. Everything about it either happened to me or someone I knew. Her feelings were my feelings. It actually felt really personal to see these things, like someone had projected my diary on a screen. She says that people perceive her as shy, even though she is choosing not to talk at school. When I was a young person of fourteen, I thought the same thing (even though I was just terrified of talking). She has a list of things that she wants, and one of them is "a BEST friend." I had thought the exact same thing. I had friends, good friends, but, mostly due to Disney Channel, I felt like I needed a BEST friend, a partner in crime who could just climb in through my bedroom window and feel right at home. It's also little things: she has a Hamilton calendar, which is what hangs in my sister's room; she says "Gucci" as a punctuation, an all too familiar response; she doesn't make eye contact when she speaks, which you wish would go unnoticed when you do it, but sadly, does not. In one scene, she is sitting at the end of the table, sort of part of the conversation, mostly not. But she doesn't feel lonely or forgotten, but when the people at the table bring it up, she feels uncomfortable. That is a summary of my entire middle school career.
It's also the parts of school that make it real. The teachers trying to connect with their students through dabbing and the use of the word "lit"; active shooter drills that are not taken seriously; horrible band performances of the national anthem. Things like chokers and mascara and Hollister t-shirts you wish more people noticed. There's a day in the movie where all of the eighth graders go to shadow a high school student, and as they enter the school, they stand in a line and walk through the hallway as the high schoolers observe. It is painfully awkward to watch and my mom leaned over to me at this part and said, "This is horrible," to which I replied, "They actually do this." I go to a secondary school, so there was not as much of a transition from middle to high school but, on the first day of school, there's an assembly to "pump you up for the school year" or whatever, and they make all the seventh graders, the new kids at the school, walk through the gym as everyone else looks on and, supposedly, applauds.
In the vein of Lady Bird, I see this as part of a renaissance of the "teenage movie" genre. Before, we had The Breakfast Club, which showed the realness and stress of being in high school, where you're not treated like a full person yet, but you feel as though you're close enough that you should be. There are a lot of movies that glorify this time as the best in your life, where you're doing crazy things with your BEST friend and kissing boys and learning about life while still being confident and beautiful. That just makes me feel as though I am not doing high school "right."
This is the first movie that I've seen that shows social media in a realistic way, and shows the problems of it without criticizing the teenagers who use it. Because, at this point, we don't have much of a choice.
At the end, Kayla doesn't presume to have all the answers or fully know who she is, which is to be expected. She does learn a few things about herself and finally realizes things that people have been telling her all along aren't actually lies.
I am not exaggerating when I say I did not stop crying this entire movie. Some parts more than others but, from two minutes in, there were tears welling in my eyes and spilling over my cheeks. It was so, so weird yet refreshing to see something so clearly me on screen, presenting a time when I felt most alone.
Elsie Fisher is a darling that carries this whole movie. Bo Burnham adds a personal touch, with his own experience with YouTube, but maintains complete control over a lot of dramatic pieces of adolescence.
Some adults remember eighth grade as a time without a care in the world, but this will hopefully serve as a reminder that no, it sucked. And for the kids that are in Kayla's position now, it does get better, and your feelings are valid. Not only is this a good movie, but it is an important movie. And I cannot recommend it enough.
The movie opens with Kayla recording her vlog on "being yourself," where she proceeds to explain, with no shortage of ums, you knows, and likes, that you should always be yourself, and not change for other people. Kayla does and does not follow her own advice throughout the movie.
This is one of the realest things I've ever seen. Everything about it either happened to me or someone I knew. Her feelings were my feelings. It actually felt really personal to see these things, like someone had projected my diary on a screen. She says that people perceive her as shy, even though she is choosing not to talk at school. When I was a young person of fourteen, I thought the same thing (even though I was just terrified of talking). She has a list of things that she wants, and one of them is "a BEST friend." I had thought the exact same thing. I had friends, good friends, but, mostly due to Disney Channel, I felt like I needed a BEST friend, a partner in crime who could just climb in through my bedroom window and feel right at home. It's also little things: she has a Hamilton calendar, which is what hangs in my sister's room; she says "Gucci" as a punctuation, an all too familiar response; she doesn't make eye contact when she speaks, which you wish would go unnoticed when you do it, but sadly, does not. In one scene, she is sitting at the end of the table, sort of part of the conversation, mostly not. But she doesn't feel lonely or forgotten, but when the people at the table bring it up, she feels uncomfortable. That is a summary of my entire middle school career.
It's also the parts of school that make it real. The teachers trying to connect with their students through dabbing and the use of the word "lit"; active shooter drills that are not taken seriously; horrible band performances of the national anthem. Things like chokers and mascara and Hollister t-shirts you wish more people noticed. There's a day in the movie where all of the eighth graders go to shadow a high school student, and as they enter the school, they stand in a line and walk through the hallway as the high schoolers observe. It is painfully awkward to watch and my mom leaned over to me at this part and said, "This is horrible," to which I replied, "They actually do this." I go to a secondary school, so there was not as much of a transition from middle to high school but, on the first day of school, there's an assembly to "pump you up for the school year" or whatever, and they make all the seventh graders, the new kids at the school, walk through the gym as everyone else looks on and, supposedly, applauds.
In the vein of Lady Bird, I see this as part of a renaissance of the "teenage movie" genre. Before, we had The Breakfast Club, which showed the realness and stress of being in high school, where you're not treated like a full person yet, but you feel as though you're close enough that you should be. There are a lot of movies that glorify this time as the best in your life, where you're doing crazy things with your BEST friend and kissing boys and learning about life while still being confident and beautiful. That just makes me feel as though I am not doing high school "right."
This is the first movie that I've seen that shows social media in a realistic way, and shows the problems of it without criticizing the teenagers who use it. Because, at this point, we don't have much of a choice.
At the end, Kayla doesn't presume to have all the answers or fully know who she is, which is to be expected. She does learn a few things about herself and finally realizes things that people have been telling her all along aren't actually lies.
I am not exaggerating when I say I did not stop crying this entire movie. Some parts more than others but, from two minutes in, there were tears welling in my eyes and spilling over my cheeks. It was so, so weird yet refreshing to see something so clearly me on screen, presenting a time when I felt most alone.
Elsie Fisher is a darling that carries this whole movie. Bo Burnham adds a personal touch, with his own experience with YouTube, but maintains complete control over a lot of dramatic pieces of adolescence.
Some adults remember eighth grade as a time without a care in the world, but this will hopefully serve as a reminder that no, it sucked. And for the kids that are in Kayla's position now, it does get better, and your feelings are valid. Not only is this a good movie, but it is an important movie. And I cannot recommend it enough.
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