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Chase Haacke
Mr. James Reddoch
Film and Culture 1060-008
April 25, 2014
Teen Sexuality in the 1980s
Teen sexuality was always popular in film; dating back to the early 1930s, but gained
momentum during the 1950s with films like Rebel Without a Cause that clearly implicated the
teenage repressed sexuality in their rebelliousness. Teen sexuality sustained its popularity until
the 1970s and then declined heavily.(1) Teen sexuality in film had a renaissance during the
1980s and was exploited heavily by such film directors as Bob Clark, Paul Brickman, and John
Hughes. The most popularly known director was John Hughes; though his depiction of teen
sexuality was not as heavy as Bob Clark with the film Porkys; his films had a great deal more
influential impact on teens during the 1980s. Hughes was most well known for creating films
with themes projected around teen sexuality such as Sixteen Candles and Breakfast Club.
Sexuality was so heavily propagated during the 1980s that there was an immense urgency
for sexual education in the educational system. During the 1980s, there was a epidemic around
HIV which also lead to an urgency of sexual education in schools. Actresses such as Molly
Ringwald and Elizabeth Shue were the center for attention in teen sexuality films because they
retained popularity amongst teens during the 1980s. Hughes films have retained their popularity
throughout the years, and was considered to be one of the most successful film directors during
the 1980s. Hughes vision on teen sexuality and their problems during the 1980s was incredibly
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accurate and Hughes took them very seriously. Hughes used his film themes to peel away the
hidden barrier around teens, their sexual repression, and the social problems surrounding it.
Teen sexuality in the 1980s in film gave a clear depiction that teens suffered socially
because of their lack of sexuality. The themes used in Hughes films were depicted as a social
normality to be sexual in nature. The cinematography that Hughes used in his films to show that
he had an enormous understanding of how youth thought and acted during the 1980s.(2)
Another thing that Hughes did well was depict how teens were portrayed by their parents as well
as their peers. In Hughes films, he depicted that the parents were so ignorant to teens sexual
repressed nature that it was almost humorous. He depicted how teens saw each other socially
because of their sexual status and that in turn was implied that teens were only popular because
they were sexual in his films.
On the other side of the pendulum, we see teen sexuality as a ploy for bad things to occur
in films such as Friday the 13
th
directed by Sean Cunningham and Halloween directed by John
Carpenter. Horror films in the 1980s were popular for their sexuality and the teen sexual
abundance. Teen sexuality was exploited in several horror films throughout the 1980s, which
was perfectly depicted for their intended audiences. The themes that were used for these times of
films were to exploit the cause and consequence of teen sexuality. The story lines that were
depicted from Cunningham was to scare teens away from their sexuality during the 1980s with
their morbid twists and scares. Subliminally, these films were created as a moral lesson for teens
during the 1980s due to the HIV epidemic.(3)
Teen sexuality and horror films became monotonous by the late 1980s, but during which
time, teen high school films took an upward turn in popularity. A lot of the teen high school
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films during the 1980s had a great deal of conflict with parents and understanding of teen sexual
repressed rebellion. Films such as Zapped directed by Robert Rosenthal which provided teen
audiences with the idea of having super powers to be more sexual throughout the film. Rosenthal
uses several different techniques to capture teen sexuality by projecting the storyline around
teens and their plans for college.
Rosenthal also depicts on the idea behind the socially abnormality of nerds and their
sexual repression towards the popular girls. In the film Zapped; there is a moment where Barney
uses his telekinetic powers to undo Janes blouse, exposing her breasts. As the sole purpose of
the film was to drive the idea of teen sexuality as a good thing, that scene was a clear depiction
of what Rosenthal was trying to convey in his film. The cinematography that Rosenthal used in
his film was relatively interesting as he did a great deal of close up shots around female parts
such as their butt and breasts.
Films such as Zapped took a much more raunchy approach to teen sexuality during the
1980s. Films such as Joysticks and Going All The Way were a clear depiction in the title itself
that the films main focal point is teenage sexuality. The titles are metaphorical toward teens
losing their virginity during the 1980s, which is why the films became so popular, because it was
a popular subject in adolescence during the time. Since the storylines and the cast were popular
and relatable to teens of the era, it was euphoric for teens to see these films. Teen sexuality in
film reached a strong, long lasting, peak in the 1980s and has sustained its stride even to recent
times. However, teen sexuality is not as heavily exploited today as it was back in the 1980s,
strictly due to the film genre popularity has hit a plateau after the 2000s. A great deal of film
makers during the 1980s pushed the boundaries of the film industry with their filming style.
While Hughes kept the sexual content in his film to a minimum, other film makers like Clark
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who filmed Porkys, which exploited teen sexuality heavily and glorified its nature. In reality,
teen sexuality in 1980s films were almost a way of exploring the fact that teens were becoming
pregnant at a very young age.
The average adolescent was exposed to 14000 instances a year of glamorized sex on
television and film, only 165 were actually related to education or contraception. Sexual activity
in teens was at least as high in European countries as it was in the United States during the
1980s. However, teen pregnancy rates in England and France, where contraception was more
common, were only half as high.(4)
Teen sexuality in the 1980s had a very broad spectrum for its intensity, one side of the
pendulum with John Hughes films where it was more of the emotional side of the teen sexuality
in the 1980s. The other side of the pendulum where teen sexuality was glorified and exploited for
its entertainment value rather than its educational purposes. The 1980s kind of set the bar for
limitations around teen sexuality amongst film directors and screenplay writers. Film directors
throughout the 1980s would essentially attempt different forms of the genre to test different
aspects of the theme behind teen sexuality. Essentially some film directors would push the
boundaries to see what they could get away with in their films. Some of the films that were
created took a much more meaningful artistic form to the genre. Whereas other film directors
would simply look to make a film strictly for the smut and entertainment value as it projected
itself toward the intended audience of teens during the 1980s. Some of the influences in film had
a powerful impact on teen adolescents during the 1980s. Films such as Risky Business, took a
different approach to teen sexuality and its relation to engaging in sexual activity with a much
older woman. It also inspired the idea that it was okay if not glorified to solicit sex from a
prostitute, which that in itself was harmful to a teen in the era.
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In my opinion, teen sexuality in the 1980s was exploited heavily on all aspects of the
genre that it was intended for, teen dramas. I feel that, having grown up around the teen sexuality
films of the 1980s, it provided me with a good segue into how teens were viewed and exploited
during the 1980s. I feel like film directors like John Hughes provided a much more in depth
understanding of teen emotion during the 1980s, rather than the sexuality behind the era and
genre. Hughes provided us with a lot of great films that not only made sense even today, but also
showed that he really understood what teens were going through during that time. Hughes was a
pioneer in the teen sexuality films during the 1980s. His ideas, film themes, and storylines were
very unique in comparison to other teen film directors who went with a different approach to the
theme.
Some of the cinematography that was used in some of the films was a clear depiction that
the focal point in the film is sexuality and sexual in nature. Whereas with films by John Hughes
and Allan Moyle with Pump up the Volume exploited the more emotional aspect behind teen
sexuality and the rebellious behavior towards parents and rules in general. Some of the camera
shots of Hughes and Moyle were close up whenever the star teen in the film had serious emotion
such as sadness and crying to anger. In my opinion, reflecting on the emotional aspect of teen
sexuality derives a much more important point to the message that was being conveyed. John
Hughes quotes; My Generation had to be taken seriously because were stopping things and
burning things. We were able to initiate change, because we had such vast numbers. We were
part of a baby boom, and when we moved, everything moved with us.(5)An excellent point
that Hughes made to say that his films made a statement about teens and sexuality with teens
during the 1980s.

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1. Pennington, Jody. The History of Sex in American Film. West Port. Greenwood
Publishing Group. 2007; eBook. Pg 80;
2. Wilson, Craig. "John Hughes and the Brat Pack, Revisited - USATODAY.com."John
Hughes and the Brat Pack, Revisited - USATODAY.com. USA Today, 7 Feb. 2010. Web.
30 Apr. 2014.
3. Shary, Timothy. Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen. Wallflower Press. 2005.
Print.pg56;
4. Becklund, Laurie. The 80s: Greenhouse for Teen Pregnancy Los Angeles Times. Los
Angeles Times, March 14, 1993. Web. May 3, 2014.
5. Young, Pandora. "Molly Ringwald Interviews John Hughes." - FishbowlNY. Mediabistro
Inc., 7 Aug. 2009. Web. 3 May 2014. <http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/molly-
ringwald-interviews-john-hughes_b117625>