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Faith Sargusingh

Pamela Bollman

ENG3U

March 17th 2021

Development Of Individuality And Identity In Lemonade Mouth

High school is 一 without a doubt 一 the place where most humans develop their identity,

as the teenage years are the years in which the youth begin to discover themselves and what

makes them unique. Lemonade Mouth, directed by Patricia Riggen, is a Disney Channel original

movie about 5 young musically-talented students struggling to find their personal identity. In

specific, Mo, an Indian girl, finds herself torn between doing what she loves 一 music 一 and

what her parents want her to do. This leads to her struggling to find who she is and what she

desires for herself in the future. Through Mo’s people-pleasing mindset and her changeover,

Patricia Riggen and the original writer, Mark Peter Hughes, were able to portray how one can

find their true identity once they choose to put themselves first.

Towards the start of the novel, Mo was a people-pleaser and this led her to put others’

emotions before her own, which caused her to be confused about her own identity. Whenever she

would get dressed for school in the mornings, she would wear her traditional Indian robes 一

which she hated 一 just to please her father. Then, once she arrived at school, she would change

her clothes in the bathroom, indicating she was hiding who she wanted to be just so her identity

would be accepted by her family. She would also lie about being interested in music, as her

parents wanted her to follow a career path that would honour their family name, and would do

her boyfriend’s homework for him just so he would accept her. As a result of this, Mo was not
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able to discover her true self as she was attempting to be everything her family and friends

wanted of her. Therefore, Mo always prioritizing others before herself and putting their needs

first, ultimately kept her from realizing her own identity sooner.

The turning point in Mo’s story is when she wrote, “She’s So Gone”, a song about her

leaving her past self behind, which was the first step in helping her discover her identity. After

Mo’s boyfriend cheated on her with another girl, she was heartbroken and confused. All she’s

done was to try and fit in and be someone everyone liked, however Scott, her boyfriend,

disregarded her feelings despite that. This led Mo to write her song called, “She’s So Gone”,

which talks about how the girl she used to be, is “so gone away like history”. Mo sang this song

during a gig at a pizza place and when Scott happened to hear her music, he regretted what he

had done, and realized he made a mistake. After this experience, Mo began to put her needs

before others, even after letting Scott back into her life 一 with the addition of boundaries. She

also stood up for what she believed in before her parents, when she talked to them about how she

loved playing and producing music. This newfound courage to be herself, led Mo to improve her

music and evolve as a person. Thus, the creation of Mo’s song, “She’s So Gone”, marked the

beginning of her path to finding her true self and identity, and guided her to put herself before

others when it was required.

Therefore, through Mo’s character in Lemonade Mouth, director Patricia Riggen, was

able to portray how one can discover their own identity once they choose to put their needs

above those of others. Mo’s willingness to put others’ emotions before her own and her

transformation into a new person, are prime examples of how putting others’ feelings before

one’s own can hinder one’s ability to discover their true identity. Hence, as finding one’s identity

is crucial in one’s development and growth, it is fundamental that humans are always wary of
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those that hinder their progress to individuality, by making them feel as if they need to fit a

certain standard.