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Elephant (2003) This independent film by Gus Van Sant was shot in Portland, Oregon at Whitaker Middle School. Elephant is the most realistic and shocking of all these teen films. Almost every student in the film is not a professional actor, and most use their real names. The camera follows different students through a typical high school day as they walk between classes, chat at the lunch table, or throw a football around. It's almost like a documentary without the interviews. The film has a shocking and disturbing conclusion that still haunts my thoughts. Aethestically, the film is beautifully shot and extremely true-to-life. This film gives insight to the darker side of high school--the gossip, the brokenness, the bottled up pain. The title comes from the phrase "theelephant in the room," the large tensions in youth culture that we can't seem to discuss openly.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) I just saw this for the first time a few months ago. The screenplay for the film is based on Cameron Crowe's experiences posing as a student at a high school in California (even before Drew Barrymore did it). The film focuses a lot on the awkwardness of sexuality, including some pretty racy-but-awkwardly-realistic scenes. Definitely an 80s movie, but has some true-to-life insight about teens dealing with some tough issues (like broken relationships and unwanted pregnancy).

Thirteen (2003) This film was co-written by and stars thirteen-year-old Nikki Reed. While Elephant deals with teen violence in a shockingly realistic manner, Thirteen deals with almost every teen issue in