Every Movie Has a Lesson

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GUEST COLUMN: Films for Teens That Help Them to Understand Life Better

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Films for Teens That Help Them to Understand Life Better

by Rebecca Shinn

Today’s tech-savvy world demands that consumers first read reviews before deciding to purchase a service or product. For instance, when looking for a soul mate, you can always go through the best dating site review to know the top websites to join. It saves your time and gives the best experience. But today we won’t talk about dating sites.

The article will be looking into some of the must-watch films for teens. These can have transformative effects on the life of teens. Many teens’ parents admit that it can be hard to start life-changing conversations with their children. Watching films for teens can open up a window to the young one’s reality while offering valuable life lessons. Let’s jump right into the top films for teens that will help them understand life better.

1. 17 Again

One of the good films for teens, this is an excellent choice for parents who want to explore the issue of making good life choices with their teens. You can talk to your teens about how some life-changing decisions are made with minimal thought. The film is about Perry, a 37-year-old dad with regrets about his choices in high school.

Perry wishes that he would get a chance for a do-over. Miraculously, a worldly custodian intervenes, and Perry is 17 again and looks like Zac Efron. 17 Again is one of the films for teens that sparks conversations about compassion, empathy, and some of the challenges teens face. It is also one of the films for teens with a bonus life lesson at the end, so it’s worth the time spent.

2. Love, Simon

Based on Becky Albertalli’s acclaimed novel, this is a perfect example of love films for teens with life-altering lessons. The teen romance tells about Nick Robinson (Simon Spier) as he explores his sexuality, falls in love for the first time, and comes out to his family and friends. Love, Simon is one of the films for teens with numerous valuable lessons such as:

  • Everyone can find love, even though some have to work harder than others;

  • No relationship, including friendship, is easy or perfect;

  • You have to work at everything in life;

  • Fully embrace who you are;

  • Talking to people can help solve your problems because you may have common issues.

The heartfelt and funny coming-of-age story is also categorized as one of the films for teens that can also spark different meaningful conversations that affect teenagers’ lives. These include identity, coming out, heteronormativity, safe spaces, consent, social media, and cyberbullying. It is one of the films for teens that can be watched at home and in a classroom setting.

3. Step Sisters

Step Sisters is an awe-inspiring movie. It’s one of the family films for teens that presents a true sisterhood story. The comedic drama surrounds Jamilah Harris, who leads the team of step dancers. She wants to study at Harvard Law School and does her best. Miss Harris joins Beta Beta Sorority after a scandalous video becomes viral. But the problem is that her new team consists of white girls, and the Afro-American dancing community does not like it. Jamilah struggles for the girl’s reputation recovery and wants to win the competition. The movie is among the films for teens that use step-dancing to illustrate race stereotypes and rivalry among teens.

Unlike her current sorority, Beta Beta does not have a strong sisterhood. It is a different setting from what the president is used to. Harris takes on the challenge to coach them and watches as their sisterhood grows over time. Viewers get to enjoy a warm sisterhood story and some great laughs watching this film. Step Sisters is found on numerous lists of the best films for teens on Netflix, which shows it is worth watching.

4. Book Smart

It’s an ambitious high school comedy, and we can describe Booksmart as one of the best intelligent films for teens. Booksmart is one of the films for teens that follows the lives of two “nerdy” girls. The girls desperately try to be wild and make it to their first high school party before graduation. The show stars are not too happy that their classmates were not as focused on their studies as they were. The young ladies finally make it to the party with the help of their teacher but they had enough drama on their way. That will keep you glued to the screen.

This film presents many teachable moments, especially in depicting honest and raw female friendship. From this example of fantastic films for teens, young ones can learn that relating to other people can make them better people. Teens can also realize that changes and getting a little dirty by taking risks in life is advisable. It’s easy to identify characters that teens can relate to as they watch the movie.

5. Summer of 84

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When talking about films for teens, it is only right to sprinkle in some horror action in the list. It’s hard to imagine that horror films can come with essential life lessons for teenagers. Summer of 84 has got to be one of the top-rated horror films for teens with incredible lessons. The film focuses on a teenage boy who convinces his friends that a friendly local police officer could be a serial killer. The boys set on an adventure to investigate and unravel the mystery of 13 missing boys.

One of the main takeaways from one of the spookiest films for teens is that people are not who they always seem. We can also say that Summer of 84 is one of the good films for teens regarding current events. The main plot about missing kids has some connection to events that happen in the real world. It also teaches kids to be careful about the adventures they take on because they could end up being in a lot of trouble.

Closing Remarks

It’s interesting to learn that films for teens entertain and offer valuable lessons to young ones. This is regardless of whether they love films for teens of other movie genres.

Have you watched any of the films for teens above? Did you enjoy them? What lessons did you draw from them? What other films for teens with life-long lessons can you recommend? Kindly let us know below so that teens and their parents can identify the best movies to watch.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca Shinn is a relationship counselor and a freelance writer who focuses on teaching people how to cultivate meaningful relationships and get over toxic connections. She also does one-on-one sessions where she focuses on individuals and their unique problems to provide tailor-made solutions. She also loves nature, technology, and animals.