teens

“Yellowjackets” and the Disturbing Reality of Social Contract

With Yellowjackets, the so-called “puzzle-box show” achieves a kind of maturity by doing away with the conspiratorially furrowed brow of the masculine heroes who are obsessed with, and eventually resolve, whatever metaphysical conundrum that has made life unlivable.

Words Fail: “Dear Evan Hansen” Is an Obvious Disservice to Mental-Health Representation

Corny and contrived, Dear Evan Hansen is an obvious disservice to mental-health representation. Read more »

“Stolen” Reclaims the Narrative of the Troubled Teen

A survivor challenges institutional child abuse masquerading as therapy. Read more »

Big Time Crush: “Never Have I Ever” Loses Itself In a Teenage Love Triangle

Never Have I Ever is like a teenager: It wants to be popular, relatable to everyone, and alienating to no one. Read more »

License to Feel: “SOUR” Highlights the Unique Wisdom of Teen Girls

Rodrigo’s practice of sitting intently with her messy emotions—whether on her bathroom floor or in her car—seems like a metaphor for the recent seasons of quarantine. Read more »

Unlike “Gilmore Girls,” “Ginny and Georgia” Doesn’t Hide from Sex

Ginny and Georgia strikingly faces sex and sexuality head on, especially when held up against its predecessor. Read more »

“Moxie” Isn’t Perfect, but Neither Are New Feminists

Moxie is more educational than groundbreaking. Read more »

Dream Sequence: “To All the Boys” Ends Less Sugary Sweet Than It Began

The film ultimately lacks the essential nutrients of a satisfying conclusion. Read more »

Lizzie McGuire is 30. Apparently That’s a Problem for Disney+.

How Disney+ killed our Lizzie McGuire dreams. Read more »

How Sex Educator YouTube Went from Guiding Light to Worrisome Shadow

In 2016, YouTube was a space to learn any and everything about sex; maybe, in 2020, it simply isn’t anymore. Read more »

Pausing the Panic Button: Can Religious Scholarship Teach Media Literacy?

Moral panics about sexually disturbing or explicit media are hardly new or uncommon. Read more »

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Tina Belcher's Sexual Revolution

Tina Belcher breaks all the rules of network sitcoms. That's why she's wonderful.  Read more »