Suburbia (film)
Suburbia is a 1984 film about teenagers living in a punk house in Los Angeles. Evan and his kid brother Ethan flee their alcoholic mother and join a gang of punks called T.R. (The Rejected). A familial bond forms among them, but some of the local suburbanites are set on getting rid of them, one way or another.
Tropes used in Suburbia (film) include:
- Abusive Parents: Ethan's mother hits him and yells at him; Sheila's father molested and beat her.
- Adult Child: Mattie and Christina are teenagers, but they want Sheila to read fairy tales to them.
- The Alleged Car: And how.
- Amateur Cast: Director Penelope Spheeris decided it would be easier to make punks into actors than actors into punks.
- Big Brother Worship: Ethan to Evan.
- Covered with Scars: Sheila, for whom they are also Physical Scars, Psychological Scars.
- Crapsack World
- Department of Child Disservices: Many of the kids fear this is where they'll end up if they have to leave their punk house.
- Drugs Are Bad
- Due to the Dead: After Sheila dies, they feel the need to do something respectful for her and end up returning her to her parents.
- Fluffy Tamer: Razzle.
- Grey and Gray Morality: The protagonists rob garages, vandalize storefronts, and rip a girl's clothes off at a concert. The antagonists shoot dogs and visit strip clubs while talking about family values. The protagonists are only more sympathetic because of Sympathetic POV and their difficult lives.
- I Am Not My Father: Jack and his stepdad.
- Important Haircut: Sheila and Ethan.
- Kick the Dog: Jim and Bob first appear shooting dogs, including a puppy. Thanks to Razzle, The Dog Bites Back later.
- Kill the Cutie: Sheila and Ethan.
- Lady Drunk: Ethan and Evan's mother.
- Only One Name: Keef, Skinner, Razzle...
- Police Are Useless: Justified; the cops are put in the difficult position of needing to appease Citizens Against Crime while not wanting to arrest a bunch of kids who are largely the victims of circumstance.
- Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: Completely averted, since the cast are all amateurs who talk like real teenagers.
- Scars Are Forever: Joe's objection to getting branded.
- Shown Their Work: Spheeris previously directed a documentary about punks.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Solidly planted on the right end of the scale.
- Special Guest: The bands shown playing at the club (TSOL, The Vandals, and DI) are all real.
- Suburbia
- Teens Are Monsters: Citizens Against Crime thinks so, and the teens themselves don't do much to convince them otherwise.
- Team Dad: Jack.
- True Companions
- Unusual Dysphemism: "He's going to shit Twinkies!"
- "What Now?" Ending
- When All You Have Is a Hammer: For Skinner, punching things is always the answer.