Teens Are Monsters: Difference between revisions

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** In contrast, Naomi Wildman follows the same path of being born during the show's run, but was depicted as a child when she interacted with the crew.
** In contrast, Naomi Wildman follows the same path of being born during the show's run, but was depicted as a child when she interacted with the crew.
* The first couple of seasons of ''[[Without a Trace (TV)|Without a Trace]]'' seemed to be dedicated to the idea that teens were vicious amoral beasts who lived to victimize each other. Co-incidentally(?), ''[[CSI]]'' went through a similar phase about that same time.
* The first couple of seasons of ''[[Without a Trace (TV)|Without a Trace]]'' seemed to be dedicated to the idea that teens were vicious amoral beasts who lived to victimize each other. Co-incidentally(?), ''[[CSI]]'' went through a similar phase about that same time.
* ''The Sontaran Strategem'', an episode of ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'', features a genius teenager as an antagonist whose motivations can be boiled down to being a teenager. However, he came around in the end, sort of.
* ''The Sontaran Strategem'', an episode of ''[[Doctor Who]]'', features a genius teenager as an antagonist whose motivations can be boiled down to being a teenager. However, he came around in the end, sort of.
** Also, he had gathered a large number of other genius teenagers to him who, on hearing his real plan, were appalled and immediately abandoned him. It implied that his plans were less about his age and more that he was somewhat unstable anyway.
** Also, he had gathered a large number of other genius teenagers to him who, on hearing his real plan, were appalled and immediately abandoned him. It implied that his plans were less about his age and more that he was somewhat unstable anyway.
* Several ''[[Lifetime Movie of the Week|Life Time Movies]]'' portray any teenager who's not a [[Naive Everygirl]] or a squeaky clean Mama's boy as evil, rotten assholes or bitches who try to corrupt the good kids.
* Several ''[[Lifetime Movie of the Week|Life Time Movies]]'' portray any teenager who's not a [[Naive Everygirl]] or a squeaky clean Mama's boy as evil, rotten assholes or bitches who try to corrupt the good kids.
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* ''[[Superman the Animated Series|Superman: The Animated Series]]'' had an episode where Granny Goodness created a crime syndicate out of wayward teens in Metropolis, using Apokoliptian technology, love, and twisted sadism.
* ''[[Superman the Animated Series|Superman: The Animated Series]]'' had an episode where Granny Goodness created a crime syndicate out of wayward teens in Metropolis, using Apokoliptian technology, love, and twisted sadism.
* Parodied in ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]'' via the ''Katie Ka-Boom'' shorts which took it to outlandish extremes; Katie literally turns into a monster whenever she's upset.
* Parodied in ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]'' via the ''Katie Ka-Boom'' shorts which took it to outlandish extremes; Katie literally turns into a monster whenever she's upset.
** Katie's issue was [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|implied]] to be a much more [[No Periods Period|specific teen problem]].
** Katie's issue was [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|implied]] to be a much more [[No Periods, Period|specific teen problem]].
* Two episodes of ''[[Powerpuff Girls]]'' featured the Smith family, one member of which was their angry teen son Bud. The first episode, Bud's entire appearance consisted of him yelling something typically teenagerish at his father, such as "I hate you!" and "No one understands me!" The second episode, which features the entire family as villains, provides every member of the family with a motivation for why they hate the Powerpuff Girls - and Bud's is "I hate everything!"
* Two episodes of ''[[Powerpuff Girls]]'' featured the Smith family, one member of which was their angry teen son Bud. The first episode, Bud's entire appearance consisted of him yelling something typically teenagerish at his father, such as "I hate you!" and "No one understands me!" The second episode, which features the entire family as villains, provides every member of the family with a motivation for why they hate the Powerpuff Girls - and Bud's is "I hate everything!"
** There's also the Gangreen Gang, who are ''literally'' teenage monsters.
** There's also the Gangreen Gang, who are ''literally'' teenage monsters.
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== Real Life ==
== Real Life ==
* [[Science Marches On|Now science gives some credence to]] [[Teens Are Monsters]]: the frontal lobe of the human brain is not fully developed until the mid-twenties. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468\], [http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/teen_brains_trial.html\]. This explains why teenagers tend to engage [[Didn't Think This Through|in risky behaviors]] and [[Black and White Insanity|go to extremes.]] This does not, however, give teens monstrous or evil tendencies; it merely devalues and muddles the perceived risks of an action, as well as the potential negative consequences. It's when this is combined with high social pressure, the extremely confusing and paradigm-shifting development from child into adult and dependency into independence, major hormonal changes, and the EXTREMELY confusing and new subjects of sexuality (or at least sexuality in relation with romance and sex), attraction, and sexual orientation (even for hetersexuals, yes) that teenagers are most prone to bad or reckless actions. Realistically speaking, teens are more like victims to a perfect storm of [[It Got Worse|environmental and biological developments]] that pile on top of each other. Notably, there are many, ''many'' teens who subvert and avert this trope altogether, even when severely handicapped in the ability to see and understand the consequences and perspectives of situations and actions, as well effectively empathize with others in many situations (futilely struggling to understand ''oneself'' with a constantly changing self makes effective empathy difficult, like trying to hit a distant target with an uncalibrated gun that is constantly recalibrating itself randomly and in new ways).
* [[Science Marches On|Now science gives some credence to]] [[Teens Are Monsters]]: the frontal lobe of the human brain is not fully developed until the mid-twenties. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468\], [http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/teen_brains_trial.html\]. This explains why teenagers tend to engage [[Didn't Think This Through|in risky behaviors]] and [[Black and White Insanity|go to extremes.]] This does not, however, give teens monstrous or evil tendencies; it merely devalues and muddles the perceived risks of an action, as well as the potential negative consequences. It's when this is combined with high social pressure, the extremely confusing and paradigm-shifting development from child into adult and dependency into independence, major hormonal changes, and the EXTREMELY confusing and new subjects of sexuality (or at least sexuality in relation with romance and sex), attraction, and sexual orientation (even for hetersexuals, yes) that teenagers are most prone to bad or reckless actions. Realistically speaking, teens are more like victims to a perfect storm of [[It Got Worse|environmental and biological developments]] that pile on top of each other. Notably, there are many, ''many'' teens who subvert and avert this trope altogether, even when severely handicapped in the ability to see and understand the consequences and perspectives of situations and actions, as well effectively empathize with others in many situations (futilely struggling to understand ''oneself'' with a constantly changing self makes effective empathy difficult, like trying to hit a distant target with an uncalibrated gun that is constantly recalibrating itself randomly and in new ways).
* There was a spate of mass shootings at American high schools in the late 90’s, culminating in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre Columbine massacre] of 1999. Although high school violence had been common in inner cities, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_High_School_shooting West Paducah], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westside_Middle_School_massacre Jonesboro], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kip_Kinkel Springfield, Oregon], and Columbine shootings startled the USA because they took place in otherwise quiet rural or suburban schools, and they targeted the student body as a whole instead of an individual whom the shooter hated for a particular reason.
* There was a spate of mass shootings at American high schools in the late 90’s, culminating in the [[wikipedia:Columbine High School massacre|Columbine massacre]] of 1999. Although high school violence had been common in inner cities, the [[wikipedia:Heath High School shooting|West Paducah]], [[wikipedia:Westside Middle School massacre|Jonesboro]], [[wikipedia:Kip Kinkel|Springfield, Oregon]], and Columbine shootings startled the USA because they took place in otherwise quiet rural or suburban schools, and they targeted the student body as a whole instead of an individual whom the shooter hated for a particular reason.
* The main factor that made the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_and_Loeb Leopold and Loeb] case so sensational in the 1920s (apart from the fact that, well, they were both kind of ''gay'') was that they were both intelligent, well-off, and 18-19 years old.
* The main factor that made the [[wikipedia:Leopold and Loeb|Leopold and Loeb]] case so sensational in the 1920s (apart from the fact that, well, they were both kind of ''gay'') was that they were both intelligent, well-off, and 18-19 years old.
** Leopold and Loeb were also famous because their parents were wealthy, and were able to hire none other than Clarence Darrow to defend them. Darrow, instead of trying to defend their innocence, used the opportunity to rail against capital punishment, saving their lives instead of their reputations.
** Leopold and Loeb were also famous because their parents were wealthy, and were able to hire none other than Clarence Darrow to defend them. Darrow, instead of trying to defend their innocence, used the opportunity to rail against capital punishment, saving their lives instead of their reputations.
** The fact that they were Jews also played into the sensationalism of the media coverage of the time. Although apparently they were kinda dicks about their identity: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_and_Loeb#Motive Link].
** The fact that they were Jews also played into the sensationalism of the media coverage of the time. Although apparently they were kinda dicks about their identity: [[wikipedia:Leopold and Loeb#Motive|Link]].
* A teenage girl in Bosnia was arrested after the police found a video of her throwing six puppies down the river to drown. And, in the video, she showed no sign of remorse whatsoever. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzPblVSBfiw&feature=player_embedded The video is...] [[Nightmare Fuel|horrifying]] [[Tear Jerker|and depressing to say the least.]]
* A teenage girl in Bosnia was arrested after the police found a video of her throwing six puppies down the river to drown. And, in the video, she showed no sign of remorse whatsoever. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzPblVSBfiw&feature=player_embedded The video is...] [[Nightmare Fuel|horrifying]] [[Tear Jerker|and depressing to say the least.]]
* Email hoaxes like spunkball. The urban legend is that teenagers, motivated by the [[For the Evulz|hell of it]] or [[Peer Pressure Makes You Evil|peer pressure]], create incendiary grenades with lighter fluid, paper, and firecrackers. They then drive around and throw these into cars, scoring points for every person they kill or maim. The tellings usually feature [[An Aesop]] when one of the spunkballers realizes that he's hurting ''real people'', an epiphany that comes after killing a family member.
* Email hoaxes like spunkball. The urban legend is that teenagers, motivated by the [[For the Evulz|hell of it]] or [[Peer Pressure Makes You Evil|peer pressure]], create incendiary grenades with lighter fluid, paper, and firecrackers. They then drive around and throw these into cars, scoring points for every person they kill or maim. The tellings usually feature [[An Aesop]] when one of the spunkballers realizes that he's hurting ''real people'', an epiphany that comes after killing a family member.
** Similarly, every year there will be some sort of "craze" that's sweeping the nation's teens, usually involving alcohol, sex, or both. Recent ones include vodka tampons, vodka gummy bears, vodka eyeballing, etc. They usually end up being proven not to be as popular as they are portrayed in the media.
** Similarly, every year there will be some sort of "craze" that's sweeping the nation's teens, usually involving alcohol, sex, or both. Recent ones include vodka tampons, vodka gummy bears, vodka eyeballing, etc. They usually end up being proven not to be as popular as they are portrayed in the media.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnepropetrovsk_Maniacs The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs.] They filmed themselves killing people (one gruesome video being leaked onto the internet) for no reason other than because it was fun. Probably one of the more [[Complete Monster|extreme examples of this trope.]]
* [[wikipedia:Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs|The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs.]] They filmed themselves killing people (one gruesome video being leaked onto the internet) for no reason other than because it was fun. Probably one of the more [[Complete Monster|extreme examples of this trope.]]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Phoebe_Prince Phoebe Prince]. The teens at her school tormented her to the point where she ''killed herself.'' The unrepentant bullies continued to leave horrible messages on her memorial Facebook page. While police reports noted that Prince was already suicidal long before, this does not excuse what happened to her while attending South Hadley High School, nor does it explain the wretched stories other former and current South Hadley students have told about the social environment, hierarchy, and behaviors endemic in the school. (If anything, the possibility that someone might already have emotional problems should be all the more reason to treat them fairly and respectfully.)
* [[wikipedia:Suicide of Phoebe Prince|Phoebe Prince]]. The teens at her school tormented her to the point where she ''killed herself.'' The unrepentant bullies continued to leave horrible messages on her memorial Facebook page. While police reports noted that Prince was already suicidal long before, this does not excuse what happened to her while attending South Hadley High School, nor does it explain the wretched stories other former and current South Hadley students have told about the social environment, hierarchy, and behaviors endemic in the school. (If anything, the possibility that someone might already have emotional problems should be all the more reason to treat them fairly and respectfully.)
* [http://news.yahoo.com/mo-teen-gets-life-possible-parole-killing-141938731.html?fb_source=hovercard&code=AQDqK-DNHGtVkKVrKS85bjMcgP-Euqe_JxbweK7pHTZYvhsAgC3NEIrHejNF-XV_-7InwphNVpK-z5EzmtOpub3GZtURAij0UF1Uq1U45-oY0BlfkyCvudkQOOnHXCRaSbzCNc7_R2SfN22AauFICnZzvZRVTi-RACQxgliPLt3SXkcOu1YcddHEVXAFEQGEP50#_=_ Alyssa Bustamente.] At 15 years old, she lured Elizabeth Olten (a 9 year-old girl) into the woods. There, she strangled and stabbed Olten to death because she wanted to see what killed a person felt like. Her reactions? "[[The Sociopath|It was ahmazing. As soon as you get over the 'ohmygawd I can't do this' feeling, it's pretty enjoyable.]]"
* [http://news.yahoo.com/mo-teen-gets-life-possible-parole-killing-141938731.html?fb_source=hovercard&code=AQDqK-DNHGtVkKVrKS85bjMcgP-Euqe_JxbweK7pHTZYvhsAgC3NEIrHejNF-XV_-7InwphNVpK-z5EzmtOpub3GZtURAij0UF1Uq1U45-oY0BlfkyCvudkQOOnHXCRaSbzCNc7_R2SfN22AauFICnZzvZRVTi-RACQxgliPLt3SXkcOu1YcddHEVXAFEQGEP50#_=_ Alyssa Bustamente.] At 15 years old, she lured Elizabeth Olten (a 9 year-old girl) into the woods. There, she strangled and stabbed Olten to death because she wanted to see what killed a person felt like. Her reactions? "[[The Sociopath|It was ahmazing. As soon as you get over the 'ohmygawd I can't do this' feeling, it's pretty enjoyable.]]"
* The suicide of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Megan_Meier Megan Meier], who cruelly had her spirits lifted by a fake online boyfriend, a fabrication headed up by a girl and her mom (!) that hated her guts. She was brought down hard when the "boy" started telling her things like "No one likes you, the world would be better off without you." Shortly after receiving that message, Megan went upstairs and hung herself. She was three weeks away from turning fourteen. This triggered a [[Real Life]] outcry of [[There Should Be a Law]] when it became clear that the girl and her mom couldn't be arrested for their cruelty.
* The suicide of [[wikipedia:Suicide of Megan Meier|Megan Meier]], who cruelly had her spirits lifted by a fake online boyfriend, a fabrication headed up by a girl and her mom (!) that hated her guts. She was brought down hard when the "boy" started telling her things like "No one likes you, the world would be better off without you." Shortly after receiving that message, Megan went upstairs and hung herself. She was three weeks away from turning fourteen. This triggered a [[Real Life]] outcry of [[There Should Be a Law]] when it became clear that the girl and her mom couldn't be arrested for their cruelty.
* The British "chavs" are possibly a whole culture based on this trope, since violence and bullying are often glorified.
* The British "chavs" are possibly a whole culture based on this trope, since violence and bullying are often glorified.
* The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_Murders murders] of professors Half and Susan Zantop of Dartmouth College were committed by a pair of teenagers from across the river in Vermont, one of whom was the president of his class.
* The [[wikipedia:Dartmouth Murders|murders]] of professors Half and Susan Zantop of Dartmouth College were committed by a pair of teenagers from across the river in Vermont, one of whom was the president of his class.
* The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards_%28China%29 Red Guards] were a political movement started by high school students at the beginning of the [[Red China|Chinese Cultural Revolution]], which quickly devolved into a gang of thugs who publicly assaulted or humiliated everyone who was perceived to be an enemy of the Revolution. The movement became co-opted by Mao and manipulated to help him purge his rivals in the Communist Party. Eventually, the Guards got so out of hand that the army itself had to be called in to reestablish order all over the country, and even Mao wouldn’t help them.
* The [[wikipedia:Red Guards chr(28)Chinachr(29)|Red Guards]] were a political movement started by high school students at the beginning of the [[Red China|Chinese Cultural Revolution]], which quickly devolved into a gang of thugs who publicly assaulted or humiliated everyone who was perceived to be an enemy of the Revolution. The movement became co-opted by Mao and manipulated to help him purge his rivals in the Communist Party. Eventually, the Guards got so out of hand that the army itself had to be called in to reestablish order all over the country, and even Mao wouldn’t help them.
* The murder of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Reena_Virk Reena Virk] in British Columbia.
* The murder of [[wikipedia:Murder of Reena Virk|Reena Virk]] in British Columbia.
** And the murder of Kimberly Proctor which also happened on Vancouver island. The teens who were convicted of the crime [http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110404/teen-murder-sentencing-110404/ were sentenced as adults.] which was the harshest sentence the judge could give them.
** And the murder of Kimberly Proctor which also happened on Vancouver island. The teens who were convicted of the crime [http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110404/teen-murder-sentencing-110404/ were sentenced as adults.] which was the harshest sentence the judge could give them.
* The murder of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Shanda_Sharer Shanda Sharer] who was tortured and burned to death by four teenage girls.
* The murder of [[wikipedia:Murder of Shanda Sharer|Shanda Sharer]] who was tortured and burned to death by four teenage girls.
* The reputation of teenagers being monsters and the fear of school violence is the basis of zero-tolerance policies in the USA. This means that instances that fall under the heading of these policies are not investigated for anything but to determine whether the infraction itself occurred, which of course it did or it wouldn't be an infraction. [[The Other Wiki]] has links to criticisms of said policies in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_tolerance_(schools) its page on the topic.]
* The reputation of teenagers being monsters and the fear of school violence is the basis of zero-tolerance policies in the USA. This means that instances that fall under the heading of these policies are not investigated for anything but to determine whether the infraction itself occurred, which of course it did or it wouldn't be an infraction. [[The Other Wiki]] has links to criticisms of said policies in [[wikipedia:Zero tolerance (schools)|its page on the topic.]]
* On a similar note, most of what we think of as morality is learned behavior and even empathy takes observation and interaction with others to develop fully. After they clear that hurdle teenagers still do not have much experience with the full motion of adult human experiences but are exposed to many of them so they are more likely to respond to them in unconventional ways. For example reacting to setbacks or shame with irrational anger. To be fair, many adults never clear that moral development stage either.
* On a similar note, most of what we think of as morality is learned behavior and even empathy takes observation and interaction with others to develop fully. After they clear that hurdle teenagers still do not have much experience with the full motion of adult human experiences but are exposed to many of them so they are more likely to respond to them in unconventional ways. For example reacting to setbacks or shame with irrational anger. To be fair, many adults never clear that moral development stage either.


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[[Category:Villains]]
[[Category:Villains]]
[[Category:Teens Are Monsters]]
[[Category:Teens Are Monsters]]
[[Category:Trope]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Teens_Are_Monsters"