From On-Air Rebelliousness to the Cult of Positivity: Mediated Identities and Technological Change in Pump Up the Volume (1990) and Eighth Grade (2018)
Regueira Martín, Andrea Sofía
Resumen: Thanks to technological change, the negotiation of adolescent identities largely takes part in virtual spaces. Mostly lacking parental supervision, virtual spaces become one of the few arenas where teenagers have unrestricted freedom to perform and construct their identities. Teenage films have depicted the possibilities and dangers of adolescents using technology since personal computers became commonplace in the 1980s. This paper analyses the representation of the relationship between networked virtual spaces and teenage identities in Pump Up the Volume (Allan Moyle, 1990) and Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham, 2018), two teen films in which the use of technology and virtual spaces as a means for self-expression becomes key in the protagonists’ process of identity formation. The generational distance between the two films provides insight not only into technological change, but also into shifting social expectations. While Eighth Grade shows a world in which social media use is commonplace and having a social media profile is expected, Pump Up the Volume depicts a pre-internet world in which social media—in this case amateur radio—is produced and consumed by those whose voices and views are not typically represented or heard. As a consequence, although both films reflect on the relationship between adolescent identities and their performances on social media, they place an emphasis on different aspects of social networks that are specific to each film’s socio-historical context. While Pump Up the Volume presents social media as a tool for rebellion, connection and potential systemic change, Eighth Grade reflects an individualised world in which conformity to neoliberal values—and, more specifically, neoliberal girlhood—replaces rebellion.
Idioma: Inglés
DOI: 10.14198/raei.23530
Año: 2025
Publicado en: Revista alicantina de estudios ingleses 42 (2025), 7-24
ISSN: 0214-4808
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/H23-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2021-123836NB-I00
Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)
You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
Exportado de SIDERAL (2025-10-17-14:14:33)
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Idioma: Inglés
DOI: 10.14198/raei.23530
Año: 2025
Publicado en: Revista alicantina de estudios ingleses 42 (2025), 7-24
ISSN: 0214-4808
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/H23-20R
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/PID2021-123836NB-I00
Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)
You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. Exportado de SIDERAL (2025-10-17-14:14:33)
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Record created 2025-02-03, last modified 2025-10-17