The Queer Coming of Age Film Genre

Download or read book The Queer Coming of Age Film Genre written by Brad Windhauser and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2024-10-15 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Queer Coming of Age Film Genre, Brad Windhauser argues for the existence of this genre and, using a genre and queer theory lens, investigates how the initial, classic cluster of this genre’s films represent the unique issues experienced by queer people – including trans, non-binary, and intersex individuals - coming of age in society in the mid- to late 90s. As society evolved, the book posits, so too did the ways in which these films explored additional factors influencing the queer coming of age experience, such as race and economic status, in the genre’s second stage. Windhauser explores how this genre depicts the way queer people often engage with the coming-of-age process earlier than their cis-het peers, due to their queer identity, but also how this process can extend beyond adolescence into emerging adulthood and adulthood itself. Ultimately, the book demonstrates how these films have become a tool to both further political goals of queer advocacy and acceptance and to offer guidance to queer people looking to gain a deeper understanding of their own lives and experiences. Scholars of film studies, genre studies, pop culture, and queer studies will find this book of particular interest.