Why are there so few girls' coming of age stories?
Once a week we listen to Mark Kermode's film review podcast. In case you've never caught it, you really should- the ultra flammable Mr Kermode gets very enthusiastic, particularly when describing bad films, and it's a joy to hear. Listening to him list the great kids' coming of age films, I found myself wondering: where are all the coming of age stories for girls?
Coming of age films follow a set pattern. They usually cover a summer (it's always a summer) in the life of a group of kids, as something bizarre goes down. It might be hunting for treasure or aliens, but it's never run of the mill. Lessons are learned, friendships are forged. And the characters are nearly always boys.
Oh, there might be one token girl tagging along for the ride. If she isn't the focus for precocious adolescent yearnings, she's a tomboy who's "as good as" or "almost" a boy, who will punch anyone who asks why she spends her time in a smelly old den reading comics or holding spitting contests. But women virtually never feature in any important capacity- they're mums and teachers. Certainly nobody seems to think girls merit a coming of age story of their very own.
It's baffling why this should be the case. Off the top of my head, I can only think of To Kill a Mockingbird and Claudine at School. Most people focus on the miscarriage of justice rather than Scout's coming of age, even though it is a sizeable subplot. Claudine is wonderful- a charming, reckless, bisexual bully- but as far as I'm aware, there has only been one English language adaptation of her adventures. I'll never forget my shock when I realised this wasn't your bog standard school story! Donna Tartt's The Little Friend has all the ingredients for a cracking tale- a twelve year old plans to unmask her brother's killer- but it never quite catches fire. Harriet the Spy has potential but gets derailed by its insufferable heroine.
If this kind of subject is touched upon, it's always as a retrospective; you always get a woman or group of friends looking back, with the inevitable contrasts between then and now- the weird one is now a writer (of course!), the pretty one is bitter and stuck in a dead end marriage, the two best friends haven't spoken in years etc. Isn't karma a funny old thing, so on, so forth? The only problem is that because the retrospective is just a framing device, it lacks the interest and conviction of the earlier parts of the story, making you wonder why they can't ditch it.
It's time this was put to rights. Girls have their stories too- it's not as though they're zipped through this portal aged thirteen, where they shed all their previous interests and think only about boys and clothes (and for some of us, this never happens). Give a girls a great meaty coming of age story we can sink our teeth into- a female Stand By Me. It isn't too much to ask.
Coming of age films follow a set pattern. They usually cover a summer (it's always a summer) in the life of a group of kids, as something bizarre goes down. It might be hunting for treasure or aliens, but it's never run of the mill. Lessons are learned, friendships are forged. And the characters are nearly always boys.
Oh, there might be one token girl tagging along for the ride. If she isn't the focus for precocious adolescent yearnings, she's a tomboy who's "as good as" or "almost" a boy, who will punch anyone who asks why she spends her time in a smelly old den reading comics or holding spitting contests. But women virtually never feature in any important capacity- they're mums and teachers. Certainly nobody seems to think girls merit a coming of age story of their very own.
It's baffling why this should be the case. Off the top of my head, I can only think of To Kill a Mockingbird and Claudine at School. Most people focus on the miscarriage of justice rather than Scout's coming of age, even though it is a sizeable subplot. Claudine is wonderful- a charming, reckless, bisexual bully- but as far as I'm aware, there has only been one English language adaptation of her adventures. I'll never forget my shock when I realised this wasn't your bog standard school story! Donna Tartt's The Little Friend has all the ingredients for a cracking tale- a twelve year old plans to unmask her brother's killer- but it never quite catches fire. Harriet the Spy has potential but gets derailed by its insufferable heroine.
If this kind of subject is touched upon, it's always as a retrospective; you always get a woman or group of friends looking back, with the inevitable contrasts between then and now- the weird one is now a writer (of course!), the pretty one is bitter and stuck in a dead end marriage, the two best friends haven't spoken in years etc. Isn't karma a funny old thing, so on, so forth? The only problem is that because the retrospective is just a framing device, it lacks the interest and conviction of the earlier parts of the story, making you wonder why they can't ditch it.
It's time this was put to rights. Girls have their stories too- it's not as though they're zipped through this portal aged thirteen, where they shed all their previous interests and think only about boys and clothes (and for some of us, this never happens). Give a girls a great meaty coming of age story we can sink our teeth into- a female Stand By Me. It isn't too much to ask.
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