Hollywood films (or TV shows) about teenagers are dime in a dozen. In fact, it can be considered as a good topic for a college essay. However, college students who want to write something interesting in their essay can seek other titles.

Students who want to write about teenage films wouldn’t be hard pressed in coming up with several essay topics. That’s because there are many indie and foreign movies that tackle typical teenage issues. A few are even provocative.

Here are three films where students can come up with a number of essay topics in a matter of minutes:
* “Wild Reeds” (1993) by Andre Techine. France’s entry to the 1994 Oscars (for Best Foreign Language Film) is an introspective study of a group of French teenagers during the early 60s. Students can analyze how the French-Moroccan War influenced these youngsters, and why Techine used American pop songs for the movie soundtrack (anti-American sentiment is high in much of France).

* “Kids” (1995) by Larry Clark. Students wouldn’t run out of essay topics to think of after watching this controversial film. Many moviegoers are disturbed by images of teenagers spending the day cursing each other, getting high on drugs, getting drunk and having sex with anyone. Is it really an accurate picture of America’s youth? Or is it a pretentious script that Clark created when he was high and bored?

* “Battle Royale” (2000) by Kinji Fukasaku. The Japanese version of “Lord of the Flies” put many viewers on the edge of their seats. In the distant future, overpopulation would force the Japanese government to adopt a program where teenage students would be sent to an island and forced to kill one another. This “survival of the fittest” scheme is the only way - and how drastic it is.

PROFILE:
Deborah Christina Francis won't run out of essay topics to think of when it comes to movies - she's a film buff since high school. She likes watching screwball comedies and provocative films from Europe and Asia. Deepa Mehta and George Cukor are her favorite filmmakers.