Central York students share opinions on Hollywood’s concept of high school

High school is a kingdom of queens, kings, and jesters. It is a corrupt hierarchy that plays favors to no one, and seeks to knock everyone off their pedestals. The powerful scratch and claw their way to the throne while the lesser knowns scurry along in silence, avoiding any place with a royal mark.

It’s four years of constant social struggle and misguided prejudices that create a system unable to be abolished.

At least, that’s what the film industry wants people to believe. In truth, this nationally conceived notion that high school is nothing but a social minefield is entirely inaccurate, some students say. Hollywood decided long ago to create a system in which they sorted students into stereotypical roles based off of the groups which were most evident in schools in the late 1900s.

In films, like the “Breakfast Club,” the five main social categories are evident: the jock, the nerd, the prep, the rebel and the loner. As a common theme in these movies, the five teenagers do not get along because they come from different groups. According to the film industry, once a teenager belongs to a clique, they’re there to stay, and talking to anyone who isn’t like them is a social sin. However, modern day high schools are nothing like the 80s movies portray them. Students are tired of being misrepresented and want to set the record straight.

Matt Bahn, an 11th grader at Central York, thinks that social groups, while still evident in schools, are not in the stereotypical order of power. He believes this is due to the inaccurate descriptions of what the social groups are actually like. “Everyone always thinks of band geeks as pimply, nerdy, uncool people. But, in my school, they are some of the smartest, funniest, most popular kids in the entire building,” the 17-year-old said.

Bahn added that the formation of these cliques typically begin when students are at an early age. “Basically, you’re influenced by your friends in elementary school and even by people you aspire to be like,” he said. “Every young kid wants to be a rock star, or an all-star sports player because that’s who they idolize the most. They see these people as happy and they want to be like that, too.”  What kids want is to find a place with individuals with whom they get along, he said.

From that point, social groups begin to evolve with students as they age and mature. The biggest change happens because kids don’t want to follow in their parent’s footsteps. Bahn said that teens have “a need to be unique and make their own mark on the world.” Therefore, not only has the status quo been broken once, but several times, from new generations striving for originality. And, with this constantly changing social order, there forms a noticeable difference between high school life thirty years ago and high school life today.

Taylor John, a 10th grader who also attends Central York, offered her opinion on the roles of social cliques. The 15-year-old disagrees with the stereotypical cliche that people of different groups cannot get along. “It’s evident who’s in what clique, but nowadays, people aren’t just exclusive to one group. There are people who are in band that are popular, or sporty. Everyone’s mixed in with each other,” John said. She adds that in films, a person is either a jock, a popular, or a nerd. But, in reality, a student can be a jock, a popular, and a nerd. No one is limited to be in just one group.

John also finds movies falsely representing students’ interactions with each other. Hollywood often portrays high school as a place of mistreatment by people who are in a higher social status. “It’s generic, and it’s inaccurate,” she said. “Just because someone is good at sports, doesn’t make them a jerk.” In this sense, the status quo has not only been broken, but shattered into a million pieces. People are expanding into other groups and not letting just one stereotypical label define who they are, and how they act, John said.

John also believes that there is a positive side to the reality that social groups will always exist in high schools. “It builds a flexible structure. It helps you to figure out who you are, and how to make a whole bunch of friends, too,” she said.

However, what’s most important to remember in the social order is to be accepting of others. With hundreds of people constructing bridges and connecting themselves to different groups, it can seem like a confusing time. And, while the film industry would rather have students stay in their “assigned” roles, the truth is there is nothing more exciting than change. Everyone offers something unique, and there is more to a person than just the label they’ve been given. Stereotypes do not control high school. It seems this social hierarchy has been overthrown by an equal democracy for all.

–Sarah Crawford

Central York High School