Coming of Age Movies — 3 Things All Great Rites of Passage Movies Have

Coming of Age Movies Explained — Breaking down the elements in these rites of passage movies and how they cover a spectrum of universal themes and obstacles in life.

Save the Cat Resources:

─────────────────────

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to Coming of Age Movies
00:49 - Save the Cat Goes to the Movies Genres
01:31 - Elements of the Rites of Passage Stories
04:08 - Chapter 1: Life Problem
07:48 - Chapter 2: The Wrong Way
11:00 - Chapter 3: Acceptance
15:24 - Takeaways

─────────────────────

COMING OF AGE MOVIES EXPLAINED

When we think of great coming of age movies, we often think of teenagers entering adulthood. But this ignores many of the obstacles we experience after that. In his book, “Save the Cat Goes to the Movies,” author Blake Snyder lays down the three main elements of this Rites of Passage subgenre. In this video, we will investigate these underrated coming of age movies, the five types that cover a spectrum of life obstacles, and how they work in a spectrum of stories.

TYPES OF COMING OF AGE MOVIES

Snyder posits that there are five categories that make up his Rites of Passage subgenre: Adolescence, Addiction, Mid-Life, Separation, and Death. In each case, characters enter into situations that force them to change, to accept themselves as they are, and to show us how we might also navigate such troublesome waters.

3 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN RITES OF PASSAGE FILMS

First, Snyder explains that each character must be faced with the problem. Depending on the subtype, this could be peer pressure, substance abuse, divorce, a mid-life crisis, or even death. This problem is often one without an easy solution and, so, the protagonist often embarks on an ill-conceived plan to solve it. This “wrong way” is the second element, taking up much of Act Two, and merely delays the inevitable.

The final element is the solution to the problem found through “acceptance.” This means accepting things like mortality, a fractured family, the underlying motivations fueling an addiction, or becoming comfortable in one’s own skin. All of it is a part of life — necessary change as we move through the stages of modern existence.

The best coming of age movies have the power to reach anyone and everyone in the audience. As Snyder explains, the draw of this subgenre is just how universal these issues are and how the solutions can be conveyed to us with the right combination of drama, struggle, and revelation.

#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking

─────────────────────

♬ SONGS USED:

"Hero" - Family of the Year
"Thumper Exotica" - Rhythm Scott
"All Star" - ANBR
"Change (Instrumental)" - DaniHaDani
"Call to Action" - Alon Ohana
"Echo" - Twin Signals
"Love Theme" - Keith Forsey
"Wistful (Instrumental)" - Falls
"Dirty Walk" - Antonio Sanchez
"Nicole Leaves Hotel" - Alan Silvestri
"She Remembers Bucky in His Room" - Marvin Hamlisch
"In Motion" - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
"Full Access" - Jimmy Svensson
"Poi E" - Patea Maori Club
"Waihau Bay" - Phoenix Foundation
"Blister in the Sun" - Nouvelle Vague
"A Moon Walk (Instrumental)" - Yehezkel Raz
"Dont Lose Your Grip" - Diamonds And Ice
"Born Slippy (Nuxx / Remastered)" - Underworld
"Merge" - Theatre of Delays
"DUI" - Richard Gibbs
"Mrs. Doubtfire" - Howard Shore
"Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" - Aerosmith
"Binary Love" - Stanley Gurvich
"State Lines (Instrumental)" - Aaron Kellim
"Changes" - David Bowie

─────────────────────

— Join us on Social Media! —

[StudioBinder]

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction to Coming of Age Movies
00:49 - Save the Cat Goes to the Movies Genres
01:31 - Elements of the Rites of Passage Stories
04:08 - Chapter 1: Life Problem
07:48 - Chapter 2: The Wrong Way
11:00 - Chapter 3: Acceptance
15:24 - Takeaways

[ivyinabottle]

I’m such a sucker for slice-of-life, coming-of-age, low stakes high emotions stories and this is such a good breakdown of them. A majority of my favourite movies ever are featured lol

[hii]

Coming-of-age genre is one of my favorite genre as it is so relatable in real life, and it teaches us a lot of things face challenges in life, and broaden horizon of thinking and possibility in life. Past lives has been the recent entrant in my long list of movies of this genre.

[SaurianStudios]

As someone who is coming of age and aspiring to be a filmmaker, I have been developing two coming of age stories that I hope become actual films. I’ve watched many coming of age films and read coming of age stories, so I have a good idea of what “growing up” means, in both real life and in the context of fiction.

[dirtybird]

My Sunday’s are spent dreading Monday, until I remember I’m getting coffee and a new Studio Binder video, to start the week.

[heeza-wr]

Just a couple days ago i was doing a research on coming of age genre and today this video dropped. This is why i like you studiobinder

[gossy_new_wave]

Coming of Age is definitely my favourite genre, and even though I thought I understood it, I never realised it extended beyond the adolescent trope. It even made me realise that our new short film, which we just posted today on our channel, could be classified as coming of age!! Thank you StudioBinder and the community of StudioBinder subscribers that have been supporting me as I post more videos!!!

[TonaA.R.]

Love coming of age movies, are so much deeper than they appear.

[AnkhUrAmun]

The Trainspotting song always send me to nostalgia town. What a beautiful movie. Thank you SB team for another amazing video!

[snowhunter]

I think the coming-of-age genre belongs to the umbrella genre of storytelling known as slice-of-life. I’m a sucker of slice-of-life media due to the simplicity of their stories and their focus on characterization and dynamics, and most of them are from anime movies and series like K-On! or A Silent Voice. Even Pixar is adapting this formula in their filmmaking process with the likes of Luca and Turning Red.

[BlueCubeSociety]

Coming of Age movies are one of my favourite genres with a lot of my favourite movies. I never really considered "mid-life crisis movies" part of the same genre, but it makes sense

[TheFilmLocker]

I love these types of movies. I feel it also makes a big difference and can be more profound depending on the time you 1st saw the film. I saw Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty as a teen. Will always remember it with such nostalgia no matter how it compares to more popular COA movies. 😊

[grantmccoy]

"Coming of age" is definitely a subgenre of the "rite of passage" story. The main difference is that in coming of age, the protagonists are usually innocent, whereas in rite of passage, its either coming to terms with an addiction or behavioral problem, or just the heros journey.

[saravanan_raconteur]

A Great thanks for explaining on this topic as I got inspired to write my next book with coming of age story.

[jaykellin]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:02 📚 Coming of age stories are universal and resonate because they offer lessons on how to navigate life's obstacles.
01:24 🌟 Rites of passage in coming of age stories are not limited to teenagers; they cover various life experiences, including midlife crises, divorce, transition from childhood, battles with addiction, and facing death.
04:59 💔 In these stories, protagonists face a life problem that is often complex and offers no easy solution, and it's the journey to discovery that drives the character forward.
08:08 🚫 Characters typically pursue the solution in the wrong way, avoiding the inevitable by grasping at any solution that might help.
11:09 🔄 The protagonist's ultimate solution comes through acceptance and change, often forced upon them, leading to their transformation.
15:25 🎥 Rites of passage movies provide a natural and effective framework for stories about characters in transition, offering guidebooks on how to live and change.

Made with HARPA AI

[igorsauchuk]

as usual I write another page in my paper notebook KONSPECT all your beautiful teachings

[mikhail]

*Most "Coming of age" stories lists are of youth stories, but the reality is that there are more of these about adults becoming mature, or mature people accepting "old age", 2 stories that coming to my mind is, Adam Sandler's "Big Daddy" and Brittany Murphy's "Uptown Girls"*

[nettietrees]

This is fab. I just sat down last night to read thru that section in Save the Cat book! Looking forward to the rest in this series.

[peachmilkshake_]

I love coming of age movies with older people like Florence Foster Jenkins, Eat Love Pray, or Jules and Julia. ...That one K-drama where that old man became a ballerina...the book where a grandma enters the Great British bake of on a secret impulsive whim. Anything where someone is following their dream that they deferred for one reason, or another will have me sobbing.

[adzero]

The best youtube channel ever. Period.