Daniel Smith-Rowsey interviews Timothy Shary about the second edition of his book Teen Movies: A Century of American Youth (Wallflower Press, 2023), which examines American cinema’s representation of teenagers. The thoughtful and expansive conversation covers a wide group of American teen films, ranging from Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) to CODA (Sian Heder, 2021). The discussion touches on changes in depictions of gender, sexuality, and race in the films during this lengthy time period, as well as ways in which the film industry has (and has not) responded to changes in teens themselves. Both Shary and Smith-Rowsey show their extensive knowledge of American film throughout: Teen Movies complements Shary’s Generation Multiplex: The Image of Youth in American Cinema Since 1980 (University of Texas Press, 2014), and Smith-Rowsey has published Star Actors in the Hollywood Renaissance: Representing Rough Rebels (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and Blockbuster Performances: How Actors Contribute to Cinema’s Biggest Hits (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
Timothy Shary has published extensively on aging representation in cinema. His studies of youth include Generation Multiplex: The Image of Youth in Contemporary American Cinema (Texas, 2002; revised 2014) and Teen Movies: American Youth on Screen (Wallflower, 2005), and he edited Youth Culture in Global Cinema (Texas, 2007) with Alexandra Seibel. He co-authored Fade to Gray: Aging in American Cinema with Nancy McVittie (Texas, 2016). He has also edited Millennial Masculinity: Men in Contemporary American Cinema (Wayne State, 2013) and is the co-editor of The Films of Amy Heckerling (Edinburgh, 2016) and The Films of John Hughes (Edinburgh, 2021), both with Frances Smith. He recently authored Boyhood: A Young Life on Screen (Routledge, 2017), about the 2014 Richard Linklater film Boyhood, and edited the collection Cinemas of Boyhood: Masculinity, Sexuality, Nationality (Berghahn, 2021). He most recently updated his Teen Movies book in 2023 for Columbia University Press. He teaches at Eastern Florida State College in Palm Bay, Florida.
Daniel Smith-Rowsey, PhD, has taught at St. Mary’s College since 2014. He is the author of two books published by Palgrave Macmillan, “Star-Actors in the Hollywood Renaissance” and “Blockbuster Performances.” He is the co-editor of the Bloomsbury-published “The Netflix Effect,” which serves as the basis of one of his St. Mary’s College classes. His films, videos, and works of new media have received several awards, including “Persephone” receiving the Best Web/New Media Award from the 2022 Prague International Film Festival, and “Murder on the Rail” receiving an Honorable Mention from the 2022 Big Apple Film Festival. Daniel enjoys movies in theatres, media discussions, mentoring, and mushroom pizza.