Flashback Fridays: Movies that Shaped Our Generation

They're the movies we grew up with--the ones that have stood the test of time. They've bridged the generational gap to be appreciated by new audiences, and whenever we find them on television, we're instantly transported back to another time and place. So, let's take a look at a sampling of some of those movies.

First Stop...the 80's: Even if you didn't sport poofy, Aquanet sprayed Jersey hair, wear stirrup pants with Coke shirts, or check the time on your Swatch watch, you probably still appreciate the majesty of 80's teen flicks, especially those of John Hughes who gave us Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, & Some Kind of Wonderful. Who didn't squeal when Jake Ryan showed up at the wedding to sweep Samantha off her feet, or who hasn't felt the angst of poor Duckie who loves a girl who only sees him as a friend? Not to mention who wouldn't love to runaway for the day and take over a city like Ferris Bueller.


Want a literary look at your favorite John Hughes's movies? Then check out the following.


In Don't You Forget About Me, twenty contributors pen essays on everything from late infatuations with Ferris Bueller, many, erm, biological factors of Weird Science, to ultimate fangirl/boy experiences with Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink.






Or there's You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried that complies interviews with twenty actors as well as the directors and producers behind the Brat Pack's memorable movies like The Breakfast Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. As Gora, the author, puts it, "These films changed the way young people related to everything from class distinction to friendship, from love and sex to fashion and music."






Did you know that Brat Pack member Ally Sheedy has ties to the literary world herself? Not only is her mom literary agent Charlotte Sheedy of Sterling Lord Literistic, but at twelve years old, Ally penned the NY Times best seller, She Was Nice to Mice. She's also written a book of poetry called Yesterday I Saw the Sun









Hopping Over to Hogwarts With Harry:


Not since the late 70's Star Wars Trilogy premiers have opening days grossed such megabucks, but also brought a book series to life for so many people. What else but a love of a great series would get you to venture out to Midnight Showings, thus keeping you out late in lines that often wrap around a theater. Midnight showings are more than just a film experience considerng you can find people dressed as anyone from Harry to Hermoine even Dobby. But it's not just in midnight showings that Harry Potter has the ability to unite families; it can happen at anytime of the day or year. Just like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have grown up before our very eyes, many moviegoers have gone from children to teens in the span of the decade long movie series.














Mania of Mean Girls:No list of movies that defined a generation would be complete withoutMean Girls. Why? Because it brought the term "mean girl" as well as "Queen Bee" into the pop culture lexicon. It can also been seen in books like the Clique series, Some Girls Are, Blair in Gossip Girl, and Dominque in Jumped.

And while the film took a satirical look at the mean girl experience, one cannot discredit and downplay the seriousness of the subject matter, especially in light of the suicide's of teen girls who were bullied to death.

If you want some nonfiction based reading on the "mean girl" culture, then click on the following book covers.

















Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery:And just like snarky MC's have defined a lot of YA literature, the millennium brought us snark movies to parody the high school experience captured in so many films and books. One of the best is Not Another Teen Movie, which highlights 80's films like Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, along with 90's movies like Cruel Intentions, She's All That, American Pie, 10 Things I Hate About You, Varsity Blues, & Can't Hardly Wait. And you also need to check out the soundtrack because it's awesome and features some great updated 80's cover songs.

PS. If you're ever worried about contemporary cliche's in your novel, you should check this one out!


And yes, no collection of movies that shaped a generation would be complete without a look at Twilight. Yep, that's right. We went there. After all, the Twilight series is a phenomenon around the globe, and it got a lot of reluctant readers reading. Like Harry Potter, its fan base bridges the generation gap.







Must see Twilight Sites:
TWITARDED: an absolutely HILARIOUS parody site that goes behind the movies and books for full on RPatz and KStew obsession.

The HillyWood Show: the Hindi sisters, Hannah and Hilary, are actors, directors, and producers in this show that not only parodies Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse, but also Dark Knight, Sweeney Todd, and Star Wars. You seriously have to check them out...the New Moon parody is amazing!



Twilight Moms: This site caters to the older Twilight fans. And the forums have all sorts of book and movie conversations going on. They also get press access to do interviews with the cast members. And a really cool thing about this site is they try to give donations to charity.

What Makes a Love Interest Swoon Worthy?

What makes a love interest swoon worthy? Is it the way he looks? Maybe his swagger? Or maybe it’s the relationship with the main character. Every person interprets what is sexy in different ways, which is why some people go gah-gah over a fictional love interest while others are like, meh, what’s the point?

For me, a love interest becomes smexy when he does something that makes you sigh. Take Peeta, for example from, THE HUNGER GAMES. He had me from the bread story. Or how about Balthazar from the EVERNIGHT series? He totally self sacrifices for Bianca, a girl he knows loves another but loves her anyway. *Sigh* Both of those guys were my favorite with their unrequited love.

So my question is, what makes YOU, as a writer, decide to make a love interest a certain way. Do you make him have characteristics you find appealing, or do you do research, find out what the majority of people find attractive? For me, I do a little of both. I seem to find the cocky, jerks most appealing. Most people tend to be a fifty-fifty split on those types of guys, so it’s a fine line when you try to create one for your own novel. A good love interest totally pushes your novel to the next level.



Love to hear your thoughts on this topic!! Shout out!!

~Annie~
http://www.youngadultbookworm.blogspot.com/

Love Triangles: Why Do We Love Them?

Okay, so I've been thinking a lot lately about love triangles. I'll admit, I'm guilty of googling books before I read them, searching out spicy love trifectas. There's just something about two boys fighting for the love of a girl that makes me melt. For me, this crazy obsession started when I was about eleven, back when I couldn't get enough of the Saved By the Bell war for Kelley. Both guys were totally hot, in their own way, and both really cared about Kelly. I just couldn't choose. LOL

 From Team Edward or Jacob and the saucy love triangle in the Hunger Games Trilogy, creating teams is now the cool thing to do. My question is: Why do we love them so much? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Are you still down for more stories with them or are you gonna go on a book burning binge if you see one more? Comment below and weigh in.

(PS. Shameless plug time: Win Paranormalcy over at my personal blog: Reading, Writing and Waiting)

~~Annie~~

Flashback Friday: When Krista Met Twilight....

Welcome to Week Twelve of our fabulous segment Flashback Fridays where the old and new collide on everything from books to movies to first loves to favorite vacations.

With Eclipse's record breaking box office opening last week, I felt some Flashback Friday homage needed to be paid to the Twilight series and how I became a fan.

My experience with reading the Twilight Saga goes something like this. Let's Flashback to October of 2009. As I was making my way through a mound of papers—book reports to be exact—I noticed a pattern. The vast majority were talking about this book or series of books to be exact. Yep, you guessed it: Twilight. Sure, this was shortly before the movie’s November release, so there was a lot of film generated buzz going on. Yeah, I figured that out later since I had no idea there was even going to be a movie until I read it on Stephenie's website. So, once I finished all the grading, I decided I should check out what all this “Twilight” hoopla was about.

And that my friends was shortly before I became infected by what I like to call “Twiacoccus Infection”. You may even have suffered from it before yourself. It’s that inexplicable feeling that nothing in the world matters besides Edward and Bella. Your Job? Sleep? Family and Friends? Psht, nope, nothing outside of Forks is as important but devouring the Twilight series like Emmett and that Grizzly.

It goes without saying I had an unusual Twilight reading experience. I actually read part of Breaking Dawn first. Hey, it was left in my classroom. Okay, so maybe I skimmed parts to see where the “good stuff” was. Sadly, I learned it was only fade to black “good stuff”. Damn. Then while I was waiting for Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse to come from Amazon, I started reading Midnight Sun online. This is an interesting piece in my reading saga. Perhaps it’s why(along with aforementioned Twiaccous) that I was able to tolerate Edward’s behavior.

After reading the books, I stayed highly feverish with Twiaccous until the movie’s release. My female students counted down the days until it opened....my male students rolled their eyes. For Twilight, I didn’t go to the Midnight Premiere. I went with two good friends the day it opened. However, when New Moon and Eclipse came out, you better believe I was going serious with the Midnight Premiere.

But before I release some Twilight hilarity on you, I should say this. I owe SERIOUS props to Stephenie Meyer. Here’s why. Up until November 2009, I had never written YA except for when I did the Institute of Children’s Literature(and that’s a whole other post for another time!). The summer and fall of 09’ I wrote a Southern Literary Fiction. But when I read Twilight, something happened to me that I had never experienced before. I began to dream about a story just like Stephenie did. For the first time, I had full-blown character schizophrenia where I couldn’t sleep at night for thinking about my characters. What came from reading Twilight was the idea for The Guardians, my YA UF about angels sent to earth to guide and protect lost souls. The Guardians sent me on a long quest to find an agent….on an epic journey of revisions….and a pit-stop along the way where I wrote Don’t Hate the Player—the book that landed me an agent.

So, yes, I may bash Twilight….I may poke fun at Bella or other characters, but in truth, I do so love the story and characters. From time to time, that Twiaccous Infection seeps back into my system. And I’m good with that. And for your viewing pleasure....

And of course, I must recommend some Twi-inspired reading, right? Of course, there is SOOO much Twilight related funny stuff out there that it's hard to narrow it down. But here's two.

Even though it wasn't quite as hilarious as I thought it would be, Nightlight was pretty hysterical with it's Belle Goose and Edwart Mullen. I'd recommend giving it at least a peek when you're at the bookstore.

And then a blog that seriously had me ROFLing so loud that my dogs kept looking at me like I was an idiot would be Cleolinda's. You seriously have to check this out. Her breakdown of Breaking Dawn had me in tears from laughing so hard.