American Teen
Published 21 months ago
We speak to Nanette Burnstein, director of the high school documentary that was a hit at Sundance last year.
- Text by Susie Bubble
Most clichés tend to have earned the dubious honour of being recognised as such for a reason. In general, they have earned the title by following the rule of doing exactly what you would expect them to do, which is exactly the case with Nanette Burnstein's documentary American Teen, a massive hit at Sundance last year. It's a film that does exactly what you might expect from the name, following a group of typical American teens in their last year of high school in Warsaw, Indiana. Cue the geek, the jock, the prom queen and the weird arty girl and the ensuing clashes between these archetypes. There's a semi-autobiographical creation here in the character of Hannah (the weird arty one), in whom Burnstein projects the isolation of the American Midwest. Here, we speak to Burnstein to find out more about her specific motivations.
Dazed Digital: Which social group did you belong in in high school?
Nanette Burnstein: I changed a lot throughout high school. It was an informative time and I started out in the more popular group, but then I ended up more like Hannah...
DD: Was it your sole intention to find a school that had these spot-on archetypes?
Nanette Burnstein: Listen, every American high school has those archetypes to some extent. I did want kids from social groups and social hierarchy but it didn't have to be those specific ones. I was looking specifically at the midwest because I wanted that sense of isolation. There's a fishbowl quality there which you can't escape. The hard part was finding a school that would give access....
DD: Did you ever feel like you wanted to take on a parental/adult role when filming these kids?
Nanette Burnstein: I took on more of a big sister-type role. I would advise them and give them opinion freely. If I was an authority figure, they would not have been as open with me. I never enforced my opinion or was judgemental. It was a fine line... There were definitely times when they shut me out. It depended what was going on, but I would always respect what they were going through.
DD: Even though your film is a documentary, there are moments that echo fictional tales like The Breakfast Club. How do you feel your film stands against those classic high school films?
Nanette Burnstein: Of course, it wasn't a total coincidence that it would echo conventional teen fiction films. I didn't shy away from them. However. when we see all of these fictional films, they have super happy unrealistic endings and they don't go into the nitty gritty. The thing is that these different social groups existed before this movie genre in the 80s began, and it's sort of become this thing where it's constantly perpetuating. I do wonder whether reality gets informed by the films...
DD: Why do you think American high schools foster these social groups?
Nanette Burnstein: In America everyone has this idea that anyone can be whatever they want and that everyone has an equal shot. This isn't entirely true. I guess in high school people create their own class system. This is just my theory!
DD: What are you working on right now and how does it compare to American Teen
Nanette Burnstein: I'm doing a fiction film, a romantic comedy. It's very different from the documentary experience. There is the control factor that I have now which makes a change!
