Scream: 10 Things It Got Right About Being A Teenager
The beloved '90s horror movie Scream has many groundbreaking elements, from the opening sequence to the meta-horror to the blend of classic humor and slasher films. It's also ultimately a solid story about a teenage girl who is dealing with family trauma, a serious romance, and a killer who she has a personal connection with.
Fans have plenty of interesting theories about Scream 5 and it'll be intriguing to see how it compares to the original. While Scream is an impressive part of the horror genre, it's also a great examination of what it's really like to be a young adult.
10 Feeling Distant And Different From Your Peers
Sidney shows her strength when Ghostface breaks into her home in Scream. It's no wonder that Sidney is willing to protect herself at all costs and shown to be a strong and independent person. She definitely feels like she's different from the other students at her school.
While Sidney has a friend group, including a BFF and boyfriend, she's more intelligent than everyone around her and a bit of an old soul. After losing her mother, she has had to grow up fast, and the movie shows what it's like to feel alone even when hanging out with peers.
9 Dealing With Popularity And Reputation
While it would be nice if more high schools had a more peaceful atmosphere, it's true that many young adults struggle with wanting to be popular, and there's often a division between the cool crowd and the other students.
Scream gets something else right about being a teenager: the characters deal with popularity and reputation, Sidney most of all. After her mother was killed, rumors spread fast and furious, and Sidney has to listen to strangers talking about it everywhere, changing her dynamic.
8 Being In A Dramatic And Intense Relationship
Even before Sidney finds out that Billy is the killer at the end of Scream, it's fair to say that Sidney and Billy are an intense couple. Their romance is full of drama, as Billy sneaks into her bedroom without telling her, and she's worried that her dad will find out.
Things also become complicated fast as Billy becomes a suspect and he pretends that he's shocked that she would think he was capable of murder. While most teenage couples aren't dealing with the same problem, it's true that high school couples have to handle a lot of drama, whether their parents don't approve or peers start rumors or they worry about going away to different colleges.
7 Considering Having Sex For The First Time
Billy is an unlikeable character and when he sneaks into Sidney's room, the scene brings up issues of consent, as he puts the pressure on and doesn't want to wait to have sex with Sidney.
Scream also deals with the topic of wanting to have sex for the first time, which is something that many high schoolers wonder about. Shortly after this scene, the town learns about the first murders, and Billy and Sidney's relationship changes as he becomes a suspect and Sidney tries to make it out alive. Sidney and Billy do sleep together later in the movie.
6 Throwing A Party When Parents Are Away
Everyone remembers Randy's horror movie speech in Scream, which he makes at the party that he throws. The teens are thrilled to have somewhere to go and while it's terrifying that the town is dealing with a serial killer, no one seems that upset. They're more interested in finding fun and alcohol.
This scene proves that Scream really gets what it's like to be in high school, as many students will jump at the chance to host a gathering when their parents are away. Of course, this one just happens to be in the middle of a horror movie, so Tatum dies after getting stuck in the garage door, and that's just the start of the mayhem.
5 What It's Like To Have A Best Friend
Sidney and Tatum are super close friends when the movie begins, and it's so devastating that Sidney has to watch her pal die in such a tragic and terrible way.
Scream does show what it's like to have a best friend, as Tatum is there for Sidney as soon as news breaks about a killer in their town. She invites her over to spend the night and her brother, Dewey, tries his best to protect them, too. Tatum is also quick to tell her boyfriend Stu off for making jokes that will offend and hurt Sidney.
4 Parents Giving Teens More Responsibility
Sidney's dad Neil appears in the movie very briefly and the killers kidnap him after he tells Sidney he's going on a business trip.
While this trip definitely doesn't go the way that he plans, the storyline is still a way for the movie to show what it's like to be a teenager. He knows that Sidney is mature enough to stay by herself for a few days, and it seems that he's giving her more responsibility as she grows up.
3 Insecurity That Is Hard To Move Past
In her scenes with Billy, Sidney seems very vulnerable, and it's clear that she's a bit insecure about becoming intimate with him.
She asks, "Why can't I be a Meg Ryan movie? Or even a good porno," which proves that she's not all that confident, which is relatable as she's only in high school and is still figuring out who she is. Sidney gains more confidence as the movie goes on, as she knows that she has to keep herself alive and she feels that she can win at Ghostface's game.
2 That Couple That Everyone Knows
There's usually at least one couple at most high schools who is popular and who everyone knows and talks about. They might even gossip about them on a regular basis. Scream's opening scene is truly terrifying as the killer calls Casey and makes her answer questions about horror movies.
Casey has to watch her boyfriend Steve die in a brutal manner and then she is murdered, too. While this couple meets a horrible end, the movie does portray Casey and Steve as a beloved, popular pair who is well-known as he's a high school athlete.
1 Pop Culture References
Scream included many pop references, especially since it's known as a meta-horror movie that talks about the genre quite a lot. The movie even mentions a high school comedy. Since Scream was released in 1996, there was a reference to Clueless, which was funny to hear. In one scene, Stu said "As if" and Randy said, "Oh really, Alicia?"
Billy also quoted Psycho and talked about Carrie pretending that corn syrup was blood. Pop culture is a big deal for teenagers, who are figuring out who they are and using these stories, from music to movies to TV shows, as a way to do that. It's interesting that Scream had their young adult characters be so well-versed in this world.