Theme: Young Adult

Young Adult is a term from publishing that refers to works of fiction intended for readers between age 12 and 18 (that is intended audience, although actual readership can be of any age). The term has been adopted to also refer to films adapted from these works.

The genre saw a huge upsurge since the 2000s with the success of the Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games films. The 2000s/10s period saw the rights to many YA book franchises purchased for adaptation, although the number of these series that have been successful on screen are far outweighed by the number that have never managed to go beyond a single film. There are other works that the label Young Adult can be applied to retrospectively.

Young Adult films will feature protagonists who are usually in their teens (although ages can range from between pre-adolescence to early twenties). Many of these are Coming of Age Stories concerning the move from childhood to adulthood.

In Young Adult cinema, protagonists frequently (although not necessarily always) will be a locus at the centre of world-changing events, a social revolution or be engaged in a titanic struggle against the Big Bad of the show. They may well have some form of great destiny heaped upon their shoulders. Or else they may simply be a protagonist at the centre of a series of ongoing adventures.

A romantic element will frequently be placed at the centre of the show – this is the standard romance one might find in any other work but here having been moved to centre stage where the protagonist (who is frequently female) faces divided choices.