Jake Glass

8/29/18

COMM 100-01

Professor Andrea Davis

How Hyper-Ritualized Representations of Society Effect our Perception of The High

School Experience

First coined in 1979 by sociologist Erving Goffman, “hyper-ritualized representations of

social actions” are defined as “media portrayals that cannot represent all the nuances of a

phenomenon” (Beauchamp & Baran 2017). In every medium of mass media, either in the past or

present, ordinary occurrences are exaggerated and embellished to fit into a certain story line. We

refer to films such as The Breakfast Club, High School Musical and 21 Jump Street as “accurate”

depictions of the high school experience. In most if not all cases, these films are the farthest from

accurate. They portray a number of common cinematic clichés that lead the viewer to believe

high school is nothing more than a yearlong “hang-out sesh” underneath the bleachers of the

gym or lunchtime group get-togethers segregated by race, class or social sect. In reality though,

they’re no more than a stylized, “Hollywood” interpretation of what is an integral, maturing

chapter in most young-adults’ lives. I remember how utterly excited I became watching movies

such as A Goofy Movie, Grease or 10 Things I Hate About You. Filled with your typical “high-

school movie” tropes, representations of freedom and adolescent giddiness filled the screen,

while lectures and homework were discarded as fast as humanly possible. This tactical mis-

informative technique is what led me to believe my high-school experience would be 4 years of

glamorous gossip and constant trips to the arcade, leaving the thought of schoolwork and real-

world responsibilities far behind.

While attending junior high at Tantasqua Regional Junior High School, not a minute

would go by where I wasn’t dreaming of my time across the street at the High School. Obtaining

a license, my first job, and an untouchable friend group were of top priority, while homework,

labs, and responsibility took a time-out on the lowest stair of my consciousness. Being born in

the late 90’s and growing up in the early 2000’s, movies and TV shows depicting the “high-

school” experience was what made up my, and many others’, viewing repertoire. Shows such as

Drake & Josh portrayed two brothers who, while going to high-school, took long trips to big

cities, arcades, and movie theaters. With all their zany antics taking place, a sprinkle of romantic

buffoonery would also occur once and a while. Viewing programs such as this one (the list goes

on and on) in my child – tween years undoubtedly shaped the misinformed notion of what my

experience in high-school would be.

Thoughts of late night benders with my buddies at a bowling alley or blowing off classes

to catch a cup of coffee whirled around my head like a cartoon as I entered my first day of

Freshman year. The reality of my situation would not hit me until I began receiving mediocre

grades in math, falling out with previous friends, and realizing how slow time might go for the

next four years. I started to realize there was no time for beneath-the-bleacher hangouts, or

outdoor lunch adventures with large groups of friends. The amount of work you’d miss if you

skipped a class was staggering, and let’s face it, there were no groups of bullies waiting for the

“nerdy” kid to come out of the bathroom so they could give him a good ole fashioned

“pounding”. There were no flash-mob dance numbers or “super couples” that dominated the
social scene. High-school was what all the aforementioned movies and shows were if the subject

matter that they left out was all there was.

We see this type of mis-informative, watered down representation in most everything we

view today. From TV shows, to movies, to advertisements, something is undoubtedly always

missing. A sliver of reality is at all times cut away from the broadcast pie. It’s most definitely not

only tied to high school either. Social classes, genders, and races still get mis or under

represented in all of mass media. Skewed childhood, job, college, or cultural experiences are

what’s normal in today’s media market. As a child, I was tricked like so many others, with the

glamorous Hollywood “interpretations” of real life. We as viewers need to begin to realize that

what we’re being shown is nowhere near “realistic depictions.” And while we learn that, the

media needs to learn to represent all life instead of zeroing in on what is glamorous and flashy.

Only then will realistic portrayals of human life be obtainable.

 Works Cited

Beauchamp, S. R., & Baran, S. J. (2017). Introduction to human communication: Perception,

meaning, and identity. New York: Oxford University Press.