Rushmore

Is Max a Stereotypical Teenager?

Based purely on the montage sequence at the beginning of the film, it is clear to say that, no; Max is not a stereotypical teenager.

At the beginning of the montage, we see the journal that has bee’s on the front cover. Bee’s may have been used for a few different reasons; they could represent flying to imply that Max ‘flies’ from activity to activity. Or, it could simply be to show that he is in the bee keepers club. Another reasons could be that they are linked with famous sayings, for example ‘busy as a bee’ or ‘the bee’s knee’s’ and these could represent Max and how busy is he is, which goes against the stereotype that teenagers are normally lazy.

The first club that we see Max is a member of is the ‘Yankee Review’ which is the school journal and he is the Publisher of it. This shows that he is in charge of it and likes to be the leader. He is more formally dressed than the other people in the scene and he is standing in the middle. This could show that he likes to be in charge and stand out or he wants to make a good impression. This goes against a stereotypical teenager in terms of fitting in as Max is wearing different clothes to everyone else.

We nest see that Max is the president of the French Club. He stands out from everyone else in the picture and is again wearing his full school uniform, which is different to everyone else. This time he is wearing a red beret and he appears to have no self awareness. This is not how a stereotypical teenager would act, as most would prefer not to be Presidents of clubs in school and stand out in the way which Max does.

In the Model United Nations group, Max is representing Russia. In this scene, Max is again, in the middle of the picture and he is wearing appropriate clothing whilst representing one of the world’s most powerful countries. He is sitting in between students that are representing Mexico and India to help him stand out even more. Using the two other characters in this picture, we can say that Max isn’t a stereotypical teenager as he is sitting very straight and looks interested in what going on, whilst the other two are more slouching and don’t look as bothered about what is going on.

Max is the vice president of the Stamp and Coin club. This is an unusual pastime for a teenager to have. It is noticeable that in this picture, no one else is seen apart from Max which may suggest that he is the only member or the club and therefore he either does it for his own enjoyment. However, a stereotypical teenager may spend most of their spare time with friends, and Max may prefer being on his own.

For the Debating Team, Max is the Captain. He is yet again dressed differently to everyone else which could suggest that he is an outsider. The fact that Max continually wears his school uniform, which is different to what everyone else wears, could be for a few reasons. He may be inexperienced so is not sure what to wear or he may just simply want to express his individuality. However, it could also suggest that Max comes from a poor background and he can’t afford any other posh clothes except his uniform.

From then on, the majority of the clubs shown are to do with sport in some way and for most of these he is the; captain, founder or president. However, taking the Kung Fu club as an example, Max is a yellow belt which is lower than everyone else there. This could be because Max wants to be a part of every club available even if he isn’t the best at it. This shows that he makes the most of every possible opportunity which again goes against the stereotypical teenager.

Based on the whole of the Montage, it appears that Max spends a lot of time on extra curricular activities and probably has not time left for his school work. It is unusual for a teenager to do so much at school and this is the main reasons why I believe he is not a stereotypical teenager.