Nightmare in the Mirror: Adolescence and the Death of Difference Author(s): Scott Long Source: Social Text, No. 24 (1990), pp. 156-166 Published by: Duke University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/827832 . Accessed: 28/06/2014 08:37 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

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intheMirror: Nightmare Adolescence andtheDeathofDifference SCOTT LONG

The teenager is an orphanamongculturalrepresentations. Nobodywants him.For decadesnow,of course,he has causeda nervouscultureone embarrassment afteranother. Youthswildin thestreets, werewolves, longidiotsunabletodo arithmetic orfindMissishairs,lunaticbikers,slavering theculture sippiona map. . .thirty yearsofsuchimageshavespewedfrom maw.Now,however, a newtwisthas appeared.Insteadof the industry's adolescent as dull rampaging againstadultsociety,we havetheadolescent neurotic a gnawing evento himself. introvert, problem Angstandboutsof suicidaldespairdistinguish thisgloomyfigure; andinsecuritaunts, terror, ties are the seasoningon modernsalad days. Adolescencehas become Whoneedsthishorrible ofself-doubt? unbearable. interim Andhowdid it to be so bad? get One expectsa certainclarityto comefromadmitting thattheteenager is a representation: adolescenceis a fake.The rhetoricof its sublime drownsouttheclatter ofitsmaking.A marginal moment liminality merely whenthesubjectstandsbetweentwoworlds,poisedwithinnocenceon theone handandexperienceon theother- noneof thishas theuniversal validityit claims.The teenyearsare an inventedtransition between twocarefully constructed norms,childhoodand adulthood:adolescence a permanent as weknowitis notontologicalandinvariable, feature ofthe humananimal,buta relativecategorycreatedto organizean otherwise inchoateexperience. Itis a construct generated largelyduringthelasttwo definedandregularized centuries, by culturalneedsanddiscursiveoperbehindits construction, thereasonsbeations.The social requirements shouldideallybecomeclearerin thecourseof neathits contradictions, itas such. recognizing is theopposite:newquestionsarise,aboutwhy Whathappens,though, theimageof theteenageris stillpromulgated, stilldrivenhome.That of isolatinga four-to imageseemsto have no purpose.The artificiality a quadrennium undera six-yearperiodas "adolescence,"quarantining anda prescribed imposingon it an identity rangeofbehaviors: category, thereis noclearreasonwhyall thiscontinues. does Exactlywhatfunction theteenager stillserve?Suicidalkidsin moviesoronTV all wonderwhat it meansto be a teen;through theirventriloquial voices,one mayspecuas whole is culture a the same late, pondering thing. 156

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Onceupona timetheanswerwasclear.Itseemslikelythatthecategory in responseto an emerging of adolescencewas originallyconstituted of thenineteenth end toward the discourseof sexualliberation, century. butithad fromthephysicalfactofpuberty, It developedbyextrapolation The adolescenttookpartin a largerdisa specificallysocial function. towardgenerating courseon sexuality, appearedamida generaltendency a testing-ground sexualsubjects.Adolescenceoffered and taxonomizing ofthesenewselves,a laboratory fortheformation byelaborate governed confinedwithinthebounds sexualenlightenment rules.Withnormative of a periodizedand categorizedage group,itsprocessescouldbe organIn thefigureof theteenager, ized, controlled. sexualitywas mademanand norms. names delimited by ageable, andinpartreplacethis cametoamplify In time,another socialfunction sexualuse.Theteenageyearsbecamea training-ground forconsumption, as one set ofdesiresmuscledin on theprovinceofanother.In thearena of adolescence,people learnedto need and to sate theirneeds with techniques objects;theyweretaughttheflatobligationand theintricate ofconsumption. theywentto themall. Teenagersturnedintoa market; zone: it was adolescencewas a contradictory In bothconstructions was perpetually fromadulthood, different beingexproyetitsdifference theunderlying priated,put to use. Its utilitywas also its annihilation: enforced command duringadolescencewas alwaystogrowup,toturnthe habits(sexual or economicbehaviors)learnedin its arenaof fluxand Yetadofixeddomesticroutines. intomaturepractices, putativefreedom a sense a temporarily lescencealso lenttheteenager identity, independent was empowerfromadultnorms.Andthisestrangement of separateness a walkingdenialofthe couldsee in himself ing.Atitsheighttheteenager its to demanded Difference world. right live: itrebelled. grown-up of this subversiveside to its own aware culture was The larger quite moncreation.By theFifties,visionsof theteenageras a Frankenstein's Alienatedadolescents thecultureindustry's sterdominated production. an absolute,aporeticdeviationfromadultlife: the came to represent of theirconstitution as Othernessof theirinventedself,thenegativity in of rebellion. The utilia falsedifference, ecstasy emerged represented tarianfunctionof adolescencegeneratedits own negation,a defiant whichwas oftenshownin explicitly rejectionof practicalrationality terms. the supernatural Spanning decades,suchfilmsas I Wasa Teenage Carrie and Werewolf depictteenagersmobilizingmagicagainsttheopIn theformer, sexualdesireescapesthe of realities adulthood. pressive boundariesin whichadultstryto confineit; hormoneslend obscene to hairand claws. In Carrie,thingsthemselves, passiveconfecundity Carrie'stelekinetic sumerobjects,take on a life of theirown through revengeon thewholepanoramaof mindlesspurchaspowers,wreaking ers-in-training.

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The teenagerwas gainingan autonomy, a controloverhisdestinywhichconsistedin denyingthatit was destined:in his briefzone of he foughtthelife-narratives forhim. qualifiedapartness, prefabricated he negatedthemonolithic and the Otherness, Exploitinghis constructed is thehallucination Difference and destroyer of ourworld: ready-made. theteenager madethemostofit. Andofcoursethisprocessextendedfar of modernity, mass nightmares come beyondfilms.In thedream-world true.Theteenager'ssenseofhisownestrangement andthecultureindusin a complexinteraction. ElvisPresley'spelvic try'sfearofitcooperated thrustsbecame a gyratingone-manTotentanzin whichthe rebellion andthemass-production ofrebellion, movedin againstmass-production, two the as one. Those were the uneasystep.Eventually erupted days:the Sixties. Now we can witnessthe withering of thisallotteddifference. The teenageris no longernecessary:he hasoutlivedhisuses.Therearebetter culturalnorms.It could almostbe means,one mightsay,forinstilling is killingtheteenager: itsinsidiousintrusions made arguedthattelevision it possible to reach,and reform, childrenpracticallyfromthe cradle onward.Its unprecedented forcerendered poweras a regularizing superfluousthe special periodset aside forself-formation. Sex has lost its liminalauraformostchildrenlongbeforepuberty: theyare incessantly it and for it from theearliestage. to to exposed systems practicing Andthesameis evenmoretrueofconsumer fordesiring norms.Patterns andbuyingbatterthechildfromthemoment she sees herfirstSaturdaycartoon.Caress here;shop there.Screwthis,pay forthat.As morning forchannelmassculturebecomesmoreandmorepervasive, instruments desireinvadeeverycreviceof life. ingandcontrolling The rationalefora space of difference disappears.Enteringadolesis alreadyquitefamiliar withthethingsheis supposed cence,theteenager of theteenyearsstillsurvives. to learn.Yet theseparateperiodization Theirdemarcation now gives rise to a naggingquestion,for it is a withoutcontent,arbitrary and unexplained.Neithersex nor difference stake a anylonger specialclaimonteenagers- wheredoes salesmanship theirseparateness comefrom? in the This is thereal topicbeneaththeimagesof troubledteenagers with old rebellions havenothing todo againstadult Eighties.Thetroubles adolescence is an involve a sense that norms.Rather,they supplanting is the crisis not one Theyrevolvearoundself-definition: emptyidentity. these To be of difference, butof suspectedsameness. sure, depictions manufacture reasonsforadolescentsto be depressed- uncaringparents,meaninglessresponsibilities,a hostileworld.These disasters, confront don'trousethekidsto resistance:rather, theteenagers though, themas adultproblems:through them,theyrealizetheirlivesare really officesandon TV,inmagazinesarticlesand adultlives. Inpsychologists'

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all problematize theteenager, movies,theserepresentations showinghim notas a threatbutas a question.Theyinterrogate his separateness, and its and the zone of onetime mostlydeny meaning.Invading colonizing difference, theysilenceitsnegations:theyreassertthedoxologicalintegof adult law. rity The teenfilmoftheEightieshas,ofcourse,beenpitchedandmarketed withgreatsuccess to teenagersthemselves.It reflectsan uncertainty aboutselfhoodwhichtheadolescentundeniably feels.Butit also reifies and reinforces thatdoubt.Andit makestheteenagerintoa figure- a new kindof figure- in adultdiscourse.The teen filmtalks to the its medium teenager,oftenhectorshim,aboutwho he is; but through also talktothemselves abouttheirproblematic children. Adults grownups redefine thedifference themselves created. they JohnHughes'movieshave to some degreeset the standard.In The hall prateaboutthemeaning BreakfastClub,fiveteenagersin detention ofbeinga teenager. Theirtalkis articulate, veermournful, unstoppable, between Lord the Flies: like and it's island ing psychobabble of watching innocents reinvent Buttheirconversations trace grouptherapy. ultimately in a tautology: a self-reflexive circle.Theylocateteenageidentity adults don't understand us because we're adolescents;but we're adolescents, we're different, us. The awkward onlybecauseadultsdon'tunderstand The vulnerability ofthisexistenceage is merelya misunderstanding. thetenuousness ofa separateselfsustainedbysimpleerror- seemsfar moreominousthanthefactof themistakeitself.One leaves thefilm haunted notso muchbythefailedcommunication betweenadultsandkids as by theapparently willfinally inevitableprospectthatcommunication thattheywill work,thatthekidswill lose theirlastclaimto difference, understand and be understood, and in theprocessbecomeadultsthemselves.The kids'owntalk,theirsensitively sharedfeelingsand slobbery is a model of the kind of"understanding" growth-through-caring, Hughes sees as breakingdownbarriersbetweenadultsand adolescents;their inarticulate seemedmoreauthentic andmorefun.The rebellions, though, unintended John irony,of course,is thatone adult does understand: his Hughes. Teenagershave no secretsfromhim.Hughes constructs teenagersaccordingto an adult'ssolipsisticimageof them:he shows themworriedaboutnotbeingtheadultswhichhe alone,by therulesof thegame,knowstheytrulyare. In his work,thecall forcomprehension of theadultworldover thekids', emergesas an ominousimperialism erasing the boundariesbetween the two. The teenager,becoming andalterity. Adolescenceis beingabolished. "known,"loses mystery Or rather,is being re-absorbed.The historicalfunctionof the is suddenlysupererogatory; "difference" theteenis teenager'sfactitious drawnbackhelplesslyintotheadultmatrix. Theflipsideoftheemptiness in The BreakfastClub lies in another of adolescentidentity portrayed

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Hughesfilm,FerrisBueller'sDay Off.Here the teenager'sdifference reasserts is to havefun, itself:theostensibleroleofteenagers seemingly Theonlyfuninthemovie,though, adultsjustcan'tunderstand. something is hadbytheinsufferable Ferrishimself, andmostofit is at theexpense ofhisfellowkids.It's all justifiedinthemovie'sterms;Ferrisis teaching themto live. Butherethemoviepullsa dirtylittletrick.For all thathe playshooky,Ferrisis reallythepedagogueat heart.The supposedideal an adulthimself,enjoyingadultfreeteenageris reallyimpersonating adult doms,playingquintessentially roles - as con man,butevenmore The picture'sclosingmoments as self-appointed gratuitously professor. stresshis investiture withauthority: Ferrisreappearson screenafterthe creditsto beratetheidiotsin thetheater- hisfellowteens?- fornot aroundafter havingthesensetoleave.Class is over:go home.No hanging buthas takenhis badgeand school.Ferrishas beatenthetruant officer, is thathe has a senseof humor:smallimprovejob. The onlydifference adult ment.Everyoneknowsthereis nothing worsethanthewisecracking whosneers,I toldyouso. TherealfalsenessofHughes'filmscanbe graspedifonejustimagines a fewgaysorblacksor Hispanicsin them.The filmscouldnevertakeit. The characters whiteand middle-class; the are oppressively lightweight, the fake calibrated structures of false difference, oppositions delicately betweenteensandadults,wouldcollapsewiththeappearanceofa genuof theclaustrophobia ine Otheror two.These moviesare nightmarish; Bueller are of Ferris the Club and manic equally expansiveness Breakfast thebad kindofnightmare, andsurreal.Itis a particular though: confining then ofa falsedistinction dreamofdifference unravelled, exploited, slyly exposed as untrue.Behind the conceitof the teen's separationlies thedarksuspiHughesconfirms Hughes'consciousnessof uniformity. cionthatthereis no social reasonbehindteenageselfhoodanymore.But itsshellis stillaround,adolescence since,despiteitsabsenceofcontent, into demonic turns a world,whichis parodyofthegrown-up unwittingly theonlygamein town.Hugheshas discoveredadolescenceas thenightmaresideofadulthood. Butthisis not returns. In this,theold imageof theteenageras horror The terms haveturned JamesDeaneryorthefangedangstofwerewolves. in he teenappearsas a threat that is just like around.The contemporary us. He existsonlyas a shrunken double,a midgetOthershowingup in themirror. in theself:a monster contradictions evenina filmlikeRiver'sEdge (directed Thissamenessis apparent by of whichtriestofitintoa tradition TimHunter, written byNeal Jiminez), on Today'sYouth.Thismoviehas all themakingsof treatises horrifying a shockingexpose, save shock. Its tone is thatof a supermarkettabloid turnedblase. The film is based on a real incident:a big bull of a high school studentkills a girl duringa night'srough sex in the woods. His

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himin,attempt ratherthanturning friends, ineptlytocoverup thecrime. tothefactofmurder, their Thefilmfocuseson theirdruggedindifference all about the to at fact that a articulate girl also anyfeelings inability theirfriend- is dead. Heretheold tropeofadolescentsas wildshows its new,improvedguise - theyare wild,and boring.Insanelythough their"rebellion," theymaybehave,theirlunacyis lifeless.Theirthreat, consistssimplyin theircollectivenullity. The movietriesvainlyto comeup withreasonsforthekids'supposed their"difference" from"us." In one of thefirstshots,a boy indifference, dropshis sister'sdoll froma bridge.Here we have one heavy-handed a shrieking symbol:theseyouthshave lost theirchildhood explanation, innocence. Laterin thefilm,though- afterthekillerhasbeenfoundone of thekiller'steacherslectureshisclass abouttheSixties.We cared aboutsomething then,herants;we hada cause;andyoupeopledon'thave direction, any anypracticalsenseat all. He is, of course,speakingover theirheadsto theaudience;and whathe is yellingis thatthesekidsare immature thattheyneed to be broughtdownto and lockedin fantasy, earth- thattheyneed, in short,a littleexperience.Whichis it? Is experiencethevillain,or theremedy? The filmdoesn'tknowbecausetheopposition it triestobuildis itself a hollowone.Thefilmasksus tobe horrified bypeoplewhoareincapable itworksup a savagesweatabouttheirmindless Apro ofhorror; savagery. over informs the inmovie: we are for meant, formaindignation drugs stance,to shakeour heads in righteousfuryas a littleboy becomesa pothead.But one suspectsthatdrugsare not so muchcondemnedas exploitedhere,usedfortheirreadyassociationsofdecadenceanddeath: thefilmemploystheshockvaluetheystillcarry, in hopesthatsomeofit willruboff.Forat heartthemovieitselfis profoundly jaded.Justlikethe it can't feel much horror either. The camera's kids, loving,null,banal withthegirl'snudecorpse,stretched fascination likea blue-tinged mannequinby theriver'sedge,is thegiveaway.The shotsofherdecompositionaren'teven numbing;theyare alreadynumb.The filmmakesthe bodyalmostbeautifulin its casual decay.She can't havebeenso harmindifference less,so placidlydesirable,whenalive.A transcendent hangs overherlikea cloudof flies. Everyonein thisdemonicdoll's houseofa moviehas a toy.The little kids play withdolls; theagingpothead- perhapsthemovie'sarchetypalgrownup- has an inflatablewomanon hand; and the teenage killer(and thefilmitself)playwiththeinanimate bodyof themurdered But these three are the same: the girl. really objects of a universal and unconcern which are the final noteofthefilm.The manipulativeness share their emotional with the movie teenagers itself,whichis emptiness but secretlycomplacent, and complicit.Far supposedlycondemnatory frombeingtheirdistinctive markof Cain, thekids' inabilityto care is

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theirrealcommongroundwiththeadultworld.Thereis no moredifferis levOtherness ence to deal with;no wondereveryoneis indifferent. the kids as to see elled.Themoviewouldliketoreassert it,longs separate, strange;butthemoreanxiousit is toprovethispoint,themoreitundoes thatare worse itself.The parentstokeand havetrivial,whinyarguments thantheirchildren'sspats.Meanwhile,theteenagersworryand suffer of a coherent theirparents'problems:stripped identity, theyare through leftwiththescrapsof theadultworld. The dirtysecretofRiver'sEdge is thatitsostensiblesubject,adolesthe teenagersdisplayis cence, is reallyirrelevant.The indifference an inabilityto imagine mark of a literal the in-difference, larger, merely whichpervadesthemovieand theworldit shows. Adolesdifference, vanishesin vapid,imitative cence is no longeruseful;its separateness violence. The Othernessthe adolescentsare supposedto embodyis The pervato themargin, shunted uniformity. replacedby a monotonous and"understandof themovieis merelythe"sensitivity" sive emptiness ing" of Hughes'filmspushedto thelimit.River'sEdge showsa world henceflat,unvaried, void.Itis a world maderepressively understandable, whereall boundaries arebrokendown. samenessinRiver'sEdgeis theobsessiveThe emblemofencroaching nesswithwhicheveryonecaresonlyabouttheirobjects,theirtoys.This recentfilm:inMichael reachesitslogicalconclusioninanother tendency becomesan object.ThedeathoftheteenLehmann'sHeathers,everyone ager culminateshere:the adolescentis, like the corpsein the woods, a vaguelymordant, uneasilyseductiveimage.In thissavagesatire, merely and theirvictimsfinallyrealizethatadolescenceis boththegrown-ups being done in. Heathersis uneven:its knowingallusions(to Archie comicsandAdam-12)oftenhavethesillinessof thein-jokesitprofesses its satiricenergiestakefivefrom to despise;and,scaredof themselves, tears.Yet at its best it unveils timeto timeto allow a fewfabricated museum modernadolescenceas a premature senescence,a combination of theexpropriand mausoleum.The filmoffersa death's-mask portrait atedteen. Here,onceagain,theteenager'sexistenceappearsas an intensification that comesfromtherealization ofadultways.Thekids'shareddiscontent thisis life: theirpettypowerplays and rivalriesare local versionsof thingsdon'tgetanymore games;bytheirsociety'sstandards, grown-up's real thanthis."How do you thinkadultstreateach other?"Veronica's life."Whenteenagbemoansherstunted demandsas herdaughter mother erscomplainthattheywantto be treatedlikehumanbeings,it's usually becausetheyare beingtreatedlikehumanbeings." a paradoxicalindeof separateidentity, In thisnullification however, a function reasserts content itself;and,likea corpse-light, briefly pendent societyin itself,a reappearswithit. For thehighschool - a miniature

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- hypostasizes one aspectoftheadultworldwitha Tinytown terrifying particularvengeance.Its governingprocessis one of categorization. Everyoneossifiesinto a type.Geeks,jocks, dweebsand dweebettes, and thegroupboundpreppies- thereis a pigeonholeforeverybody, ariesarerelentlessly enforced.Highschoolappearshereas a modelof a is toinferidentities semioticsociety:whatitreallyteachesstudents from codes,to readselfhoodintothediscretedetailsof dailyexistence.Even mineralwaterhas a meaningin itsdemimonde ofteemingsignificances; thehaplessdrinker ofPerrieris, ofcourse,a fag. are threeprettyand appallinggirls Presidingover therank-and-file namedHeather,whoforma sortof identity thatno one patrol,ensuring breakstheirassignedrank.BuddingJoanCrawfords, theyreveal the hackneyedpowerof the bitch- thatculturalicon - as simplythe incarnaterightof judgment,the authority to evaluateand decide the identities ofothers.Andtheywieldthispowerbecausetheyinhabittheir own identities withouta shredof self-doubt. completely, "Whyare you such a megabitch?"Veronicaasks one of them,and Heatherreplies: "Because I can be." The tautology- I am whatI am - shadesintoan assertionofinfinite tothearbitrary potential. Completesurrender system of selfhoodlendstheselfan irrational strength. More thanany othercontemporary film,Heathersshowsadolescent lifeas centered Yetunderlying aroundidentity. theembraceofrolesis the extermination of theteenageras a self.Thereis no basis foran identity as a teenager.The illusorydiscoveryof independence only offersa of grown-up rolesand categoriesto choosefrom.The film smorgasbord beginswiththestrainsofQue Sera,Sera - WhenI wasjusta littlegirl, I askedmymother, whatwillI be? Duringthe teenageyears,the filmsuggests,thisquerywill be answered.Adolescencerecoversa social task:to trainyouthsin thewhole It is a laboratory forthe processof acceptingand inhabiting identity. of social roles,theseed groundofsystem. production Adultprocessesrob theadolescentof a privatesphere,butmovein withtheirownarrayof selvesto forceon her.The kids'anxietiesin the filmstemfromadulthood'simperialism againstany last, specifically concerns.Deprivedofthesafety-net ofadolescencetofallback youthful on, theyare forcedto decide whotheywill be - makinga grown-up choiceand donninggrown-up of the clothing.The independent identity adolescentdissolvesintoa myriadminoridentities, in whichan ultimate sameness- the murderof difference, its integration into the larger worldit onceresisted- can be seen. Heathersshowstheonlyrationaleremaining fortheseparateness of adolescence:thecategoryclingsto shardsof validityas a narcissistic sustainit as a darkglass of themglimmerin adultminds.Grown-ups selves; in it, theycan see the identitiesthatgoverntheirown lives

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In the agoniesof teenagersstruggling with mirrored. microscopically and adultroles,theyenjoya distancedversionoftheirownuncertainties and in sit back watch the kids, angst.Everywhere Heathers,grownups theirterrors ontothesafe,smallscreenthatalienatedyouth projecting provides. The teenageras habitableselfgives way to theteenageras The nightmare adumbrated extinguishes subjectivity. spectacle.Identity itselfis a toolforsuppressin TheBreakfast Club - thatunderstanding - comes true,and becomescrucial.The teenagerno ing difference has a voice of her own: muteand helpless,she can only be longer mimobserved.Her actionstaketheirmeaningfroma vast,involuntary whichshecannotalteror defy. icryofadulthood, Thereis a rebellionin Heathers,to be sure.The moviegesturesback towardtheold imageof teenageras incarnate denial;thatimageflickers Veronica'sboyfriend at the J. the end of teenager'shistory. weaklyhere, His namesuggestsJames D. wageswaragainstthesystemof identities. emblemsof Dean, his grimaceJackNicholson- bothsuperannuated adolescentalienation;but his hunchedand awkwardamble,coattails flappingbehind,impliesan oldermodelstill:Groucho,a trulyMarxian anarchicspirit.J. D. rebelsin thenameof a comicnihilism."Chaos is thatsubverts systemis his weapon.Destrucgreat,"he insists;anything tiongives himenergy:and thismeansmurder.He and Veronicastart killingpeople,disguisingthedeathsas suicides.FirsttheheadHeather, thebitchsupreme, goes; thena coupleofjocks follow.For Veronicathe "I just wantmyhighschool movement: deathsmakeup a sortofreform are their to be a niceplace," she pleads.For J.D., though,themurders Deathis thelastavailablesubversion. ownjustification. ButHeathersonlyinvokesthisfigureofarchaicrebellionto showhis Theauthority ofthe controlled. canbe co-opted, Evenanarchy impotence. it categorizes adultworldlies in its abilityto expropriate difference; can turnevenJ.D.'s rebellion chaos.Theenginesofidentity-construction He self. a reified into selfhood adult has, afterall, learnedhis against a mad bomberwho has harnessedhis fromhis father, destructiveness (and developer)of buildings.Dad is a explosiveskillsas a destroyer Destruction successfulbusinessman. pays. AndJ. D. too findsthathis his anarchyand madness,onlymakehim"cool" in putativedifferences, hesays,butthat others'eyes."Theextreme alwaysmakesan impression," "You're is all it does - it becomespartof an economyof impressions. nota rebel,"Veronicashrieksat him,moretrulythansheknows.Forall he is reallya grown-uptoo, inhabiting thatshe calls him immature, corner role.The searchfora liberating another anothercategory, playing to turns it even when in adolescenceis doomedto fail, of strangeness it turns death there: is There no safety is, deathas itsrefugeandstrength. out,justmoreof thesame.

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Andthisis notjustbecause Deathonlyplaysintothehandsofsystem. willtake (as Veronicathinks)tokillone Heatheronlymeansthatanother herplace. True,thesocial rolesand powerssurvivethosewhoplayand wield them.But a darkersecretunderliesthis. For systemis death: andaffirms theimposed,fixed Deathonlyfinishes is destruction. identity self.Once dead, thehead Heatheris morepopularthatever:herbeauty Thejocks, thatmadeherher,arereifiedforever. andbitchery, everything in and D. Veronica J. are meanwhile, resignified dying: disguisetheir sexistassholes"become "Beer-guzzling, killingas a gay suicide-tryst. deathgivesdepth.Murderoffersa new,improved sensitiveinretrospect; however,theenormousempireof meaningfortheself,onlyaffirming, signs.Deathis refiguration. It Thereis moreherethana nastyjoke. The filmis ontosomething. senses thatunderadult identityand the fixityof social roles lurksa in social limitation inherent bothcontains sacrifice:theloss of freedom is inherent in modemselfhood,as its death.Destruction and prefigures theirelders,thekidsareplayinga deadly hiddenmotiveforce.Imitating game. The infatuationwithdeath whichRiver'sEdge displayedis both here.Deathis thesecretgrown-ups mockedandextended carry:unableto see it in themselves, theyprojectit ontotheirprogeny.In Heathers, Themoviedares foryouthful hunger slaughter. parentshavean enormous to makefunof suicidaladolescents;but thisis because it graspsthat havenothing to do withteensuicide,the teenagerswhokill themselves withluridglee. The whole to themselves adultsrepresent phenomenon thing,as J.D. pointsout,is simplya big showforoldereyes.Thereare even songsaboutit (a cheeryrocksets thebackground beat: "Teenage eat suicide,don'tdo it!/Teenagesuicide,she blewit!"). The grown-ups it up. Suicide becomessimplyan excuse fortalk,formorerepressive of teenagerson thepartof adults;Miss Fleming,the "understanding" teacher whogoadshercolleaguesto"revelin thisrevealing touchy-feely love-inswithTV camerasin the and stages Nurembergian tragedy!" is emblematic On theone hand,extinction of the wings,is paradigmatic. The teenis talkedto teenager'sreductionto perfectcomprehensibility. an objectofknowledge, herresiddeath;as shebecomesunderstandable, is exterminated. Butdeathis also preciselythethingthat ual difference bestin theteenageras theyrecreateher.The embrace adultsunderstand is a voluntary of adultidentity destruction. Slaughteris theconcealed modelof selfhood.Thereis nothingto do, as Veronicarealizes,butto processesall. "growup, becomeadults,and die" -- indistinguishable of Teensuicideis an imageof thedarkdeathhiddenin themanufacture identities. J.D. decides,in theend,to blowup theschool,fakinga masssuicide theapocalypseofadolescence,theunveilpactsignedbyall thestudents:

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intheMirror Nightmare

ing of its essence, is mass murder. In planning this ersatz thisis notrebellion he realizestherealtruth: Gotterdammerung, though, from butsimplyan admissionthattheteenageris an adult,no different The collectiveslaughter he envisionsis a seal ofparticithegrown-ups. pationinthedeathwhichis theadultworld."Peoplearegonnalookat the ashesofWesterburg High,"he tellsVeronica,"andsay:Thereis a school thatself-destructed notbecausesocietydidn'tcarebutbecausetheschool was society." Veronicadefusesthekillerbombat thelastminute- butin doingso whichis equally sheaffirms hersocialloyalty, loyaltytoa socialidentity, J. D.'s last wordsto Veronicasumup thefilm: a formof self-murder. "Now thatyou'redead,whatare yougoingto do withyourlife?"Notto be or notto be: Thatis thequestion.Whatcan be donewitha lifethatis deathitself? forcecomesfullcircle The nightmare oftheadolescentas destructive difference turnedagainsttheadultworld, here.Insteadof a destructive samenessturneduponthemselves. They teenagers embodya destructive in mad enacta dramaof emptiness, abolishingtheirown independence The teenagerat withadulthood,whichis deathincarnate. identification In she of extinction. as the last emerges dying, growsup - and image overthe Death is of the vice-versa. boredom, regularity, victory maturity, difference. lasttracesof of modernlife,a lifewhich The endof theadolescentis thetriumph The in blood. with peculiargeniusofthefilm appears Heathersdripping of theteenager, is to recognizethisprocess.Herelies thelast function falls task of the the adolescent to thatnow-faded death, affirming image: The codes and rolestheteenagerasself-destruction. by accomplishing as killings.Adults,looking similatesfinallyassumetheirtruecharacter, secrettreatywithdeath their own watch at thisnightmare underworld, and is the of both to it tamed,projectedonto light day brought exposed; an Otherwhichis merelytheirownselvesmadeyoung.In theteenager, deathis entertainHe enjoysthehorror: theadultsees himself demonized. life andconfirms its beneath a flame ment.Extinction,pure within, glows and and The morbid,ephemeral adolescent,meaningless emptiness. banal,survives- onlybriefly- tolighttheadultworldbyan infernal fire.

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