Project X Psychology

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Rachel DeHoog! October 16, 2014! Psychology of Adolescence ! Movie Essay - Project X Project X is a highly controversial movie directed by Nima Nourizadeh that was released in 2012. The movie depicts a group of high school students who decide to throw a party for their friend’s birthday in order to make themselves more cool. The party ends up getting completely out of control with an abundance of drugs, sex, and alcohol, and the teens end up quite literally burning the house down, along with the entire quiet, suburb neighborhood. The movie is very criticized because it depicts underage teenagers engaging in promiscuous sexual behavior with multiple partners, getting completely intoxicated, and abusing substances like ecstasy. All the while,…show more content…
A major theme in the movie is how adolescents will go to almost any means to gain peer approval, even if that means engaging in risky activities. The whole point in the movie was that the three main characters wanted approval from their high school classmates. At one point in the movie, Thomas (now a “cool kid” for throwing such an epic party) is standing on his rooftop high on drugs and completely wasted, and the enormous crowd below him is chanting his name. He jumps off of the roof, two stories up, onto a bounce house below and luckily survives without any injuries. His friend is also on the rooftop, and the crowd begins to chant “Jump! Jump! Jump!”. He jumps and seriously injures his hand but just laughs at the situation because he is too tweaked out to even feel the pain. Adolescents are extremely influenced by peer pressure. Costa, Thomas’ best friend, plays the role of the voice of peer pressure. Throughout the whole story, Costa is constantly saying Rachel DeHoog! October 16, 2014! Psychology of Adolescence “It’s fine, we can fix this. Just enjoy yourself, it’s your birthday” every time something goes awry. Every time Thomas wants to call the party off because things are getting way too…show more content…
Costa tells them to get out because “this is a party for adults.” I think this is a fantastically ironic example of how teens view themselves. Essentially, the kids think they are adults because they are drinking alcohol and having sex. Sexual development plays a huge role in the film. There are topless girls, drunk girls in compromising positions, and miles and miles of crotch and booty-shots throughout the 88- minute spectacle. These girls are supposed to be in high school, so it is interesting that the filmmaker chose to have nudity at all, but I digress. Costa is aggressive and testosterone-filled and frequently refers to the girls as “bitches”. He tends to view them more as sexual objects than anything else. He also seems to be extremely homophobic, dropping the word “faggot” on more than one occasion. Thomas, on the other hand, has feelings for his best friend Kirby, a girl who is just one of the guys. Due to intense peer pressure from Costa, he ends up hooking up with another girl who embraces the role of being the hottest girl at the party. She struts around in a short dress and high heels and is seemingly full of confidence in her good

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