Liquid Liminality: Swimming Pools and the Contemporary American Teen Film Pubblico

Abstract

“Liquid Liminality” examines the figure and space of the swimming pool in recent Americanteen films. By combining the cultural history of the swimming pool in the United States with close readings of its appearance in a series of films, I argue that the pool is a liminal space in which adolescent characters confront tensions without resolving them, particularly: their repressed and budding sexuality; the visibility of teen social hierarchies, cliques, and bodies through exhibitionism and voyeurism; and finally, the mystical lures and fatal threats of the pool itself. Oftentimes swimming pool sequences serve as a catalyst for future revelations and pivotal moments in teen films, which reflects its liquid duality: its ability to conceal and expose, its soothing comforts and potentially deadly nature (drowning and accidents), its domestic and class implications and its wild liberation. The cinematic pool functions as a womb, a place for possibility, while channeling a fantastical force to disrupt pre-existing frameworks that establish both individual identity and relationships between protagonists.

Table of Contents

Introduction.......................................................................................................................1

I. The “Kiddie Pool”: Outlining the Swimming Pool........................................................5

II. Presentation of Thesis..................................................................................................7

III. The History of the Swimming Pool.............................................................................11

IV. An Overview of Scholarship........................................................................................20

Chapter One: Adolescent Identities on the Threshold, in and at the Pool........................26

I. Case Study: The Girl Next Door...................................................................................28

II. Case Study: Booksmart................................................................................................35

Chapter Two: Pool Parties and Death Dives: Seeing the Unseen at the Swimming Pool...42

I. Case Study: Eighth Grade.............................................................................................47

II. Case Study: All the Boys Love Mandy Lane..................................................................54

III. Case Study: Jennifer’s Body .........................................................................................61

Conclusion..........................................................................................................................73

Bibliography........................................................................................................................77

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Film and Media Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Cinema
Parola chiave	film threat lure water liminality swimming pool
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Timothy Holland, Emory University
Committee Members	Matthew Bernstein, Emory University Jose Soria, Emory University

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