thirteen

1. thirteen Film Analysis

2. Female Sexuality • In Thirteen, it is pathological and symptomatic of unhealthy and dangerous behaviours. • Sex is seen in a continuum with other activities like self harm and drug abuse. • For Tracey’s mother, her daughter having sex is a cause for concern and worry. • For Tracey, it symbolises her status and rebellion. • Suggestion that for teenage girls, talking about sex with your friends is just as important as the act itself. • Sex is a symptom of deep unrest and instability for the girls. A symbol of destruction.

3. The female body • Kathleen Rowe Karlyn - “the teen girl body is portrayed as the battleground for the most compelling dramas of [the teen’s] life.” • It seems ironic that in a culture so saturated with the sexualized imagery of teenagers, there is a narrow range of acceptable representations of adolescent sexuality. • The sexual bodies of girls on film need to conform not only in aesthetic demands in terms of shape and colour, but also to generic demands of various narratives. • At worst, their bodies are decorative, but even when the adolescent female is a key figure in the narrative, her body and sexual agency typically provide a context for someone else’s story rather than a plot of her own.

4. Mother/Daughter relationship • The final chapter of the film offers salvation in the form of maternal love. • Once Mel recognizes the depth of Tracy’s self-destructive behaviour, she intervenes forcibly, literally surrounding Tracy in a maternal embrace that simultaneously supports her and restrains her. • In an emotionally charged scene, Mel interposes her own body between her daughter’s and the unseen forces that have sought to destroy it. • The scene occurs in the kitchen of their small home, significant not only because it has been the location for several conflicts throughout the film but also as a powerful domestic image, reinforcing the feminine role of both mother and daughter.

5. Girls in crisis • Tracey is the archetypal ‘girl in crisis.’ • Despite the film’s focus on Tracy (she appears in virtually every frame of the film), the narrative leaves little doubt that Tracy is not in control, that she is a victim of her circumstances and society. • Although Tracy and Evie feel temporarily powerful as a result of their actions, they are understood to be on a self-destructive path. • Without the support and intervention of adults, these girls will get into more serious situations. • And the film, like the girls in crisis discourse, lays the responsibility for intervention first and foremost on parents.

6. Tracey • Throughout the film, the narrative revolves around Tracy, and the director uses a variety of techniques to keep the viewer linked to her. • When we are not looking at her, we are seeing the world through her eyes. • As Tracy’s world becomes destabilized, the film reflects that disruption, using unsteady camera work and jarring framing. • As Tracy loses the ability to see clearly, the film becomes similarly out-of-focus. • The irony, of course, is that the narrative is not so much about what Tracy does as what others do to her. • This distinction underscores the importance of Tracy’s body as a site of personal and cultural conflict. • Tracy literally turns her body over to Evie, letting her have significant influence over her clothes, her piercings, and her actions.

7. Evie • Although Evie is the most obvious agent of Tracy’s downward spiral, the film does not construct her as a one-dimensional bad-seed. • Like Tracy, Evie has been set up for this fate. • Both girls are being raised by single women in households that have been affected by drug and alcohol abuse.

8. Tracey v Evie • In order to demonstrate Tracy’s fall, the film makes sure to show how normal, and how healthy, she is at the beginning. Tracy is coded as a good kid in a few key scenes. • First, she elects to read one of her original poems to her mother, Mel. • This disclosure of a personal piece of writing full of dark images reveals the closeness of the mother/daughter relationship. • The audience also recognizes Tracy’s good girl status because her nerdy friends do not conform to traditional standards of beauty. • They are dark-skinned and shaped like little girls, and, like Tracy, their clothing does little to accentuate their femininity.

9. Tracey v Evie • These friends are also the visual opposites of Evie Zamora, the eighth grade vixen in low-slung jeans, a siren whose iconic status is confirmed by Tracy’s brother when he confirms her “hottest girl” title in an early expository conversation. • (Evie’s ethnic status is problematic as well. Her surname suggests that she is Hispanic, but her outward appearance does not accentuate that identity. • The actress portraying Evie is of Jewish and Italian ancestry. • Evie’s ethnic coding allows her to be white enough to be perceived as traditionally attractive, but also vaguely ethnic enough to be perceived as a threat.) • In Tracy’s quest to become popular, she sets her sights on becoming Evie’s friend, and she succeeds, leading to the drug-induced violence of the opening scene, and many more scenes of adolescent deviance.

10. Beauty/Fashion industry • The film also draws an explicit connection between the girls and the cultural forces at work in their lives. • Frame after frame implicates the beauty and fashion industry for promoting sexualized images. • These images illustrate a pervasive theme from the girls in crisis discourse, presenting a culture that “encourages girls to consume products…to sedate their natural and understandable pain” (Pipher 1994, 202). • With such diminished adult support at home, how can these girls be expected to withstand such pervasive messages about the maintenance and presentation of the female body?

11. Self Harm • Tracy ultimately resorts to self-destructive activity such as cutting herself to deal with the stress of her life. • Mary Pipher offers several metaphorical meanings of self-mutilation, what she refers to as; • “a concrete interpretation of our culture’s injunction to young women to carve themselves into culturally acceptable pieces” (1994, 158). • Ranging from submission to protest, from plea for help to assertion of power, all of these meanings can be seen in Tracy’s self-mutilation.

12. Authenticity • Nikki Reed, who portrayed Evie in the film, wrote the film with director Catherine Hardwicke based in part on her own experiences. • This involvement leant authenticity – and increased anxiety – to the story. • This authenticity, of course, led to an R-rating for the film. • As Annika Hymlo laments, the reality of girls’ lived experiences is largely deemed inappropriate to be shared with other girls; • as a result, teens themselves often see only a “softened version of girls’ reality” • What is ironic is a ratings system that refuses to acknowledge the disconnect between what teens are allowed to witness onscreen and actual teenage behavior off-screen. • While society is quite comfortable looking at the adolescent female body, there are some things, apparently, we just can’t talk about.

13. Conclusion • Thirteen suggests that parents can be the hero of the narrative. • If even Mel, who is flawed, as a somewhat distracted recovering alcoholic, can provide this support, any parent can find a similar path. • To emphasize Mel’s success in resolving her daughter’s crisis, the final image of the film shows Tracy, alone, independent of both Evie and Mel, whirling around dizzyingly on a playground, far away from the judgmental and provocative eyes of the billboards and magazines. • Now, even as she spins “out of control,” Tracy is as safe; even though she is outside, her body is appropriately contained. • As a result of Mel’s love and support, the drama is resolved and Tracy is safe, both emotionally and physically.