Over the past five years, we have seen a steady rise of the documentary as a legitimate form of entertainment. In 2005, we were given a rare glimpse into the lives of Emperor penguins in March of the Penguins and now three years later, we will experience life through the eyes of five real life high school seniors.



American Teen is filmmaker Nanette Bursteins (On the Ropes and The Kids Stay in the Picture) look at the often perilous, but frequently hilarious journey of a contemporary American teenager. Shot over a period of 10 months, the film chronicles a year in the life of a group of five high school students in Warsaw, Indiana. Almost immediately we meet Hannah, the funky, quirky outsider; Megan, the popular girl; Colin, the superstar athlete; Mitch, the heartthrob with a heart of gold; and Jake, the smart and awkward geek. American Teen shows the eye-opening realities of being a teenager today.

To be released nationally in late July, the films popularity is already apparent. Facebook, one of the largest social networking websites in the world, has an interactive application based on the movie. The application prompts you, the user, to take a short personality quiz and based on the answers, you are categorized into one of the groups from the film; the jock, the princess, the rebel, the heart-throb or the geek. Then you can share with your friends which of the groups you fall into.

The application enables you to see a virtual universe of connections with all the other users, which makes it unique in comparison to other Facebook programs. There is also an optional feature where you can filter and view only your friends on the virtual universe display. This allows people to connect with others like themselves all across the world; allowing users to exploring commonalities and build relationships.

American Teen takes you on an in-depth journey into the lives of teenagers in the twentieth century. The thing that sets this film apart from other more traditional documentaries is that everyone can find something or someone to relate to. Whether you find yourself identifying with one of the characters or a combination of all of them, you will strike an immediate personal connection to the film.

If you are interested in spending a couple of hours engaged in a brilliant and original piece of entertainment, then you will be completely enlightened by American Teen.