by: Mady Buerck 9/8/18
A movie night consisting of a lovey, heartfelt, coming-to-age film, typically ends in disappointment out of a lack of relation to the characters. Despite the movie To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before falling under the “chick-flick” category, the movie leaves you feeling wholesome, knowing your life can relate to the admirable central character, Lara Jean, played by Lana Condor. The movie initiates with a scene displaying a majestic romance; a scene in which almost anyone can certainly tell is a fantasy. The intimacy between characters is soon interrupted by a pillow fight erupting into the mystical field of desire… wait, what?
Viewers soon understand Lara Jean is submersed in reading a romantic comedy, with the pillow being thrown at her in reality. Thus, yet another movie portraying a character with the complexity of a hormonal, hopelessly romantic teenager. Though, as an angsty teen, myself, I can attest to the accuracy of these feelings, it is scientifically proven hormones can disrupt a teenager’s process of controlling emotions. According to sciencenewsforstudents.org, “The amygdala is an area deep within the limbic system that deals with emotions… “Adolescents activate the amygdala more in emotional…situations,” says Anna Tyborowska. Meanwhile, their prefrontal cortex is not yet ready to take control over emotional processing” (Tyborowska, 2016). Therefore, emotional situations can be very difficult and confusing. So, we can’t really blame Lara Jean for fascinating for hours over the idea of love, when it is teenaged nature to do so. Other than the relatability of loving love, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before very accurately displays the awkwardness that is every second of high school. Lara Jean is constantly running away from her problems, procrastinating to the maximum, avoiding physical contact with the outside world, and living in the complete filth that is a teenager’s bedroom. If there is anything that could better represent this generation of teens, I have yet to hear it! Without anymore need for explanation, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is definitely a must-watch, and can be found on Netflix. Just a fair warning: be careful not to fall too in love with Peter Kavinsky.
Source:
- Tyborowska et al. Testosterone during puberty shifts emotional control from pulvinar to anterior prefrontal cortex. Journal of Neuroscience. Vol. 36, June 8, 2016, p. 6156. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3874-15.2016.
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/hormone-affects-how-teens-brains-control-emotions
