Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Comparison Of Male Athletes With Teenage Peers In Popular Teen Movies, Jason M. Beck

Theses and Dissertations

Teen films generally highlight typical high school stereotypes, with jocks being one of the most prevalent characters. Through a content analysis, this study seeks to determine the portrayal of male athletes in comparison with their fellow teenage characters in the top-grossing teen films from the 1980s through the 2000s to help understand the role of films in reinforcing stereotypes. The study found that male athletes are significantly more likely to be portrayed as more physically or verbally aggressive, unintelligent and popular than their peer counterparts. They were not depicted to be any more sexually active, illegal substances users, or physically …