The life of a teenager generally comprises confusion, awkwardness and disillusionment. Whereas teen films from the 1950s and 1960s (such as "Beach Party") captured youth culture as an ideal, pristine universe where adolescents came of age in a place yet to be touched by the troubling realities of the outside adult world, films of the 1970s took a different view. The "Hollywood Renaissance" era revolutionized teen culture films; it captured the era more realistically -- and perhaps, more brutally -- than ever before on film. Whereas pre-Renaissance teen films were nostalgic and reassuring, the '70s films served the opposite purpose: they show the blunt, painful, awkward experiences and realities of youth culture. These films were also more self-conscious than ever, painfully aware that their times as teenagers are fleeting. "The Last Picture Show" (1971) illustrates the great disillusionment of being an adolescent. The teens depicted in this film's small town suffer from a desire to relive old times, specifically through watching 1950s Westerns and thinking about better times.
Stories of friendship, or "buddy films," have existed since the dawn of cinema. Buddy films allow for the main character to have someone with whom he can debate issues important to the story; these films also may include the main character's realization of who he is becoming. "Thelma and Louise," for instance, deals with the friendship of two women and the conflicts that arise from it (namely, the acceleration of crimes they commit because they fear police will not believe one of them killed a man who sexually assaulted her, so they steal money to flee authorities).
In "Schindler's List," Oskar Schindler gives his definition of power: "Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don't." Power is a common social theme in film, often showing how the ascent to and acquisition of power can have dire consequences. If power isn't handled responsibly, it can result in a backlash against friends the power-seeker leaves behind. For example, in Mark Zuckerberg's rise to power in "The Social Network," Mark slights his best friend Eduardo.
Community can serve as a thematic device in film to show how a group of people can organize and come together for a greater cause. "The Breakfast Club" is one example of this, in which five teenagers attending school detention struggle with various problems. As a greater bond grows between these kids from various cliques, they realize they can accomplish greater feats if they band together. In addition, in "Animal House," college boys collaborate in the attempt to save their fraternity.