ANNIE BAKER: CONSTRUCTING THE HIGH-ACHIEVING STUDENT NARRATIVE A Thesis Presented to The Honors Tutorial College Ohio University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduation from the Honors Tutorial College with the Degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film By Savannah Heller August 2019 Heller 2 The American high school experience is generally distinguished in popular media by several key characteristics: distinct social groups organized in an internal hierarchy (i.e. jocks and popular kids reigning over theatre kids, nerds, over-achievers, etc.), turbulent platonic and romantic relationships, and widely recognized social landmarks (i.e. prom, spring break, graduation, etc.). While most Hollywood depictions of the teenage experience can be considered superfluous, there will always be certain themes and subtexts that ring true. Not everyone may have feigned illness to have an extravagant hooky day (looking at you, Bueller), but practically every student has faced the prospect of graduating and addressing the daunting question: what next? The initial concepts for Annie Baker centered around this particular period of adolescence and highlighted a few of the different stressors that students face as they approach graduation. Influences Inspiration for the story of Annie Baker dates back to my own teenage years; only four years ago, I was right in the midst of the college application process. It was a period of my life where I was forced to take a hard look at my own abilities and desires for the future. Though I had always been fairly confident in my identity as a strong student, the entire process of application and acceptance/rejection challenged that perception and had me considering the qualities that make up a “perfect student”. The inceptive ideas for Annie Baker as a character emerged from this very topic: What are the qualities of a “perfect” student? What drives this type of character? How would they react when faced with absolute failure? To answer some of these queries, I looked for representation of perfectionist characters in other films and TV. The caricature of the “perfect”, over-achieving, type-A personality who has it all together can be incredibly entertaining or deeply devastating depending on the angle from which you Heller 3 approach it. For example, Leslie Knope, the ever optimistic, but over-controlling Deputy Director of NBC’s Parks and Recreation, is a model representation of the comedic angle. Leslie may care deeply about the management and success of her department, but her perfectionism presents itself in the form of fierce perseverance, extensive planning, and comically detailed binders for every possible topic and situation no matter how mundane. Leslie’s type-A character quirks are endearing, generally helpful in the pursuit of her goals, and often result in numerous humorous scenes and delightful one-liners. On the other hand, we can see the darker consequences of the pursuit of perfection in Nina, the naive protagonist of Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. As a timid ballerina in the New York City ballet company, Nina must convince the company’s artistic director that she is deserving of the conflicting title roles in their production of Swan Lake. She naturally channels the shy innocence of the White Swan, but struggles to emulate the dark ruthlessness of the Black Swan. This film elevates ballet’s inherent perfectionist standards and adds a psychological twist; not only does Nina’s body suffer in her pursuit of perfection (scratch marks, bloody toes, etc.), but her mental health does as well. Her deep seated passion for dance twists into an unhealthy obsession. The immense pressure and expectations that she faces from her mother, the artistic director, and her own self rapidly eat away at her sanity and eventually claim her life. In the early stages of development of my own film, it was necessary for me to decide which tone I would lean towards – more comedic and light-hearted like the world of Leslie Knope, or more sinister and psychological like Nina’s nightmare? I ultimately chose to walk down the middle and create quirky film with some moments of dark comedy. In my mind, the film needed to highlight an issue – the mental health of high school students during the transition to college – while still being compelling and entertaining for the average audience. Heller 4 Development “Without good structure, a good idea is nothing” (Aronson 59). I had the idea – a “perfect student” faces absolute failure – but now I needed just about everything else. In order to determine what a “perfect” student would consider an absolute failure, I first had to know what they valued. The first few drafts of the script were primarily comprised of scenes of my teenage protagonist, Annie Baker, interacting with various aspects of her world (peers, family, school, homework, etc.). This process allowed me to discover Annie’s voice and personality, and to determine her definition of absolute failure. Annie places a high level of stress on herself to succeed because she believes her worth is intrinsic to her academic success. Anything less than the highest or perfect score, reflects negatively on her self perception so she always strives to be the best of the best. To convey this in the story, I began to contrive situations in which her perfectionist characteristics shone through. Unlike in novels or other written media where it is possible for the audience to gain an understanding of a character via their thoughts and observations, film characters must display their nature through action. In film, “The audience draws conclusions about a character by how the act in any given situation” (Epps, Jr 35). For example, Annie shows her perfectionist streak through her own actions (i.e. waking up early to continue studying, being the fastest in gym class, always first to raise her hand in class), through the reactions of her peers (i.e. praising her for high scoring tests, turning to her for questions about homework or exams), and through the behavior of her family (i.e. complete confidence in Annie’s abilities and applications, and refusing to allow any feelings of doubt). Once I had a well-defined protagonist in place, I began to explore different conflicts or obstacles for her to confront. For a few drafts, the main conflict circled primarily around student rivalry; I built a friendly, but fundamentally competitive relationship between Annie and one of Heller 5 her closer peers, Jane. This concept was inspired by the very real culture of “hyper-achievement” that has developed in schools over the past few decades. The concept of competition has always been present in any educational institution, but the sudden cultivation of “hyper-achievement” is largely the result of changing practices and expectations concerning college applications. The students of today face a much different academic environment than that of their parents. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the total volume of college applications has been steadily increasing over the past decade. This increase may be partly due to the increased use of the Common Application – an online platform that allows students to apply to multiple colleges at once – which almost 900 schools in and outside of the United States accept. This streamlined process has resulted in students applying to more colleges each year. In 1995, sixty-one percent of students submitted three or more applications to various colleges and only ten percent submitted seven or more. As of Fall 2016, those numbers have increased to eighty-two and thirty-five percent respectively (Clinedinst 8). While the ability to apply to more colleges with increased ease may seem like an advantage – as casting a wider net will generally guarantee a catch – it is ultimately creating a burden on both prospective students and the admission offices that must evaluate them. For decades, there were two main criteria that students were assessed on when it came to college applications: their grades and their standardized test scores. However, certain developments are making it harder to rely on these two factors as indicators of a student’s academic merit. Attending an elite school is the desire of many students and their parents; it is seen as a mark of intelligence and status that will hold significant weight in the student’s post-graduation career. The aspiration to be part of this elite group can be so strong that many wealthier families will begin investing in their children’s future by enrolling their students in the best private Heller 6 schools with access to quality resources. In some cases, this aspiration will even lead parents to pay enormous bribes in order to cheat the system and guarantee their child a spot, as seen in the latest admission scandal lead by college consultant, William Singer (Korte). Among other institutions and businesses such as tutoring and college counseling, private schools are put under notable pressure by well-meaning parents to provide results. As of 2018, around half of American high school students graduated with an A average (Selingo). However, Jon Marcus argues that this is the result of private schools being incentivized into giving higher grades; the more of their students who secure admission at elite colleges, the more attractive the high school is to parents who want the best for their children. Between 1998 and 2016, the grade-point average of wealthier private and public suburban high school students increased from 3.25 to 3.51 and from 3.25 to 3.36 respectively. However, in public city schools there was only a minimal increase from 3.26 to 3.28. In addition to this apparent difference, standardized test scores are highly correlated to family income as students from wealthier backgrounds generally have access to tutoring or test-prep services (Selingo, Kadynay).