Like many other people my age, I've been a big fan of YouTuber-turned-stand up comedian Bo Burnham for several years.
However, I had sort of forgotten about him, and eighth grade in general, until a couple of months ago when I heard he had made a movie entitled, appropriately, "Eighth Grade." This movie has been generating a lot of positive buzz from critics and moviegoers alike and has been praised for being one of the most authentic, relatable portrayals of teenage life in quite some time.
I absolutely loved this movie, and without spoiling too much, I'd like to share several aspects of "Eighth Grade" that I connected with on a very personal level.
1. Keeping a box with playbills, ticket stubs, and notes in your closet
In the movie, Kayla (played by Elsie Fisher) has to put together a shoebox time capsule containing some of her favorite memories. Many of the items in her shoebox closely resemble the items in my own "box of memories" that I keep in my closet. I suppose that saving ticket stubs from shows and movies isn't exactly reinventing the wheel, but I did enjoy seeing several stubs in her box from movies and shows that I've also seen.
2. Scrolling through your phone endlessly right before going to sleep
This habit is certainly not good for your eyes, but I'm sure that adults and kids alike can relate to the almost zombie-like feeling that comes from lying in the dark with only your phone light shining, passing time on social media right before going to sleep instead of winding down with a good book. This is definitely a reality of the gadget-obsessed world we live in today.
3. Encountering popular girls in the hallway who want nothing to do with you, for no reason
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This particular phenomenon seems to be a reality everywhere, for all eighth graders. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how this happens, but somehow when people get to be a certain age in school, they start separating into different social categories, one of which is always the "rich, popular, not-that-smart-but-acts-like-everyone-owes-them" type. I felt bad for Kayla when she'd try to be nice to snooty girls who wouldn't give her the time of day. Though I haven't really been personally attacked by any mean girls, Kayla's hallway encounters did scream "eighth grade" pretty loudly to me.
4. High schoolers who "understand the world" & love having intense philosophical debates
This scenario is perhaps more prevalent in college than in high school for me, but I still remember witnessing plenty of debates among high school friends that had me thinking, "If I know so little about this topic, how is it that you, in the same grade as me, are apparently a mega-expert?" I personally don't love arguing for the sake of arguing, but high school is definitely the time when kids start to love sharing strong opinions with the world, and the movie represents this well.
5. Working up the courage to finish changing into your swimsuit, leave the bathroom, and enter a coed pool party
Though I was not as paralyzed by fear in these situations as Kayla appears to be in the movie, I still vividly remember coaching myself into confidence while I changed into my bathing suits at pool parties. Wearing a bathing suit in public while your body is still changing can be very frightening, even when you're just with friends. I'm glad that the movie doesn't make fun of Kayla for this fear, but rather treats it with the respect that it deserves.
6. Watching extremely awkward videos in Health class that try way too hard to relate to today's youth
This particular instance occurred early on in the movie and made me very glad that, hopefully, I never have to take a health class again. It sucks to learn about personal body issues in the company of 30 other immature teens, and it's even worse when your teachers insist on showing you videos that clearly have no idea how to actually relate to kids in this generation. This is one middle school (and high school) memory that I'd like to forget permanently.
7. Sighing with jealousy as you view other people's perfectly curated lives on social media
While the social media world wasn't quite as robust when I was in 8th grade as it is now, I remember scrolling through Facebook in high school and seeing what all of the popular, seemingly perfect people were up to every weekend while I went about my comparatively boring life. In the movie, Kayla doesn't seem to get too caught up in comparing herself to other kids her age, which is refreshing. Still, the amount of time she spent scrolling through her Instagram feed definitely spoke to the Facebook-stalking habits that I've tried to break.
8. Cringing as you read letters that you wrote "to your future self" when you were younger
Apparently, this is an activity ubiquitous among American middle schools. I forget exactly what I said in this letter, but I definitely remember writing a letter to my future self in 6th grade. At that time, I imagined that I'd be much cooler and more put together in 8th grade than I was in 6th grade, which is a sentiment that Kayla seems to share. However, by the time I got to 8th grade, I realized that I didn't have myself figured out as well as I thought I would.
9. Sitting through assemblies in which the same kids misbehave and cause a ruckus every time
Every grade, especially in middle school, has a group of kids that refuse to just sit quietly during assemblies. These kids always insist on calling attention to themselves in public situations even when absolutely no one asked for them to interject. I've always been frustrated by kids who insist on making snide comments or inappropriate noises during quiet assembly moments. Luckily, by the time college rolls around, people tend to sit quietly on their laptops if they don't feel like paying attention in school.
10. Feeling really cool and mature as an 8th grader if any high schooler paid attention to you, ever
I tie this one back to my middle school theater days, particularly when I'd do shows over the summer that had both middle and high schoolers in the cast. I remember feeling on top of the world if anyone even a year older than me said hi to me, asked about my day, or told me I was doing a good job. Now, as a slightly older person, I try to do the same thing and make kids younger than me feel special by complementing them at the high school shows I see on my breaks or congratulating them on major life events. It just goes to show that the tiniest gesture of appreciation or recognition can go a long way towards improving someone's day.
Though most people would probably like to pretend that 8th grade never happened, I enjoyed watching this movie and reminiscing about when times were so much simpler and my biggest problems were "am I going to finish my Earth Science lab before 10 pm?" and "will I work up the nerve to ask [insert cooler person here] to sign my yearbook?" I think that Bo Burnham's first foray into filmmaking was a resounding success, and I can't wait to see what other touchingly authentic stories he has to tell.
