Becoming
13
by Victoria
King
Girl Culture Productions with National
Film Board of Canada, Montréal,
Canada, 2006
DVD, 47mins, colour
Sales, $19.95
Distributors website: http://www.nfb.ca.
Reviewed by Kathryn Adams
Australia
kathy@pacific.net.au
"To celebrate your daughter is to
celebrate yourself this is the
mother-daughter mystery." Virginia
Beane Rutter [1]
Having seen Catherine Hardwickes
2003 movie Thirteen, I faced Victoria
Kings documentary "Becoming
13" with trepidation. Was I again
about to cringe as young girls spiral
out of control into the murky depths of
self-mutilation, sex, drugs, petty crime,
and vomit? Fortunately, King has opted
to shelve the seedier side of teenage
angst and the sensationalism that often
surrounds it and feature three girls (and
their Mums) who are focused on self-respect,
creativity, family, and their futures
while still touching on other issues relevant
to their age group.
Filmed in Newfoundland, Canada, King documents
one year in the lives of three very different
girlsAvi, Jazmine, and Jane
who are about to turn 13. Avi, whose mother
and grandparents are originally from India,
has some cultural issues to work through
and is expected to obtain academic perfection.
Jazmine is dealing with her parents
separation, misses her father and sees
her body piercings as a sign of individuality.
And Jane, whose mother is an artist, is
interested in art but not so interested
in schoolwork and is open to the many
possibilities that await her in life.
Filmed in and around their homes and at
school we see the girls doing everyday
things. Comfortable with the cameras,
the girls are filmed helping around the
home, doing homework, attending dance
class, socialising with friends at sleepovers,
and in Jazmines case, having her
tongue pierced
ew! The girls and
their mothers speak freely and openly
about their views on careers, boyfriends,
absent fathers, family relationships,
their hopes and fears for the future,
and the heady transition from childhood
into adolescence. As one of the girls
explains,
"The worst thing about being 12 is
people dont really understand you
and they think that we have bad attitudes
and we dont get the world or whatever
but the thing is people dont get
us."
The film is very much focused on the mother/daughter
relationship. Footage of the girls filming
and interviewing their mothers about their
own childhood experiences and long forgotten
dreams produces some poignant moments.
King, a mother herself, knows her subject
well and has approached this project with
warmth and sensitivity, allowing each
girls story to gently unfold and
take its own course without judgement.
A teaching guide based on "Becoming
13" has been written by Maureen
Baron and is an indication of the films
potential to raise issues for discussion,
making this a valuable teaching aid for
those involved in the area of family studies.
The guide is written for schoolteachers,
guidance counsellors, social workers,
parents, high school administrators, and
community youth workers and suggests these
issues as topics for discussion: parenting,
adolescence, family values and conflict,
peer pressure, physical appearance, academic
success, social activities, and teenagers
in the media.
There are no startling revelations, confrontational
scenes, or insights into the mysterious
workings of the adolescent brain here.
Its a very even piece, perhaps a
little too safe by some standards but
certainly a balance to the usual shock
and awe depictions of rebellious
teenage life. At 47 minutes running time,
some creative editing at the beginning
of the film and an original and evocative
music score written by Lori Clarke, this
film flows along nicely and by including
the use of "diary-cam" in this
documentary we also get a glimpse into
what really goes on when our 12 year olds
are "busy" in their rooms.
References:
[1] Celebrating Girls, (p.19) Lansdowne
Publishing Pty Ltd, Aust.