Cliques and Cars
The high school in 21 Jump Street uses rhetorical devices in order to make arguments
on our society, culture, and time period. These arguments are all relevant
because this film was released only two years ago in 2012. This film is a
humorous drama that tells the story of two undercover cops attempting to find
the suppliers for a new drug, HFS. This drug is extremely dangerous and these
two cops, Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko, are ordered to solve this issue in a
timely manner. Schmidt and Jenko were high school classmates themselves and
lived two totally separate lives during their teenage years. Jenko was a
popular athlete who was not too concerned with his schoolwork. On the opposite
side of the spectrum we have Schmidt who was an intelligent student obsessed
with the rapper Eminem. A specific scene to represent their two different social
lives comes when Schmidt asks Jenko’s girlfriend to senior prom. Once Schmidt
gets denied Jenko laughs and remarks, “You’re a nerd and she’s, I don’t know,
she’s hot” (21 Jump Street Lord). The high school makes arguments on the
superficial culture and segregated society that we currently live in. These
messages along with materialistic characters reveal the issues in our culture. By
breaking down these scenes we can clearly see the high school as a place where 21 Jump Street makes arguments on the 21st
century lifestyle.
Messages about our superficial
society come early on in the film. Once Schmidt and Jenko have been assigned
their missions they quickly jump into the world of high school in 2012. The
wide range of cliques immediately shocks the two cops. One of the first groups
they see is the hipsters. A modern day definition of a hipster is, “You are the
epitome of laid back, but it’s something you have to try to be” (University of
Michigan 3). This group is described as environmentally conscious and also free
spirited. Jenko remarks that there is the gleek club, the nerds, the cool kids,
and the “I don’t know what those things are” (21 Jump Street Lord). Right off
the bat we clearly see the segregation of people in high school. There are specific
cliques in any real high school; therefore this adds believability and logos.
This scene also adds ethos as the film gains credibility due to its accurate
portray of these cliques. The nerds look like nerds and the athletes look like
athletes. When these groups of people are shown as Schmidt and Jenko walk into
the school music is played that helps get the message across that these people
belong to a specific clique. For the gothic crew dark music is played that
helps further describe these people, “Both words and music convey meanings, but
each in a different manner” (Giannetti, 213). The words describing these groups
give clear definitions but the different music for each group give us even
further insight. The music helps set the tone and mood of the film. These
descriptions of the cliques give evidence of the segregation in today’s high
school society. Segregation doesn’t mean judging simply on race or skin color
it means, “the action or state of setting someone
or something apart from other people or things or being set apart”
(Merriam-Webster 4). These students set one another apart based on their
interests, outlooks, and style. This also plays into the argument that the high
school is superficial and materialistic. All of these arguments are attempting
to comment about the issues in our modern day society.
Schmidt finds his way into the group of
cool kids that are also very hipster in their mannerisms. Schmidt befriends
Eric who is the head of this group. Eric attempts to try and be open about his
life and show that he can relate to anybody. However, at the same time he tells
Jenko, “Me and all my friends care about the environment” (21 Jump Street
Lord). Here Eric reveals that he too distinguishes whom he likes and whom he
doesn’t base on the fact of whether or not somebody cares about the
environment. Here Eric showed how superficial his friendships really are. Aside
from the segregation and the superficial relationships there is also a theme of
being materialistic. Again all of these messages are true issues and are extremely
relevant therefore adding logos and some ethos to this film. The fact that
these two detectives are going undercover and experiencing these issues themselves
adds to their ethos. The use of pathos is pretty clear-cut. This film is hilarious
and it uses this to emotionally attach the viewers to the film. Other than the
use of humor there aren’t any other ways pathos is used in this film.
Psychologist, George Monbiot, offers
this, “Materialism is associated with depression, anxiety and broken
relationships” (The Guardian 3). This definition reveals the underlining causes
and emotions that go along with materialism. Being materialistic goes deeper
than just caring about what you have and what somebody else has. It also is an
indicator that somebody might be insecure or relies on their material objects
to define who they are. Jenko is the best example of a materialistic person in
the film. In the first 10 minutes of the film Jenko announces, “First rule, of
being cool in high school: drive a sick ass car” (21 Jump Street Lord). Here
Jenko is saying that his car is the object that defines him, not his actual
personality. He also says, “don’t try hard in anything” (21 Jump Street Lord).
These two quotes reveal where his priorities are. He says in order to be
popular you must have the best objects and not care about anything. The fact
that these words are coming from a man who was indeed a popular figure in his
high school tells us that he is accurate in his claims. The fact that a car
defines a person rather than one’s own characters speaks volumes to the
materialistic society that we currently live in.
By examining the materialistic,
superficial, and segregated society in high school we pick up on the main
messages in 21 Jump Street. All of
these scenes and messages occur in the high school. This school is the specific
place where these arguments originate and the place where these ideas flourish.
The cliques and the cars define one’s personal worth in this high school, which
represents the troubled society that we currently live in.
Funny Moments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9jjAer-Mn4
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