Respond to these rapid questions in our Eighth Grade quiz and we will tell you which Eighth Grade character you are. Play it now.
Thirteen-year-old Kayla (Elsie Fisher) is the host of a YouTube series called “Kayla’s Korner,” in which she gives advice to an imagined audience of her classmates. Topics such as “Being Yourself” and “Putting Yourself Out There” are chosen, and she stumbles her way through a pep-talk peppered with “likes” while glancing at her notes at the same time. A quick look at the subscriber count reveals that Kayla’s Korner hasn’t exactly exploded in popularity. Bo Burnham’s feature film debut, “Eighth Grade,” begins with one of these videos, which is so touchingly real, so embarrassingly true to life, that you might believe it was improvised or found footage. However, this is not the case. A 13-year-old actress, Elsie Fisher, is remarkably in touch with what it’s like to be in the stage of life that she is currently experiencing. Kayla uses an airbrush to get rid of her acne and swoops on a lot of eyeliner. It’s almost tragic to watch the Kayla’s Korner videos when you realize how tragic her life is in real life after watching them. But it’s also oddly optimistic at the same time. This is a young girl who is attempting to comprehend what she is experiencing, and she does so by presenting herself as an expert and a resource for others.
Kayla lives with her father in their home (Josh Hamilton). There is no mother in the picture (the reason for this is not revealed until near the end of the film). Her father is struggling to maintain a connection with his adolescent daughter, who appears to be hellbent on shutting him out completely. His attempts at conversation (“Are you looking forward to high school?”) were unsuccessful. “Those videos you make, you’re such a cool kid, aren’t you? They’re absolutely incredible “) make her feel humiliated. Despite the fact that she has no friends, Kayla has a huge crush on Aiden (Luke Prael), who has sleepy eyes and exudes self-assurance. She swoons whenever she looks at Aiden. She also has a longing gaze for Kennedy, who is known as the “Queen Bee” of middle school (Catherine Oliviere).
Bo Burnham is well aware that, of all the terrors in the world, there is nothing quite as terrifying as being a shy 8th grader attending a birthday party for the most popular kid at school, as witnessed by his father, Bo Burnham. “Amityville Horror”-style footage shows Kayla standing at the sliding glass doors in her lime-green one-piece bathing suit, shoulders hunched, arms dangling down, staring out at the playful shenanigans of her classmates, all of whom display a social ease that is completely inaccessible to an outsider like Kayla. Burnham slowly pulls the camera back as the electronic music (composed by Anna Meredith) drowns out all other sounds, with Kayla hovering in the background as if she were a ghostly figure visible through the glass. This and other stylistic flourishes can be found throughout “Eighth Grade.” A flourish can be meaningless, but it can also serve to elevate the audience comfortably “above” the action onscreen. Burnham, on the other hand, is well aware of what he is doing. When you’re 13, every second counts and every decision you make is life or death. These flourishes associate us so strongly with Kayla that every social situation becomes fraught with emotional peril as a result of them.
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Sublimated “commentary” about what it’s like to be a teenager today can be found in “Eighth Grade,” including constant internet use, scrolling through classmates’ carefully curated Instagram feeds, and the societal pressure to appear “okay” and “fabulous” all of the time. When a teenager feels under pressure to “perform” her life on social media platforms like Instagram or Snapchat, the game changes in subtle ways that are probably not even noticed at the time. Burnham, on the other hand, keeps the tone light and humorous. He doesn’t give speeches from a platform. There’s an overhead shot of a school assembly, with hundreds of students sitting in front of the camera with their phones clutched tightly in their hands. Students are put through a terrifying lockdown drill in which they must hide under their desks from a hypothetical shooter, which is shown in a chilling sequence. Every one of them is huddled together, their faces lit up by the glow of their smartphones, waiting for it to be over. Burnham, on the other hand, remains on the ground with the children, right in the middle of the action. While social media can be used to keep us separated from one another, it can also be used to bring us together. The following day, after spending the day “shadowing” a kind high-school student named Olivia (Emily Robinson), Kayla summons the courage to call Olivia and express her gratitude, and Olivia is overjoyed in her new role as mentor and friend. Kayla is even invited to come hang out with her at the mall.
Eighth Grade Quiz
Moments of gloom are on the horizon. Her terrifyingly young age is highlighted by an encounter with an older boy who attempts to force her to participate in a game of Truth or Dare in the back of his vehicle. She has insanely passionate feelings for Aiden, but the rest of the pieces, such as the desire to do something about those feelings, aren’t quite there yet for her. Although her father is trailing behind her, he is also concerned about what might be going on in the background. When Kayla asks him if it makes him “sad” to have her as a daughter, his surprise that she would feel that way about herself is heartbreaking. His concern causes him to “hover,” and Kayla is desperate to get away from him.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Eighth Grade quiz.
As grounded in the reality of middle school as “Eighth Grade” is, the film almost operates as a horrifying collective flashback for the audience. All of the children in the cast are real middle-schoolers, not twenty-somethings pretending to be adolescents for the sake of comedy. There is a significant difference between a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old, but it has traditionally been difficult for films to recognize or depict this difference. In our cinematic history, the trials and tribulations of teenagers are intertwined. But what about middle schoolers? It’s more difficult. The 8th graders are still toeing the line in the sandbox. Despite the fact that they are still children, their bodies are exploding into young adulthood, creating an atmosphere of self-loathing, hormonal surges, irritability, and other symptoms of puberty. When the middle schoolers march in single file into the high school for “shadow day,” the high school students lining the hallways appear to be adults in comparison to the middle school students.
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Burnham is well-versed in the language of middle-schoolers. Despite their efforts to sound older, they stutter, repeat themselves, and generally sound shaky and unsteady. They haven’t quite figured out how to communicate in social situations yet. “I like the shirt you’re wearing… I’ve got a shirt, too “Kayla says something to Kennedy, who looks at Kayla with such dead eyes that it’s clear she can’t wait to get back to looking at her phone. After hearing the Truth or Dare boy say something suggestive, Kayla is anxious and confused, and she murmurs to herself, “Okay,” but what comes out is, “O-kee…” One of the reasons “Eighth Grade” has such a sense of verisimilitude is due to Fisher’s actual age on screen. Her smile is so rare that it almost cracks her face when it appears, but the joy she feels is so overwhelming that it threatens to send her into a panic attack. She is currently in the process of becoming herself. The audience shares in her father’s loving anxiety. However, “Eighth Grade,” for all of its emotional intensity, is not about “what happens” in the story. It’s a story about what it’s like to be thirteen years old. Middle school is a drag. Everyone is aware of this. The stage is something you have to go through. The only problem is that it seems to last an eternity while you’re there. Saying to a 13-year-old, “This, too, shall pass” is a difficult proposition.
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Bo Burnham, who got his start as a teenager by uploading videos of his stand-up routines to YouTube, is only 27 years old and has already achieved success. Kayla’s current situation is respected by him. He doesn’t treat her any differently than he would treat anyone else. “Eighth Grade” is a nerdy, humorous act of empathy for the characters.
For more personality quizzes check this: The Possession Of Hannah Grace Quiz.
