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St. Paul, Minn.

July 31, 2008 2:00 PM

Documentary shows high school life is little changed

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Hannah — Mitch is a jock and Hannah is an arty girl who attend an Indiana high school featured in a new documentary, "American Teen." When they start dating, many people in their school think it's strange.
Image courtesy Paramount Vantage

Documentary filmmaker Nanette Burstein says most movies and TV shows about teenagers just plain get it wrong.

She says the movies are based more on fantasy than reality, and TV shows usually only portray kids from wealthy families.

Nanette Burstein — Nanette Burstein and her crew followed a group of high school seniors at a school in Indiana every day for 10 months to make her documentary, "American Teen."
MPR photo/Euan Kerr

So when Burstein set out to make her documentary, "American Teen," she headed to the Midwest -- Warsaw, Ind. -- for a dose of realism.

Every day for 10 months, she filmed students in the high school.

Burstein says she met the jocks, popular girls, the geeks, and the arty crowd, and she found that some things in high school haven't changed. She spoke with MPR's Euan Kerr.

Gallery

4 of 4

Colin — Colin is a top basketball player who needs a sports scholarship to go to college.
Image courtesy Paramount Vantage

1 of 4

Mitch and Hannah — Mitch is a jock and Hannah is an arty girl who attend an Indiana high school featured in a new documentary, "American Teen." When they start dating, many people in their school think it's strange.
Image courtesy Paramount Vantage

2 of 4

Megan — Megan is the leader of the popular girls in "American Teen."
Image courtesy Paramount Vantage

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