Adolescence as a cinematographic genre: from vindication to opportunity

Adolescence is a fundamental stage in the biological and psychosocial development of a person and a necessary stage for growth and development in which here every resource that can improve the communication and education of adolescents is welcome. And among those resources, cinema has a prominent place, since watching movies is an appreciated entertainment by teenagers and is part of our society. And, as paediatricians, who attend to the organic, emotional and social health of children and teenagers, we propose to prescribe films that help to understand teenagers and the adolescence within their usual environments (families, friends, schools and society). The “prescription” of films can be oriented to adolescents and their families, studying very well the objective that is intended in each recipient, so making sure that the positive message comes across the right way. It is not about prescribing, but about prescribing films well to our adolescent children, to our adolescent students, to our adolescent patients. Prescribe key films and review them through a narrative observation. Because there are so many movies with a teenager as the main character, with its many personal and social aspects (and also health problems, why not), that is why we claim adolescence as a cinematographic genre. And from that demand arises the need to see cinema as an opportunity for teaching and for humanization in clinical practice. This is what is about in the Cine y Pediatría project.