The film Rushmore, directed by Wez Anderson has a montage scene at the start of the film, using this montage we were asked; Is Max Fischer a stereotypical teenager? My answer to this is no, Max is not a stereotypical teenager.
At the start of the montage you see Max opening a school journal, on the front cover of the journal are bee's. These bees could represent one of a few things, the first thing that the bees could represent is for the fact that Max 'flies' around from one activity to another or that he may be as 'busy as a bee' from doing all the activities at school that he does. The bees could also represent Max thinking that he is 'the bee's knees' from participating in so many activities and being the editor/founder/chairman of all of the clubs.
The first club that we see Max is a member of is 'The Yankee Review' and he is also the publisher of it, him being the publisher shows that he is the most important member of the club and that he likes to be in charge. In the shot Max is dressed much more formally than the other students, with him wearing a blazer and chinos. As they are walking through school you see him in the middle with some students walking behind him this shows that he likes being the leader and see's himself to be more important than everyone else. This goes against what a typical teenager would be like as many teenagers hate wearing uniform and are usually dressed more scruffy.
It then goes on to show that Max is the president of the French club, it shows him again, sitting right in the centre of the shot and wearing a beret this shows that he likes to be the centre of attention and also takes the way he dresses for each club seriously.
When it shows Max in the model United Nations club he is siting in the middle of the shot again and wearing the suitable costume for that activity, in this case him wearing another hat. In the model United Nations Max chose to be Russia which is one of the most powerful countries in the world, this backs up the idea that he likes to be in control and feel important or better than everyone else, it also shows Max sitting up very straight whereas usually teenagers tend to slouch and sit back.
Max is also the vice president of the stamp and coin club, this would not generally be a stereotypical pastime for a teenager as it tends to be something that someone of an older age would do. You can tell Max has been involved with this club for a long time as he a very big collection of stamps and coins.
The next shot shows that Max is the debating team captain, this again being an important role within the club. Although Max isn’t in the centre of this shot he still stands out from what he is wearing. All of the other students are wearing bow ties whereas Max is wearing a normal tie and his blazer, this could show that he likes to have individuality from everyone else or that he likes wearing his school uniform. A stereotypical teenager would never usually intend to stand out as most teenagers make the effort to fit in, also teenagers typically don’t like wearing school uniform and do as much as then can to get around wearing it.
When it shows Max as the lacrosse team manager he is still wearing his school uniform, instead of watching the lacrosse game like the other 'Jocks' he is concentrating on tidying up showing no interest in the game. While doing this the 'Jocks' don’t even notice him and act almost as if he isn’t even there. Usually a stereotypical teenager would be watching the lacrosse game instead of trying to tidy up the equipment.
Max is the president of the calligraphy club; from this shot i get the impression that he may be the only member in the club as there is no-one else around. A typical teenager wouldn’t join and be president of a club that only had one member. Max is the president of the club again showing how he likes to be important and in control.
The rest of the clubs that Max is in such as; The astronomy society founder, Fencing team captain, track and field, choir master, bombardment society founder etc. He plays a main role in each of these clubs that he is a part of showing that he must have a lot of time on his hands to organise all of the activities he does. Some of these clubs that he is involved in are not even the typical sort of clubs that would be at a stereotypical school such as him being the 2nd choir master and a member of the beekeepers club. Most of the kids that go to these clubs are younger than him which backs up my view of him being an outcast and not having any friends. With him being around younger kids reinforces that he likes to be in control and the leader.
The Song used during the montage is Making Time by the Creation, this song links very well to Max as it has lyrics in it such as "acting the fool".
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