13. It's Complicated: The American Teenager by Robin Bowman

Bowman, Robin. (2007). It’s complicated: The American teenager. New York: Umbrage Editions. ISBN-13:978-1-884167-69-0, p. 149

Genre: Nonfiction/Photography
Interest Age: 15+
Curriculum: NA

Reader’s Annotation

Through photographs and interviews, Robin Bowman shows the collective face of the modern American teenager.

Plot Summary

It’s Complicated: The American Teenager is a collection of over 100 photos and interviews conducted over a 5 year period. In her quest to capture the American teenager, Bowman traveled across the country from Santa Monica, CA to Sully, IA to Brooklyn, NY and everywhere in between; she met thousands of teens, finally interviewing and photographing four hundred and ninety teens between the of ages 13 – 19 from all socio-economic, cultural, religious, and ethnic background. She interviewed and photographed individuals, groups of friends, siblings, young families, and occasionally teens with older family members.

Teens were all asked the same series of questions including “What is one of the biggest things to happen to you and how did it change your life?”, “Tell me about your family”, “Do you believe in God?”, “Have you ever personally suffered from discrimination?”, “Have you ever experimented with drugs?” and “As you look ahead in your life what do you think you will become?”. Excerpts from the interviews accompany almost all of the photographs.

Critical Review

It’s Complicated: The American Teenager is filled with gorgeous photography (all black and white) and candid interviews. Many of the stories are heartbreaking. Many of the teens come from divorced homes or already have kids of their own. Many have faced discrimination, economic hardships and have battled drug and alcoholic addictions. But these stories are balanced out by numerous teens that come from middle class to very affluent society. What connects all these images and stories are common themes of faith, perseverance, love and hope for the future.

Many of the teen discuss religion. The first photograph and interview are of a 19 year old Muslim girl on the day of her wedding discussing how it wasn’t until after 9/11 that she became passionate about her faith. Interviews with groups of Hasidic Jews, Amish, Muslims, Christians and even one Voodoo priest show that while the media may play up the more materialistic, secular side of today’s youth, faith in something greater than themselves still plays a powerful role in the lives of many of today’s teenagers.

No subject had what one would define as a perfect life. Some of the teens’ struggles are more spiritual (i.e. trying to define who they are and what they want to do in their life) while other have much more tangible struggles with drugs, discrimination, poverty, family and crime. Ebony Wilson, age 15, is a member of the Bloods gang in the Bronx, NY but struggles with the keeping her young sister out of gangs and laments the lunacy of racism. Anastaizschzia, age 16, is on her own in Los Angeles, CA making her way as a hustler. Tup, age 17, lives on the streets of Philadelphia, PA and dreams of running an organic farm. Several teens live in areas like East L.A., Watts, or the Bronx where violence and gangs are a constant threat.

What makes the biggest impression is not the struggles these teens endure but the hope they still have. Even the most cynical of them have goals and things they want to accomplish. Each of the teens is filled with hope, depression, joy, anger, sadness, love and faith. Bowman captures all these conflicting emotions in each photograph.

Bowman states in her introduction that her goal was to discover the “American Teenager” and to have the reader “know these kids as [she] does”. She admits that in actuality, these are impossible goals. The book offers no definitive definitions or images that wholly encapsulate the essence of the modern teenager. But what the interviews and stunning black and white photography does give the reader is a sense of the vast similarities and diversities which make up the American adolescent experience.

Author Info

Robin Bowman majored in anthropology at Wheaton College and then studied photography at the Maine Photo Workshops. She current lives in Maine and works as a photo journalist. Her photos have appeared in numerous publications such as Berlin Journal, Fortune, Life, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, Time, U.S. News and World Report, and People. She has traveled around the world “documenting social and political issues”.

“Robin Bowman: Biography”. (2005). Open Society Institute. Retrieved May 5, 2010 from http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/movingwalls/13/bowman_bio

Book Talking Ideas

1. Who is the American Teenager? How would you define him or her?
2. What are some of the common themes and experiences that the teens share?
3. What do the settings say about the teens in the photos? Why do you think Robin Bowman chose to shot these teens where she did?

Challenges

No current challenges, but the interviews include candid statements about sex, drugs, religion, politics, racism, sexuality, and family. All of which can be controversial topics. There is a fair amount of profanity (the interviews are not edited) and there is one photo of a fully nude 16 year old girl (she’s a Naturalist). This book would definitely not be appropriate for a middle school library and I would be hesitant to place a completely uncensored version of it in even a high school library due to its content.

Why I choose this title

I wanted to include some nonfiction about today’s teens. The mix of interviews and photography makes this an interesting and involving read, different from a straight biography or nonfiction book.