Who are you? This question might be extremely difficult to answer if you asked a teenager. Adolescents experience countless changes in their development, which is why this is such an important time for them. During this period, adolescents develop their self-esteem. Cinema has helped to depict some of the changes occurring during this evolving period of development. For this article, I will describe the differences between two teenage films to depict the differences in self-development. Some differences I will cover include types of self, Erickson's identity crisis, Marcia's identity status interview theory, and culture over time. (Arnett, 2013) Perks of Being a Wallflower (Halfon, Malkovich, Smith, & Chbosky, 2012), is a film set in the South, about a freshman named Charlie, who starts high school without friends. He just wants to be accepted by his peers and fit in. The Wallflowers, who are elderly people, take him under their wing and give him the opportunity to live the life of a divergent being. Can't Buy Me Love (Mount & Rash, 1987) is a film about a freshman named Ronnie who has always had a crush on neighbor Cindy. Ronnie's downside is that he is a nerd while Cindy is considered the most beautiful girl in school. The film continues to tell the story of how he ended up buying his love for a month and how it changed his life in high school. Even though these two films have the same type of plot, scenes and age groups, there is a lot of contrast between their personal identities. The first one I would like to address is the type of self represented by the two main characters. There are many types of self that people can fit into. There is who I am (the real me), who I could become (po...... middle of paper ......up. This just shows that in addition to personal and adolescent development, culture can change and develop over time as well. Overall, adolescent development is a turbulent time of change and growth for a person. It is a time when many qualitative and quantitative changes occur. Finding yourself, as an adolescent, is only a small fraction of the process Yet adolescence is only one piece of the lifespan development puzzle. Works Cited Arnett, J.J. (2013). Smith, R. (producers) and Chbosky, S. (director) (2012). Director). (1987) I Can't Buy Me Love (US Film: Apollo Pictures).)..