The F**k-It List: A Luxury for the Rich
What Netflix got wrong in yet another one of its seemingly relatable coming-of-age movies
Recently I watched one of Netflix’s most popular teen movies — The F**k-It List. I suppose I am slighly late to the trend considering this was released back in 2020, but the unforeseen window in my time schedule as a senior in high school allowed me to see yet another romanticized story of teen rebellion against the Big Bad Wolf that is portrayed to be the college admissions system.
An Overview
In a nutshell, The F**k-It List is a story centred around a boy who has dedicated his entire life towards admission into the Ivy League, but realizes that in this process he hasn’t been able to do a lot of the thing that normal teenagers in his age do. So, he quite literally burns down his high school, creates a list of activities he wished he could’ve done as a teen, posts it online, receives an unconditional offer from Harvard as a result, and finally rejects them by saying “F**k it”. Somewhere amid this chaos, he also falls in love.
Here’s the thing: in reality, this story has one of the most fallacious and illogical sequences of events I have ever seen in a movie. While audience reviews on Google show undeniable excitement for the film, I can’t help but feel a sense of complete detachment for it. Why? Because the idea is there, but the portrayal is far from relatable to the average high school senior.
The reality for today’s high schoolers
Brett Blackmore, the protagonist of the movie, has been allowed the space and comfort to throw his hands in the air and say “F**k it” in his life because he can afford to do so — unlike the majority of students. However, his perception of the high school experience is not exclusively unrealistic.
What Netflix got right, at least partially
There is no deny that this mid-life crisis that Brett experiences is common for nearly all juniors and seniors in high school. In one way or another, most of us have felt the internal pressure to do everything we can in order to increase our chances of admission.
As college acceptance rates are continuously dropping, there is an increasing number of students who feel as though they have to beat their way across the college application process and sacrifice parts of their teenage experience in hopes that a generated “perfect” student profile will secure them a place in a school, and thus a place in the world.
However, it is Brett’s favorable circumstances that deem him so unrelatable and ultimately allow him to create his infamous F**k-It List, and still be guaranteed a spot into Harvard.
In the end not everyone can say “F**k It”
While I understand the comedic nature by which the movie aims to deal with the theme of parental pressure or restrictive societal expectations, it fails to address the case of the average non-privileged high schooler in America.
Brett is yet another white male from a corporate family whose reason for wanting to attend the Ivy League is the tailored prestige. After he responds to Harvard’s offer by essentially raising the middle finger, Brett chooses to travel the world with his new girlfriend.
Meet the New Brett
Now imagine: Brett is a Black, first-generation incoming college student whose parents have a small local market business. He accidentally gets caught up in a backfiring school prank and burns down a building in his school. Still, he somehow manages to receive a college offer from Harvard despite the bad publicity, all in the name of revolutionary change (big if). Will the institution now give young revolting Brett financial aid seeing as he cannot cover the cost of his tuition fees? Will they publicly announce their acceptance of recent 18-year-old felon charged with arson in their school? Will his family be able to afford bailing him out in the first place?
Let’s now assume that New Brett turns down Harvard’s bold college offer. How does he go about navigating his career after racially prejudiced press releases and legal charges up against his back? Not everyone has friends in the admissions office, a family company to fall back on, or the financial capability to drop everything and travel to Spain. See, there are circumstances that are not in New Brett’s favor.
The F**k-It attitude is a perceivable option when you can afford to make such choices, without this infringing on your place in the world or your already limited opportunities.
The Takeaway
If there is one thing that I find worthy of keeping from The F**k-It List it’s that high school does not have to be completely insufferable in order to be worthy of a place in a college or university. While most of us cannot commit arson and have Harvard happily reach to us offering a place in their school, let alone have the comfort to say “no” to them and wander around Europe, there are a lot of things that we can encourage ourselves to do as part of the teenager experience and beyond.
With that said, while ironic and half-against my own critique in this article, here is my own (legal) F**k-It List. Or rather, my I’m-Ready List.
- Have a conversation with the new kid on my bus.
- Go to the gym wearing my pajamas.
- Perform in the school concert.
- Spend an entire night with my best friend on the beach.
- Give my English teacher a birthday card with the rest of my classmates.
- Cut my own hair.
- Learn the basics in American Sign Language.
- Spend an afternoon watching David Attenborough documentaries.
- Do nothing for a day.
- Reach out to an old friend.
Instead of saying “F**k-it” and completely ignoring the consequences of our actions, perhaps we can challenge ourselves to do something that will contribute in small, meaningful fragments to our personal development as individuals.
Thank you, Brett. Your showcased priviledge was my catharsis.
