Order vs. Freedom

In high school, either depicted in media or seen through our own eyes, the conflict of order versus freedom is constantly present. Time after time, individuality is encouraged. “Be yourself, do not worry about what others think of you.” Through doing this, people find their own group of friends. In turn, cliques are created. Each graduating class split up in to several sections of people. While it is not desirable, it is inevitable. Freedom is acted upon when in these groups and in choosing these groups, but the order is found in the organization of people. This is shown, for example, in movies and books that depict high school. In movies like Mean Girls, the Breakfast Club, and Heathers, or books such as Speak and the Perks of Being a Wallflower. The order of individuality is the norm.

In each piece, there are the typical “high school cliques”. Usually as one of the main characters, from either the book or movie, are explaining their high school, the first thing they talk about are all of the different groups. Most commonly, as the reader or viewing, you visualize yourself standing in the lunchroom observing all of the different niches. There are the hippy kids, the athletes, the nerds, the theater kids, the orchestra kids… in each story there is different plot but the cliques stay constant. Within these cliques, individuality and freedom thrives. In all of the pieces, all is harmonious when each person stays in their clique and nothing is disturbed, but when people branch out or there is a shift in the cliques, chaos occurs. The paradox only evolves when realizing that the contained freedom is the order.