You are here:

Youth

Name: Youth
Director: Veit Harlan
Released: 1938

Representation Score

0.1/10

Minimal

1938

Director

Veit Harlan

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Youth is a period drama that upholds traditional social, religious, and gender hierarchies. The story explores the tension between personal desires and the stabilizing forces of the Church and family. The film supports the moral status quo of the late 19th century. It lacks diverse representation or any challenge to established power structures. Ultimately, the narrative emphasizes the preservation of social order, showing a world where characters are scrutinized by rigid communal and religious standards.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Youth have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film does not include any LGBTQ+ characters or non-straight relationships. The romantic storyline is confined to a traditional relationship between Hans and Annie.

How does Youth portray gender?

Limited

Annie's character is heavily influenced by male authority figures who try to control her behavior according to religious beliefs. Her actions are limited by the expectations set by men in her life.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Youth?

Minimal

The film portrays a uniform German village with no racial or ethnic diversity among the characters or in the storyline.

How does Youth represent religion and culture?

Minimal

The story emphasizes a strict Christian moral code centered around sin and redemption. It upholds the social and religious order without questioning its underlying assumptions.

Does Youth include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no visible or invisible disabilities represented in the film. Characters are defined by their moral and social roles rather than by any physical or cognitive differences.

Present on Screen

The film offers a detailed look at 19th-century European social structures and religious authority.

Limited or Absent

The film lacks racial and ethnic diversity, presenting a completely homogeneous social group.
Female characters have limited autonomy, as their actions are controlled by male religious figures.
There is no representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight perspectives.
The film reinforces traditional hierarchies without offering diverse or challenging viewpoints.

Official Synopsis

Germany, 1890: Having just gotten his high-school diploma, Hans leaves for Heidelberg to begin his university studies. But first, he wants to visit his uncle, Pastor Hoppe, in the small village of Rosenau. It's here that he again meets his cousin and childhood friend Annie. Annie is the illegitimate child of Pastor Hoppe's sister, who's left the upbringing of her offspring to the man-of-the-cloth. Conservative chaplain Schigorski continually tries to convince Annie to join the nearby cloister and thus "atone" for the sins of her mother. And it's getting more difficult for the fun-loving girl to escape the chaplain's harrassment. When Hans arrives, old feelings of lust come back to the surface.

How are these scores produced? →