The Road To Nowhere

This thesis explores the combination of two distinct film genres: the coming-of-age narrative and the losing-grip-on-reality trope seen in psychological films. Influenced by the global pandemic and other crises, this thesis looks to how young people have to grow up in a time where everything is unknown, and reality is not in its normal state. This thesis comprises of an analytical, introductory essay that explores my creative process, a Hollywood-standard treatment, and an original, feature-length screenplay entitled The Road to Nowhere. Works that inspired and influenced this thesis include Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Graduate, Birdman, Donnie Darko, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, and Talking Heads’ Road to Nowhere. The screenplay examines both a crisis of identity and a crisis of reality, asking the following questions: who are we and where do we belong in this world; how do we perceive the world around us; how much are we willing to risk finding happiness; and where do we find happiness: in the jobs and opportunities we earn or the people and environment we surround ourselves with?