From rich to poor and jocks to nerds, these students open their harts, just a little, to see what's coming. The fear and uncertainty of what was just around the corner comes through in these students. This fear comes through as rage and sadness. These raw emotions are secondary to the main issue of a major life change. The emotions shown in the two films are the real topics that should be faced in teen films.
Teens go through tough times and are emotionally unbalanced.
Deep down these are the real problems troubling teens. If teens were to face these emotions instead of repressing them, other problems in life would be so much easier. In the 1980 s the closest movie that comes to deal with such issues is The Breakfast Club . I think that this movie does not go deep enough into the teen mind of emotion. Such a powerful movie was probably feared and is probably still feared.