Voice actor demonstrates how teen girls in TV and film have evolved from the 1950s to the 2020s
They sound drastically different in every decade.
Teen girls in film and TV have changed a lot over the decades.
Voice actor Tawny Platis has become a viral sensation with her wide range of voiceover talents and videos demonstrating a variety of different voices. But one video that explores the evolution of teen girl voices in television and film over the last 75 years has people praising both her voice acting talent and the history of female representation she's providing.
Platis describes her video as "A very brief and at times hyperbolic look into the evolution of how teenagers have been portrayed in film and tv from the 1950s until today." Some of it is from her own experience and observations in the industry, but she shared that she also referenced more than 30 different academic and media sources to explain what contributed to the differences between the decades.
The best part is that she explained each vocal shift while actually using the stereotypical teen girl voice of the decade.
"Teenagers in the 1950s had higher-pitched, perky, breathy voices that signaled they were squeaky clean and conformed with traditional family values," she said. "Post WWII prosperity had created a generation with disposable income and leisure time, which had never really happened before, and sure does explain an awful lot."
A classic example of this 1950s teen girl is Gidget.
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A big shift happened in the '60s, though, and the girls' voices took on a whole different tone, a much deeper one.
"By the 1960s, teens were either partying on the beach or really into counterculture, man. It reflected two distinct responses to social upheaval, either living in a bubble of upper-middle-class wealth or rebelling against the status quo by embracing far-out but groovy ideas like peace and love," she said.
The '70s saw the teen girl voice drop even deeper, as "disillusionment and a loss of innocence due to counterculture failing to change society" led to jadedness. "Nobody was trying to be good or revolutionary. They were either trying to survive or embracing disco hedonism."
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Then came the Reagan-era '80s, where teen girl voices went back up an octave, added "like" every other word, and reflected the "conspicuous consumption" that led young women to "perform vapidities as a form of privilege." Rich and safe again, "we're just going to act like nothing bad ever happened." (Think "valley girl.")
The '90s saw the angsty Gen X teen girl, "materialistic and largely privileged, but self-aware and ironic," which dropped the voice way down again. Vocabulary from the '80s spilled over into the '90s, but was delivered "with an eye roll instead of a giggle." Alternative and grunge culture arose in response to things like the fall of the Berlin Wall. This decade was marked by "aimlessness and detachment, but genuine care."
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Then came 9/11 and soon after "a return to superficial concerns after brief unity." Reality TV replaced the "90s sarcastic speak" with the dreaded vocal fry, "which was often used to sound more authoritative and professional." (Platis points out that this came about after girls and women had been criticized for "uptalk.")
As the 2010s rolled in and social media became popular, a voice that indicated authenticity came along, partially in response to "a growing backlash against fakeness." Platis said, "Teen girls stopped trying to sound like reality stars and started trying to just sound like themselves." A class consciousness also came into play that made conspicuous consumption less attractive.
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And now the 2020s, in which we've seen a shift from "authentic vulnerability to hybrid performance that reflects the generation's unique position as digital natives who've seen all previous iterations of teen culture archived online and can literally consciously choose elements from each era, as well as just hijack any words they like from AAVE and the drag community." The isolation of the pandemic years also resulted in a "hyperaware and genuinely expressive" tone. That sounds about right.
People love Platis's breakdown, but one of the best comments came from Amanda Palmer, who described how all of these changes reflect some of the real-life expectations women often feel surrounding their voice:
"Can we just talk about the incredible value to women and girls, period, about understanding how much of what we consider our 'authentic' voice really is a construct of so many inputs and cultural norms and expectations. I was so shocked when I went into vocal surgery (for nodes) in 2007 and was told that I was 'pushing my voice' down. And indeed I was. And I still have to constantly try to wrestle myself away from the habit. But years on the road with men and in a male industry has definitely left its mark. Finding my true voice, the one without weight on it, and damage wrought by using it, is a lifelong goal. Always working towards it. Amazing work, thank you so so much. 👏👏"