Chantel Mitchell was determined to not be like every other girl on the I.R.T. But it turns out that she is. I think that the people you surround yourself with is a reflection of who you are as well. One of her friends already had a child to take care of and the other one was just wild. They would go out to parties looking for “love.” Chantel’s mother did not want her going out because she knows what it’s like but Chantel would lie to stay out all night. Chantel was smart and could have turned things around for herself, but her bad attitude would not get her very far. Watching the film made me angry at the fact that she had school going for her and she ruined it with her poor attitude and behavior. Teen pregnancy is common and I am not against it, but the fact that she pretended throughout the whole film like she was not pregnant and nothing was wrong, proved that she was not fit to be a mother. Her boyfriend gave her options and tried to be there for her. He gave her $600 that she could decide to get an abortion or not with. Instead of returning the money, she took her and her friend on a shopping spree. She was immature about the situation when now was the time she needed to step up and figure out her life. But she was too determined to be like every other girl on the i.r.t. The scene that enraged me the most was towards the end when she was ready to have the baby. She refused to get help and go to the hospital. Then, she tells Ty to just throw the baby away. Her not caring for an innocent child that is her own was outrageous. Although in the end she ends up going to college and taking care of her baby responsible, I was still angry with her character.
Adolescence in 1990s Films 
April 29th, 2014 at 1:17 am
I agree Chantel turned out to be exactly what she didn’t want to be. She’s a perfect example of the concept of “Looking glass self”. Which is basically what you said. It is that we are a reflection of the people we surround ourselves with. Chantel surrounds herself with the people she’s trying not to be like. So its not surprising to me that she made the choices that she made. But her choices made me angry as well. She had a lot of potential that wasted because of her attitude and for the sake of a good time. She made dumb decisions, but in the end I’m happy that it worked out for her and that she ended up going to college.
April 29th, 2014 at 4:43 am
I agree very much with your post. She was probably my least favorite character out of all the movies we watched in class. Her attitude was exactly what her principal was pointing out. I don’t like how the movie ended with everything being okay and how she wasn’t reported for child neglect. She always said through out the movie how she was smart but made the wrong choices.