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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/suburbiafilm_5929.jpg]]
2
3''Suburbia'' is a 1984 film, written and directed by Creator/PenelopeSpheeris about teenagers living in a punk house in Los Angeles.
4
5Evan and his kid brother Ethan flee their alcoholic mother and join a gang of punks called T.R. (The Rejected). A familial bond forms among them, but some of the local suburbanites are set on getting rid of them, one way or another.
6
7----
8!!This film provides examples of:
9
10* AbusiveParents: Evan's mother hits him and yells at him and refers to Ethan as a "pain in the ass"; [[spoiler: Sheila's father molested and beat her.]]
11* TheAllegedCar: Jack's car, which features stencils, rust, and a mismatched door. His father (who gave him the car) later refers to it as a "trash boat".
12* BaitAndSwitchComment: In the first scene at TR House, Razzle shoots a roach off of the ceiling with a slingshot, and then turns to Evan and asks if he wants "to be next"...for a haircut.
13* BigBrotherWorship: Ethan to Evan.
14* BookEnds: [[spoiler: The film begins and ends with a small child dying in a horrible accident.]]
15* BrickJoke: Jack mentions Razzle capturing two feral dogs in the hopes of taming them (which Jack and the others doubt he's capable of doing) shortly after picking up Evan and Joe. Later on in the film, he successfully manages to command them to sit, to which he proudly announces his success.
16* CoveredWithScars: Sheila, for whom they are also PhysicalScarsPsychologicalScars.
17* CrapsackWorld: It's telling when the TR kids mention that living in a squalid, abandoned house is the best home many of them have ever known.
18* DepartmentOfChildDisservices: Many of the kids fear this is where they'll end up if they have to leave their punk house.
19* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Sheila.]]
20* DrugsAreBad: Keef is seen either peddling drugs or being affected by them. When [[spoiler: Sheila]] intentionally overdoses on his drugs, most of the TR kids call him out over this.
21* DueToTheDead: [[spoiler: After Sheila dies, they feel the need to do something respectful for her and end up returning her body to her parents.]]
22* FalseFlagAttack: Of sorts. Two random guys who picked a fight with Skinner stab a bouncer at a show, and proceed to pin the knife to the flyer with the letters "TR" written in blood.
23* FanDisservice: Two of the three topless scenes in the movie are this. The first is when a girl is forcefully disrobed by Skinner and the TR kids at a concert; the second is when Sheila's shirt is torn off of her by Jim and Bob when they storm the house to send them a warning. [[spoiler: The latter incident is what pushes Sheila over the edge and causes her to kill herself.]]
24* FluffyTamer: Razzle.
25* GreyAndGrayMorality: The protagonists rob garages, vandalize storefronts, and rip a girl's clothes off at a concert. The antagonists shoot dogs and visit strip clubs while talking about family values. The protagonists are only more sympathetic because of SympatheticPOV and their difficult lives.
26* IAmNotMyFather: Jack the punk and his stepdad the cop.
27* ImportantHaircut: Sheila and Ethan.
28* InitiationCeremony: Each kid who stays at TR House must be branded with a "TR" on their arm to show commitment and to prevent just anyone from crashing at the house.
29* KickTheDog: Jim and Bob first appear shooting dogs, including a puppy. [[spoiler: Thanks to Razzle, TheDogBitesBack later.]]
30* [[spoiler: KillTheCutie: Sheila and Ethan.]]
31* LadyDrunk: Ethan and Evan's mother.
32* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: Ethan and Evan's mother is arrested for injuring several shoppers on felony drunk driving charges; Sheila's father is beaten at her funeral (while trying to hold the moral high ground) hard enough to send him to the hospital.]]
33* ManChild: Mattie and Christina are teenagers, but they want Sheila to read fairy tales to them.
34* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: At the end, Jim Triplett has this look on his face of shock and guilt after accidently running over and killing Evans younger brother Ethan
35* OnlyOneName: Keef, Skinner, Razzle...
36* PoliceAreUseless: Justified; the cops are put in the difficult position of needing to appease Citizens Against Crime while not wanting to arrest a bunch of kids who are largely the victims of circumstance.
37* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: Completely averted, since the cast are all amateurs who talk like real teenagers.
38* ScarsAreForever: Joe's objection to getting branded.
39* ShownTheirWork: Spheeris previously directed a documentary about the Los Angeles punk scene, and the cast features actual punks from the local scene.
40* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Solidly planted on the right end of the scale.
41* SpecialGuest: The bands shown playing at the club ({{TSOL}}, TheVandals, and {{DI}}) are all real.
42* {{Suburbia}}
43* [[spoiler: SuddenDownerEnding ]]
44* TeensAreMonsters: Citizens Against Crime thinks so, and the teens themselves don't do much to convince them otherwise.
45* TeamDad: Jack.
46* TrueCompanions
47* UnusualDysphemism: "He's going to shit Twinkies!"
48* WhatNowEnding: [[spoiler: The TR kids successfully fight off an invasion by Jim and Bob and are seen celebrating. Cue the duo coming back around for round two, followed by Ethan getting run over and killed and Jack's father arriving too late to stop any of the aforementioned events from happening. Roll credits.]]
49* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: For Skinner, punching things is always the answer.

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