“Despise Not My Youth” is an inspirational teen drama directed by Janie Sloan, where the main protagonist, Jason, gets inspired by God to change his lifestyle to become a better person. The film is a generic feel-good drama for the audiences with the story of a troubled teenager and his journey to find meaning in his life. Teenage is a rebellious age that builds personality, and the film is focused on how God’s influence in such turbulent years can be beneficial to a young boy. The film gives us the feeling that everything will be alright for everyone in the end, and that kind of positivity is appreciated in the narrative.
Spoilers Ahead
‘Despise Not My Youth’ Story
Jason, the main protagonist of the film, is an arrogant, mischievous teenager, the most popular guy in school, who heard God’s voice and changed his way of life. Jason had been living an unruly life, bullying his friends and classmates for no reason. He used to steal marijuana from his parents and smoke. He had sex with a lot of young girls and was associated with all kinds of mischievous stuff. The film focuses on Jason’s lifestyle, like how he snuck into a friend’s home to have sex. He kept bullying his classmates who were not friends with him and disrespecting them for being religious. He was the most popular boy in school but had no interest in studying and was almost failing his classes.
One day, while he was hanging out with his friends, he heard a voice, a calling. He figured it might have been the effect of marijuana, but he heard someone calling his name a couple of times. One of the boys that he bullied confirmed that it was God’s calling and that he shouldn’t ignore the voice. But given Jason’s nature, he did not pay much attention to the voice until later. Jason’s belief in God got strengthened when he got saved from getting HIV, and his life started to change for the better. His friend Taneya got HIV positive, and Jason was supposed to have sex with her, but that couldn’t happen because of the circumstances. He started to put his faith in God as God had saved him from getting sick by creating those circumstances.
While having a conversation with God, Jason also got to know that he was chosen by God because he was the most popular boy in school, and his friends would follow his religious path if Jason put his faith in the Bible. As the story progressed, Jason made new friends as he stopped practicing all of his bad habits, made friends with the boys that he bullied, and poured all his thoughts into the Bible. Jason had a fallout with one of his oldest friends because he tried to make himself a better person. He got mocked because of his choices by his old friends, but nothing could shift his focus from God. With God’s help and suggestions, Jason tried to be a better person and a good friend to everyone, especially to his friend Taneya, who got very sick. God had promised Jason that if he listened to God, then God would also give him whatever he asked for.
At the beginning of the film, it is seen that Jason’s parents were smokers, so Jason and his sister prayed for them to stop smoking, and God listened to that. All of these events strengthened Jason’s faith, and he showed other people the path of God in order to be a better person. Further, into the narrative, we get to see how Jason is confined to his mischievous activities, activities in which he used to participate before finding faith in God. His mother was initially hurt and angry with Jason, but she could witness the change that Jason had gone through. Everyone in Jason’s life became much more appreciative of Jason’s change toward a good personality. Jason became a huge support and a good friend to Taneya; out of goodness, he introduced his mother to Taneya and her mother. Jason supported Taneya throughout the time she was sick and scared of getting detected with HIV. Jason’s faith in God also helped Taneya become strong and tackle the life-threatening disease. Taneya was confident that HIV could be treated and that she could live by putting her faith in God. Jason’s performance in class also improved, and he motivated his classmates to find the meaning of his life by following God.
How Does God Have An Impact On Everyone’s Lives?
Jason followed God and found solace in his life. He improved himself as a human being and put a stop to all his wrongdoing. He started to focus on his studies, and his teacher was impressed and very appreciative of the ‘new Jason.’ God chose Jason as he was the most popular and influential boy in school, and in the end, every one of Jason’s friends in school followed him and his path to put faith in the Bible.
God was successful in his motive by choosing Jason, and that benefitted Jason’s life too. The purpose of the film was to become an inspirational drama and prove that God is everything to us. Without God’s assistance, our lives do not hold much meaning. It showed us how putting our faith in God can be beneficial to us and how impactful and influential God really is. The film ended on a happy note where everyone of Jason’s age wanted to follow him and God, thus fulfilling God’s wishes and plan. It speaks to the audience on a larger scale about how God is present and directing every phase of our lives.Â
The name of the film itself is an extract from the Bible, which is well justified through the narrative. The title is asking to despise the people, not their youth. From the film and title we understand that the people are the ones who are responsible for their choices, youth is the time when people tend to make bad choices. The film justifies the title with the same idea of how youth is not corrupted, but people’s choices should be despised.Â