Punkzilla Theme of Sex

Time for a shocking revelation: Fourteen-year-old boys spend a lot of time thinking about sex. We know, you're stunned. At the beginning of Punkzilla, Jamie's still trying to figure out the meaning of "put my testicles on your breasticles," but at the end—which is, mind you, just a few months later—he's losing his virginity in a motel room. It's a rapid sexual awakening, for sure, but it's also an emotional one. Jamie's prepubescent humor gives way to the belief that he's in love with a girl he just met. Both are misguided, but one's a much more adult kind of misguided.

Questions About Sex

  1. Is it really possible to love someone you just met, even (or especially) if you had sex with them?
  2. Jamie has lots of curiosity about various sex acts, and he's obviously very close to P, but he never asks P about gay sex. Why not?
  3. How is Jamie able to trust the other adults with whom he travels after his experience with Alan Skymer?
  4. Does Kent suspect that Jamie's going to fool around with his daughter as soon as he leaves the motel room? If so, why does he leave?

Chew on This

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.

Jamie would think he loved the first girl he had sex with, no matter who she was. Lots of teenagers think that (and some adults, too).

Jamie takes advantage of Buck Tooth Jenny, and Alan Skymer takes advantage of Jamie. It's worse when an adult does it to a kid, but just because Jamie's paying doesn't mean it's not exploitation.