Representatin of 15-20 year olds in Tv Drama

The media tends to represent the 'youth of today' negatively, focusing on sex, drugs, party life, violence, etc. The video below is from Skins SO1, and draws on the main teenage stereotypes. Chris has a laid back, 'i don't care attitude,' parties a lot, buys drugs and sex is implied.



The third series of Skins draws on exactly the same steretypes. Although the characters are often shown in college, they are never doing any form of school work. Their lives seems to consist soley of parties, drugs, and sex. An interesting representation of the youth today.
(emedding disabled, click here)
This clip of Cook begins with a very fast montage of him getting ready, which corresponds with his 'full of life character' and someone who can't stay in one place for a long time. The clip shows his arrogance, agreeing with the representation of the youth of today 'not caring' about others. He's always drinking, shots, pints, he takes drugs, and these are stereotypical things associated with the 'reckless' youth of today.

Hollyoaks
This clip has always disabled the embedding, grr, but click here for the link

The relevent bit starts at 1.17 - Hannah's in hospital suffering from anorexia. This illness is a stereotype illness for young girls, aged around 15 to have, and Hollyoaks used this. The clip focuses on how it causes splits in the family and the fact that many sufferers don't really believe they have a problem. Again, this is a fairly negative representation of the youth, as weight is always discussed. We are either obsese, or too thin - there seems to be little middle ground.

However, Waterloo Road is less negative, as many of the young characters are represented as polite and obedient.
embedding diabled, click here

This clip is set in school, so unlike Skins, Waterloo Road represents school life instead of the social life. Most of the students reply and seem polite, 'it's the best room in the school,' really appreciating the effort the teachers have gone to for them. However, there is one student who fits the given stereotype. Rude, arrogant, with the 'I don't care attitude,' who doesn't respect his dad at all. Something adults often associate with the youth.

Location

Episode Summary:
Vanessa tries to blackmail Blair into being a nicer person, with the pictures of Catherine and Marcus. Blair then seeks revenge by convincing Chuck to try to seduce Vanessa. Lily and Bart throw an extravagant housewarming party and expect their children to make them proud, but Serena does not want to follow the rules. Meanwhile, Dan and Jenny discover a big secret that Nate has been keeping from his friends.

At the beginning of every episode of GG, after every advert break, and after every change of location during the episode, there is a quick montage of shots to help establish the location.
The opening montage of episode five were LS HA's of the sky line of New York, taken from the waters edge, a crane shot over a busy street and inside central park. The trees in the park had golden leaves, which helps establish the time period of autumn.
The emphasis on location really helps establish the wealth of the characters, as the LA shots of their tall rich penthouse apartments draw attention to the types of properties these people own.
In comparison to Serena's flawless new immcuately furnished house is Dan's loft. The differnece in character is also made obvious through their difference of home. The loft is very wooden, with a rustic feel. This suggets they're, quite literally, down to earth (wooden) and this highly reflects their more down to earth characters compared to all others elitism and self importance.

to be continued ...

Representation of Terrorism and Ethnicity in SPOOKS

Scenes 31 and 32 -

Ahmed holds Danny and Fiona hostage - Ahmed is represented in a negative way.

How are the binary opposites conveyed to the audience?

Danny and Fiona:

The CU's on Fiona make us feel sorry for her, she is breaking down, in floods of tears, she seems admirable and brave in the face of danger. "I love you," She is human, she knows what's important in life, she values other people in this world.

Danny is so brave, he dies because he stood up to evil. Extreme good against extreme bad, and in this incident extreme evil won. He is extremely moralled, and how can he be so controlled and so brave in such a situation, the audience really admires him and this heightens the sympathy and impact of his death as he is almost a martyr for his cause. He brings to the attention that all humans are equal, and that it depends on where you are born as to what your situation is, and it's the choices you make as a person which makes you who you are.

Ahmed: - .. 'you will never win'

He is represented as a heartless soulless character as he is not moved by Fiona's despair, his expression remains stony when he simply says "choose". He seems to be weakened by Danny's talk momentarily (he moves the gun away from Fiona's head), he has got a heart? he is human deep down? No, this just heightens his evil as he had no intention in letting them go. He shoots Danny despite his talk on morals and humanity, he has lost his humanity, but he doesn't care - he shot Danny because Danny's stronger than him, and he feels threatened by this and doesn't understand it.

Music, Camera Work, and Editing in underlining these representations...

Music:

The music heightens the tense atmosphere - the drums almost representing a quickening heartbeat. The sustained notes on the strings also create a tense suspenseful mood. The drums slow right down when Danny is talking, when he pauses in his sentence there is a quick rhythm on the drums and to me, it's almost as if the drums are agreeing with Danny, the music is on his side too. The music then becomes very discrete so as not to draw attention away from Danny, the audience must hear what he is saying to feel sympathy and admiration.

CameraWork:

The shots of Fiona are ECU's and this definitely heightens her despair and trauma. Her face is covered in tears, she is meant to be perceived as the 'goodie.'

Danny is greatly admired because he is always shot in CU, and this highlights his defiance and his bravery. He is not cowering and whimpering like Fiona, he is so brave and so strong that he is not afraid to stand up to these people he despises so much . The gun against Fiona's head is shown in all his shots as well - the framing reminds the audience of what he is fighting against.

The camera is not still, it always moving and this brings the audience into the action, as though we are viewing the scene through the eyes of a person breathing heavily, who is witnessing the scene. It really heightens the realism of the scene. The camera also focuses lots on the gun and then moves to Ahmed's face, the audience is reminded of the gun and then drawn to his face to see his reaction to Danny's powerful words, the audience sees him weakening.

Editing:

The editing is slow paced, and really focuses on the expressions of the characters and this enables the audience to understand what is happening better. I think it's much more effective for the editing to be slow paced as it fits in with the suspenseful mood created by the mood and the action. It also allows the viewer to deduce how the character feels, for example when Danny is talking there is a cut to Ahmed, we see his reaction to the words, he looks down, he is being weakened by them.

What techniques engage the audience emotionally?

There are lots of CU's, this make the audience feel sympathy for the characters. The camera movement brings the viewer into the scene and makes them feel as though they are there. The acting is realistic and convincing, especially the despair from Fiona.

What view of terrorism emerges from these scenes?

That it is a threat to anyone, anyone can be affected and that it is ruthless, but ultimately 'they can never win'. Terrorism is being portrayed negatively, and Danny scorns the reasons for terrorism , it could have been him with the gun, but it's the choices YOU make that makes you who you are, humanity and compassion wins all.

What do you understand by Arab, Islamic, Muslim, Middle Eastern?

Muslim and Islam are references to religion. Traditionally, people of an Arab or middle-eastern background follow Islam or are Muslim. It connotes images of hot sandy plains and chequered scarfs, praying to Mecca, etc. Very stereotypical images as i don't understand their culture or religion very well.

What are the same categories for describing British people?

I'm not sure, English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish - different parts of the UK. Also Catholics/Protestants. Though this really isn't relevant in today's society. You can get labelled a Brit, a Southerner/Northerner etc.

Britain is very ethnically diverse, there is a lot of prejudiced labels that are not socially acceptable today. People can be labelled by where they come from, their reliegeon etc unecessarily.

Al Qauda

An Islamic extremist movement, attack Western countries, most notoriously September 11th. They aim to end foreign influence in Muslim countries, and are very against the Western way of life and Western civilisation, techniques include suicide bombings.

Representations of Iraqi people on the Internet:

Article One - small extract - Iraq is dangerous:

As the "war on terrorism" continues, some Islamic charitable organizations have been targeted and shut down by the U.S. government under accusations of terrorist ties. The U.S. Treasury Dept. maintains a list of banned organizations. To ensure that your contribution reaches its intended recipients, steer clear of questionable groups and contribute through reputable, international organizations.

Article Two - small extract - Iraq is vulnerable, needs help

Saddam employs thousands of secret police and informers throughout the country to turn Iraqis against each other, even within families. On TV, we watched Saddam reward fathers with large cash prizes for turning in sons who had deserted the army.
Even children are not spared. When I attended fourth grade in 1981, my teacher called me to the front of the class and asked: "Do your parents say anything bad about the government?" The whole class was staring at me. Stunned and scared, I answered, "No." But when one of my classmates said in passing that Iran was not so bad, she disappeared the next day, along with her family.

Article three- Iraq can make it on her own, Obama's speech to withdraw troops

Obama: As I’ve said many times, we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 — two years from now, and more than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, a residual force in Iraq would perform limited missions: going after any remnants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protecting American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make political progress, training Iraqi security forces. That would not be a precipitous withdrawal. in carrying out this strategy, we would inevitably need to make tactical adjustments.

Iraq is represented differently by different people. Charities see it as a vulnerable place needing help, whereas politically America views Iraq as a dangerous threat.

Representation of Ahmed and Khatera

The episode of spooks does not mention religeon, they want revenge, revenge for the loss of their families in the Iraqi war. People have to be very careful about Tv/film topics etc, and this one is especially contraversial. They could be seen to promote Muslim extremism, or they could be seen to be racist and labelling all Muslims as terrorists. Getting the balance is very difficult, it's a sensitive issue.

In this episode of Spooks there is another Asian agent on the mi5 team and this is EXTREMELY significant because it prevents people from thinking that they are presenting the message that all middle eastern people are terrorists and can't be trusted. The young Asian is a comic, good looking character and portrays a very different image to the terrorists.

Danny, the main most admirable character is black. This is also significant, as it represents multi culturalism is British society today. Also, the tv production company cannot risk to be seen as racist, and therefore must hire people of all differnt ethnic backgrounds.

Narrative in Tv Drama

A couple wake up and go downstairs to breakfast. They do not realise they are being watched by terrorists. Fiona and Danny go to work and get taken hostage - the main intention of the terrorists is the kill the PM. Adam then gets called and has to do what the terrorists say for fear of losing his wife - tries to save Fiona but cannot as is being watched by the woman who has bombs sewn up inside of her. Extremely tense moment - husband has to choose between wife & Danny, Danny gets shot anyway for being principled and standing up for what he believes in. Another extremely tense moment - will the woman release the gases and kill everyone? Or will she tell the husband where they're being held hostage? She does the right things and Fiona is saved and the terrorist shot.

Narrative Conventions:

Beginning - couple happy, in love, it's her birthday - Equilibrium.
Middle - Dilemma - Fiona and Danny held hostage by extremist terrorists wanting their revenge. Main focus is trying to free them - feel a connection to the characters, they're in love, audience wish to see them back together.
Ending - Equilibrium is restored, but things will never be how they were - Danny died, the trauma of the experience etc.

Most stories end happily to please the audience. Tv is generally watched for enjoyment and watching greatly moving stories with sad endings can be distressing . Although sad endings are good once in a while, especially in One off true story dramas (such as A Weekend in Switzerland), happy endings are much preferred on the whole as they have the feel good factor, provide relief for the audience who really feel for the characters and meet audience expectations. Much tv is watched for escapism, a release from everyday life and for relaxation. Ending a tv drama on a distressing note reminds the viewer of the harshness of reality, and does not improve their mood or allow them to escapre their reality.

It's important to establish the standard way of living, the equilibrium, before the disruption, because this allows the viewer to understand what is being threatened by the dilema. In Spooks, the viewer understands that the couple are deeply in love, they're young, they have so much to live for and all this is put in jeopardy by the terrorists. Dramatic Irony is used, the viewer knows something the characters do not, they're being watched from the outside, and this heightens the tension and suspence as the audience is hooked to find out what will happen next.

The audience is automatically encouraged to take sides, this young couple are young in love, members of the mi5 secretly fighting crime, the audience feels sympathy for them, they have done nothing wrong. This is binary opposition, good against bad.
However, in this episode of spooks this is somewhat blurred, because the terrorists blame the couple for Western activity in the East, though this is not directly thier fault. Also, the woman terrorist is not bad, she has been drawn into the situation and can't seem to find a way out of it. So although, primarily it's good between bad, it's more complicated due to the intentions and situation of the characters.

Costume! S02 E05

Episode Summary ...

Fashion Week is here!!!Blair is furious with her mother for giving Serena and her new socialite friend, Poppy Lifton, front row seats to the Eleanor Waldorf show. Hurt by both Serena and her mother, Blair decides to sabotage the show.Meanwhile, Dan starts hanging out with Chuck, but he quickly learns that the dark side has its risks. Lily learns a secret that her new husband, Bart has been keeping from her.

COSTUME - CHUCK COMPARED TO DAN

Dan is wearing khaki greens and greys - this suggests a laid back attitude; someone not too bothered about how they dress. His hoody agrees with this, he is a comfortable, practical dresser not too greatly troubled by fashion or driven by their looks. The checkered Shirt is also very casual and laid back. An almost geeky appearance.

Compared to

The difference between the characters is made so clear through the costume. Chuck's formal suit equipped with silk tie in the pocket suggests immense wealth and self importance. He wants to be looked at, unlike Dan who is happy to blend into the background with what he wears. Chuck wants to give the impression that he has a lot of money and he does this by buying silk suits with huge collars and old fashioned ties. He wants to impress people and his clothes definately make this possible.

The difference in costume between the two characters shows:
- their difference in wealth (Dan='poor' compared to Chuck, the multi millionaire)
- their difference in attitude (Dan=laid back, Chuck=eager to impress ... women)
- Chuck makes statements with his clothes, Dan does not.
- Chuck is more image driven, cares about what people think, aims to impress.

Serena:

Her dress is elegant and feminine. She is very attractive and doesn't need to work too hard to look good, so a simple plain dress suits her well. The dress is clearly expensive, a designer dress and well made which reinforces her wealth and her links to the fashion industry. Her hair is loose and tousled, which suggests a relaxed approach about her appearance and also confidence. She doesn't need to preen herself greatly to look good. Her make up is also unobtrusive, she oozes self confidence with this seemingly effortless look.

Blair:

Blairs image is a lot less relaxed, her costume has a lot more straight lines and is seemingly more thought through. Her hair is expertly curled, not loosely tousled like Serena's - which links in with her more uptight personality. Her dress is very classically feminine, almost over the top with lacey patterns and lacey tights with lots of jewelery - a 'girly girl'. She is also clearly very rich, and her expensive clothes exemplify this.

GG, S02 E04 - Representation

Episode Summary: Blair and her 'Posse' interview different girls to decide whether or not they would be inducted into their 'clique'. Dan bumps into new student Amanda and they form an instant bond however, Blair and her 'posse' attempt to sabotage Dan and Amanda's friendship by inducting her as the new girl in their 'clique' meanwhile, Serena meets a new lust interest and Vanessa meets with the Duchess

Rich teenagers are being represented, as the setting is an American private school. It is a classic example of youth school culture (predominantly American) - someone extremely popular having the ability and power to control other students around her. A representation of Social hierarchies within schools.

Costume: Dan is at a private school, and his school uniform reflects this as in most state American schools, a uniform is not worn. He's well kept, but slightly casual with the top button not done up, shirt untucked and the shoulder canvas bag, but other than that quite a 'geeky' studious appearance. Other students around the playground are dressed in the same uniform. Girls are kilted, it's formal, posh. Some students are more 'rebellious' than Dan with their uniform, the two girls he talks to have flamboyant hair pieces and socks etc, this suggests that they are 'cooler' and more likely to be friends with Serena, the girl he's looking for.
IN STARK CONTRAST
Serena does not wear the uniform religiously. A very short school kilt SO unlike most of the other girl students in the playground, no tights/socks, a tight white t-shirt with a mans tie tied loosely around her neck. She is sexy, confident, and not afraid to the break the rules. Her bag hangs over her arm casually, poised, she wants to be looked at, wants to look good. Her makeup is perfectly applied and her hair looks good. A stereotypical representation of a popular school girl, blond, pretty, not afraid to break the rules, quite 'slutty'/sexy.

Location: outdoor setting, quad, plants, outdoor tables, it is very well kept, Greek style benches suggests wealth, red bricks also suggests wealth and a higher class. Clearly a school, due to the uniform, students with bags milling around, and the corridor and large doors behind Dan as he steps out of the building. There are lanterns on the walls, and high wall to ceiling windows - this is not an ordinary State school, this is well facilitated and well looked after.

Music Music is very important in this clip. The track is Shove it, by Santogold. The main refrain is "We think you're a joke Shove your hope where it don't shine " the lyrics are synchronous - Dan is not liked, everyone is moving away from him because he ridiculed Serena, she is getting her own back by ridding him of popularity/friends. The beat of the music also represents youth culture, it's upbeat, dance like, young, quite 'poppy'. It also fits the pace of the sequence. The texture of the music builds up as Dan's anxiety builds up as he sees people flee from him. It's also parallel to Serena's 'catwalk' like strut towards Dan. She is flaunting herself in front of him, reminding him that he is missing out on, and is wordlessly telling him that he has to pay.

Dialogue: There is very little dialogue in this extract, the story is told through the action. We know Dan is looking for Serena as he questions the girls, but they do not talk to him. They look at him with disgust on their faces, they can not be near him, they move away quickly.

Action: its seemingly insignificant, but this is a HUGE turning point in Gossip Girl. The Bitchy Serena is back. No longer is she the nice one, who went out with Dan- she has reinvented herself and taken Blair's place as Queen bee. None of this is represented through dialogue, it is in Serena's walk, Serena's costume and the look she gives Dan and that SLIGHT shake of the head, that tell us that the 'bitch is back'. She looks at Dan with such distaste, such dislike and power that he seems small and insignificant, even terrified next to her. The slight tilt of the head as she walks away tells us that she has reasserted her power. These girls will follow her where ever she goes. This is a stereotypical representation of American school social statuses - examples being 'the core' in the OC and the film, Meangirls - an 'elitist' group who think themselves above the rest.

Camera Work - movement/ shot types: This clip has some interesting camera movement. The opening reverse track follows Dan's path, ensuring Dan is the focus. The pan of the playground sets the location and allows us to see that everyone in the playground is staring at Dan with distaste. The crane shot then rotates around Dan, and this really emphasises and brings attention to the fact that everyone is trying to get away from him. This shot could also reflect his state of mind, confused at what's going on, angry - not steady and focused. The camera then gets closer and closer towards Dan, starting at a MLS slowly moving forwards while rotating, ending up with a CU. This CU allows us to see his expression and feel sympathy for Dan, he looks annoyed and knows exactly what's going on. The camera then stops rotating on an OTS shot, allowing us to see Serena and her 'gang' strut into the playground. After the encounter with Serena, the camera tracks backwards, as though it's with Serena. This heightens Dan's vulnerability and the LS reveals that he's all alone.

Editing: One of the key editing features of this clip is the slow mo used on Serena's entrance. This almost suggests that time stops for her, she is so important. It also allows the viewer to really see what she's turned into (costume, way she's walking etc). Prolongs the experience. It's also interesting how it cuts back to Dan frequently, this really homes in on his expression. The way he looks her up and down stereotypically suggests that he's checking her out, but in reality he's looking at what she's become. The editing represents Dan as a timid vulnerable character whereas Serena is completely in control, a powerful and dominant character.

GG, S02 E03, Characterisation

very quick episode summary ...
Serena and Dan get stuck in a lift and have to talk about their problems, realise their relationship isn't going to work. Chuck LOVES Blair, and they make out during the blackout and Blair's boyfriend ( The Duke ) catches them ... he is very angry and upset, because Blair knew it was Chuck.

Gossip Girl S02 E03

Characterisation – Blair (0.27 seconds, second chapter, itv player) - not able to get a clip, but taken stills instead...
Costume: Silk top, white, suggests innocence, but she is far from that. Could link to the conversation with Serena about sex, she has not had sex with the Duke yet. Her hair is tied back simply, middle parting, very child like and innocent. Contrasts greatly with her personality. This is Blair’s fashion, she is very rich, her mother designs clothes, she is clearly very image driven, perfect make up, perfect hair, perfect clothes, matching bracelets etc. She is a definite ‘girly girl’

Body Language: She seems quite snooty, bitchy, careless, arrogant. She pays no attention to the maid (with suggests her wealth and class, used to being cared for), she snatches the papers from Serena, no thank-you, she is not polite, she thinks herself very important. She is very fake, clearly hiding/masking how she really feels about the Duke – overly smiley when talking about him, it’s very exaggerated. Dialogue: ‘You know he hasn’t pressured me about sex once? … Not …once..” The repetition shows that it bothers her. She might find talking about her feelings difficult; therefore she throws hints for her friends to pick up on it. If Serena noticed, she ignored it.

Music: No music, main focus is on the dialogue

Camerawork - Movement:

The establishing shot is a tilt of the building where Blair currently is. This informs us of her wealth, as it is an elegant, posh block of 'apartments' or 'penthouses'. The tilt also heightens the feeling of grandour. The shot is immediately followed by a LS of the elegant, perfectly furnished room. The framing of the shot also heightens the elegance, the painting of the tree is in the centre of all objects, almost symmetrical. It's grand, elegant and incredibly formal. These girls are rich!

There is an extremely slow forward track from this LS bringing us closer to both characters. This is not only discrete, but prolongs the viewers attention on the surroundings, which are elegant, expensive and impressive.