Representation of Age

Levi Strauss

The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative e.g. good/evil, day/night, male/female, presence/absence, old/young 

POINT:  Age (Area of representation) is represented through (micro element).

EVIDENCE:  What you DENOTE and What it could CONNOTE

EXPLAIN:  An explanation of how

this subverts/conforms or reinforces stereotypes

Stereotypes of old age:

1) Grumpy

2) Stubborn

3) Resistant to change

Catherine Tate is the stereotypical nan in terms of miss en scene however the dialogue she exchanges dosent match to the normal older person.

Older people are also portrayed as enjoying a second childhood – as reliving their  

adolescence and engaging in activities that they have always longed to do before they die.

Older people are also represented as pitied, dependent or an economic burden – helpless 

and dependent on other younger members of society or family - economic burden In groups, 

use the case study template to deconstruct this text.    

Waterloo Road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeDTh8IWthY

In this extract of Waterloo road, I will analyse the mise en scene, editing, cinematography and sound and apply them to show how age is represented. I will also include links back to theorists such as Ann Gould. I will finally include a short paragraph on my own thoughts and opinions on how age was represented in this extract and judge weather it was fairly presented.

The mise en scene used in this extract can be related to age. For example, the youth at 0:30 are wearing uniforms apart from the one student in the middle. This could imply that some students are rebellious in terms of what to wear. This relates back to Ann Gould’s theory on the stereotypes of the youth. In this case, the stereotype would be rebellious since this one student rebelled against the schools uniform conduct.

Another example of mise en scene used in this extract related to age would be the clothing the teachers are wearing at 3:00. This implies that the older people of this extract have the freedom of wearing what they would like. Therefore this represents the older age as dominant since they have this freedom. This is related back to Gramsci’s theory of the developed concept of cultural hegemony in which the middle class were considered as ‘normal’ and are obliged to follow. Therefore the representations of the older characters of this extract are demonstrated as the dominant middle class over the lower and underclass.

Cinematography was also used to represent age in this extract. For example, there were low angle camera shots used at 2:33 to represent the older people of this extract. This would imply that the older characters have authority over the younger characters of the extract. This is related to Acland’s theory of 1995 in which the youths enhance hegemony in which the state controls them. In this case it would be the teachers controlling them. Therefore the low angle camera shots of the teachers indicate authority over the students.

Cinematography is also used to represent the youth through high angle camera shots at 3:43. This indicates that the youth are lower in authority in comparison to the older characters of the extract. This is also related to Acland’s theory since the children are to be controlled and monitored consistently. Therefore the high angle camera shots show the youth with little power over the older characters of the extract.

The youth of this film is represented through the sounds included. For example, the diagetic dialogue in this film from the youths use a poorly spoken English including a lower class London slang. This represents the youth as uneducated and alternative to the 'normal' trend of youths. This is liked back to Gramsci’s where the middle class of society were considered as normal and others were expected to follow their class. If lower class youths were not living up to the standard of these middle class people, they were looked down upon in society. In this case, the youths in this film do not live up to their standards since their dialect are much different in comparison to the middle class.

The youth is portrayed through the non-diagetic sound which associated the youth with tense action soundtrack, meaning that they are associated with the reckless yet confident youth. This is associated with Hebdige’s theory from 1979 which is that the representation of youth is very limited. The youths are shows as either trouble or fun and with no in between from this theory. In this case they were represented as fun since the soundtrack indicates that there will be a tense moment of action from the male character saving the female character from being trapped in a room by a fire.

Finally age has been represented through the editing used in this extract. There was a faster phase of camera shots when the younger characters were in action such as the scene where the group of characters were trapped in the canteen. This means that that youth of this extract are generally more active, representing the youth as energetic however much less composed in such a situation. This is also associated with Hebdige’s theory since the youth are displayed in a situation of trouble so it would appeal to the audience.

Overall I believe that this was a fair portrayal of age since it both did show the stereotypes of younger and older people, but not to the extent of exaduration.