Refer to:
Camera work
Mise-en-scene
Sound
Editing
In 1904 Stanley Hall stated that "all young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval". The media language in the extract supports Stanley Hall's theory in a number of ways, but also at times disrupts this and moves more towards the arguments concerning mixed metaphors of; "youth as trouble and youth as fun" that Hedbridge (1988) and Osgerby (1988) put forward concerning the media and youth stereotypes.
The extract starts with a fast moving visually interesting montage of short clips, which reveal the modern day setting and characters. The whole montage is linked together using a sound bridge of upbeat non-diegetic music. The non-diegetic music acts as a mixed message when put alongside the images because the shots show the characters being trouble/rebellious while the sound makes the whole thing seem 'fun'. This connotes that the extract links an supports Hedbridge/Oscarby's idea of youth as a mixed metaphor.
In terms of the images themselves, there are a number of shots that tell the viewer a lot about youth representation. To start, the first main shot portraying youth concerns a medium close-up of two boys in their mid teens, with one smoking. This shows the viewer that these boys are rebellious and fit common stereotypes and conventions concerning youth. This also fits Stanley Hall's argument which talks about rebellion in youths. The next shot is of a woman with the mise-en-scene connoting that she is rebellious due to her lack of clothing and also the way that she's portraying herself because of her hair, make-up etc. Osgerby's theory of 'youth as trouble youth as fun' is also portrayed later on in this sequence as one shot shows couples kissing, smiling and having fun. In general this goes with youth stereotypes because they're kissing and being in general 'rebellious'. This shows the audience that not all youth are depressed and some like to have fun while also being rebellious.
The whole title sequence is linked together with parallel editing and in places blue overlays are used to connote depression and sadness, as stated in Stanley Hall's theory. Moreover, this can also portray a mellow, laid back feel which in a sense contradicts the music which is upbeat. Each shot in the sequence is transitioned in a fade-in, fade-out sequence which allows it to flow and makes for easy viewing.
The title sequence is linked together with non-diegetic upbeat music which joins the clips together with a sound bridge. This connotes youth as fun as seen in Oscarby's theory.
The title sequence then moves onto an ariel shot of a girl jumping on a trampoline, which also connotes youth as fun. We then see an extreme close up of a girl coming home late and crying - this presents the idea of emotional instability in youths along with rebellion because of the time she arrives home. Finally we see an extreme close up shot of somebody smoking a joint. This is perhaps shown last so that it stays in the audience's mind the longest - it perhaps connotes rebellion the most out of all of the shots because of social stigma attached with drugs.
After the opening montage, the next shot is an extreme close up (birds eye view) of the main character - this is perhaps done to give the audience power and perhaps undermine the character. It zooms back to a high angle shot revealing an interesting mise-en-scene choice - the duvet which the main character is sleeping under has a naked man and woman on it. The mise-enscene here connotes sex and sexual intercourse and perhaps sets the scene for the rest of the clip. This links to hall's theory because of the rebellion attached with 'behavioural upheaval'. Moreover, in terms of miss-en-scene, we see contrasting colours of black and white, this connotes Bath's idea of good and evil along with binary opposition.
In terms of sound we then hear diegetic sound in the form of bells and birds tweeting - this is followed by the main character waking up and his alarm clock going off shortly after. This breaks stereotype as it shows a male, teenage character waking up before his alarm clock, in the morning, contradicting ideas put forward by Stanley Hall.
We then see a cut away shot of the main character turning the music on as he gets out of bed. He then carries on to work out in his underwear - connoting sex and carrying on with presenting Stanley Hall's theory. The music here is in the genre of R'n'B/HipHop and it connotes crime, rebellion and youth culture. This can all be shown through Stanley Hall's theory concerning youth and youth culture.
After the opening montage, the next shot is an extreme close up (birds eye view) of the main character - this is perhaps done to give the audience power and perhaps undermine the character. It zooms back to a high angle shot revealing an interesting mise-en-scene choice - the duvet which the main character is sleeping under has a naked man and woman on it. The mise-enscene here connotes sex and sexual intercourse and perhaps sets the scene for the rest of the clip. This links to hall's theory because of the rebellion attached with 'behavioural upheaval'. Moreover, in terms of miss-en-scene, we see contrasting colours of black and white, this connotes Bath's idea of good and evil along with binary opposition.
In terms of sound we then hear diegetic sound in the form of bells and birds tweeting - this is followed by the main character waking up and his alarm clock going off shortly after. This breaks stereotype as it shows a male, teenage character waking up before his alarm clock, in the morning, contradicting ideas put forward by Stanley Hall.
We then see a cut away shot of the main character turning the music on as he gets out of bed. He then carries on to work out in his underwear - connoting sex and carrying on with presenting Stanley Hall's theory. The music here is in the genre of R'n'B/HipHop and it connotes crime, rebellion and youth culture. This can all be shown through Stanley Hall's theory concerning youth and youth culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment