What I Learn't Today

Representation

REPRESENTATIONS IN TEEN FILMS

Representation is all about understanding the choirs that are made when it comes to portraying something or someone in a mass media text.
In teen movies the characters are usually (a lot of the time) represented by stereotypes. Certain features of their personality and appearance are highlighted. The representation can be a distorted representation of a person/group of people, and often in teen movies it is exaggerated. 

Examples found in films:

Male Jocks -  are typically found in American teen films such as Greece and Hairspray. The Jocks are quite popular in the school and wear Jerseys that match their football team or sports team.

Cheerleaders - can be found in films such as High School Musical, 17 again and Bring It On

The Pretty Ugly Girl - this character is usually very dull at first and not that fashionable but has a makeover that makes her stand out in the crowd. The pretty ugly girl can be found in films such as The Princess Diaries, Cinderella Story and mean girls.

Represenations in Teen Films

Teen Movies                           

Stereotype of Teenagers

In teen movies the characters are usually represented by stereotypes. Certain features of their personality and appearance are highlighted. The representation can be a distorted representation of a person/group of people, and often in teen movies it is exaggerated. The producers of the film will do their research to ensure they are getting the stereotype right, so the audience will know what they are trying to represent.

 In the films the producer exaggerates the characters personality, making them stand out from the others.

The clothes that the characters wear display their personality even further. The cheerleaders are always wearing bright colours, with little clothing. Also the cheerleaders are very loud and usually very popular.


In Films

Cheerleaders - can be found in films such as High School Musical and Bring It On

Male Jocks -  are typically found in American teen films such as Mean Girls. The Jocks are quite popular in the school and wear Jerseys that match their football team

The Pretty Ugly Girl - who is very dull and not that fashionable but has a makeover making her stand out. The pretty ugly girl can be found in films such as The Princess Diaries, Cinderella Story and St.Trinians

Quiz On Teen Films

What do you know about Teen Films ?

1. Which Type of character do you expect to find in a Teen Film ? A Builder A Jock A Business Man

2. Who would get made fun of in a teen film ? Stupid Fat Guy The Perfect Girl Rich Kid

3. Which Group Are the Most Popular in Teen films ? Geeks Asian Kids Cheerleaders

4. Who Would Not Get A Lot Of Attention At High School ? The Cruelest Girl An Obsessed Best Friend A Pretty-Ugly Girl

5. Which Film is a Teen One ? A Cinderella Story Toy Story The King's Speech

Jumbled Words- Media

STORYLINES AND PLOTS IN TEEN FILMS

Storylines and plot: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

The storyline set up in our intro is:

 The intros storyline starts off with Ferris (main character) lying in bed, with his eyes fixated into a stare and his parents are on the side of his bed looking worried. He is pretending to be ill and has fooled his parents into believing him but not his sister who walks in and sees him making funny gesture when his parents' backs are turned. Having fooled his parents this results in him not going to school, which relates back to the title, Ferris Bueller takes the day off. It ends with him sitting up straight, talking to the audience, saying that his parents actually believed him.

Binary oppositions in 4 technical areas

The binary oppositions in the film intro are parents vs. children, sibling rivalry of brother vs. sister and honest vs. dishonest.

Mise en scene:

Setting - The bedroom is messy; average looking so therefore is a more realistic representation of a teenager's room. The house is quite grand yet is conservatively designed. The bedroom is a contrast to the house's exterior and it is nowhere near as clean as the outside.

Appearance - The parents appear to be dressed in formal wear, such as suits and dresses appropriate for work, whereas the children are dressed more casually in trainers and plain shirts.

Body language - Parents are standing up straight, which makes them look in power and very confidence. Ferris is rolled up in bed, making him look weak, as he should be considering he is pretending to be ill. His sister has her hands on him and an unimpressed facial expression, she give off a frustrated and annoyed vibe.

Screen shot of the sister with a disgusted facial expression

 

Screenshot showing the parents wearing a suit and looking professional and a screenshot showing the sister wearing trainers, this shows the a binary opposition of formal vs casual

Camera:

Establishing shot - Shows the house and of Ferris' room, the house is surrounded by trees and 3 cars are parked in front of the house which tells us that the family are wealthy. The bedroom is messy and unorganised which is a huge contrast to the rich looking house.

High angle - Ferris is presented at a high angle, which makes him look small and powerless.

Low angle - The parents are presented at a low angle which makes them look significantly bigger and again very powerful. The low and high angles are a representation of how families are presented in society, the parents are in control and the children are supposed to obey them.

 

Screenshot shows the contrast of how the room is messy and unorganised as opposed to the outside of the house which is big and the lawn

Here is the intro of Ferris Bueller takes the day off:

Editing 

Editing from perspective - At some points the camera takes on the role of Ferris and sees what he would see. This is seen when he is looking at his sister and the vision blurs her out a bit, and then refocuses into a clear shot. Also at some points we are seeing the film through the parent’s perspective or the sister, these are mostly done to show Ferris playing sick or making faces at his sister.

 
  The screen shot shows that the vision is blurry and then focuses, this takes on the role of Ferris’ eyes

GENRE AND CONVENTION

What is a teen film?

Teen films are films created around teen themes and are targeted towards teenagers; swell as young adults.in which the plot is based upon the special interests of teenagers, Most teen film genres orientate around the sub genres of first love, rebellion, conflict with parents or teachers, teen angst or alienation.

Other sub genres:

Musical

Comedy

High School

Romance

Horror

Conventional themes in teen films

The conventional theme of a teen film depends on its genre. Below I have put some themes and topics found in different genre teen films that were all created in different eras (but still have similar themes and topics within them).

Grease (1978)

The themes/topics circulated in this film are:

- Romance

  This has to do with characters fist love or just the man in characters falling in love

- Musical

  Not all teen movies are musicals but grease is, and at the time it was release singing and dancing was popular amongst teens.

- Heartbreak

  This ties in with romance too because nearly all teen films have dilemma and the heartbreak plays a role in this particular film.

- Comedy

- School

   Most of the setting is located in school, since they are teens and school is where teens spend most of their time at.

  
Love and basketball (2000)
The themes/topics circulated in this film are:

- Romance
  This theme shows up in a lot of teen films, in this film we see it from a young age within the characters and then also when they are older and have finally fallen in love.

- Sports

- Comedy
  Most teen films use comedy different, some use comedy to tell serious stories and some use it to exaggerate (mostly when showing a stereotype)

- Friendship

- Drama

- Heartbreak

  I think this would go with romance as it usually seen a lot in movies. The characters fall in love, something happens and they break up, some get back together in the end and others don't. It all depends on the story line, but in this film it ends on a romantic note.

 

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)
The themes/topics circulated in this film are:

- First love (romance)

- Sexuality

  The theme of sexuality can be very dominate in some teen films or not very, but sex is a very common topic

- Drama

- Isolation

  Some teen films circulate around this theme of depression and isolation but further along into the story it will get better or worse, which again depends on the genre

- Violence 

  There is only a little bit of violent in the film, but it could also go as conflict with students.

 

Stereotypical characters:
Most of these stereotypical characters would be main characters in teen films

• Popular guy - Usually is very sporty and lots of girls like him 
• Nerd - Very smart girl/boy who has nerdy friends
• Underdog (shy person) - Doesn't have any Friends but later on in the film either gets a boyfriend or is really popular
• Diva
• New girl/boy
• Rebel
• The popular pretty girl (with her clique)
• Outsider 
• Bully

   

(examples: Popular guy ~ Troy from High School Musical and on the right The Nerds seth, evan and fogell from superbad) 


Locations 

What are the typical locations in teen films?

• At home
  In the living room
  Bedroom
  Bathroom (toilet/shower)
  Garden
  Kitchen
  
  
• At school (top common location)
  Cafeteria
  Classroom
  Gymnasium (basketball court or sports hall)
  Hallway Toilets (boys or girls)
  
                    
• Hang out locationsSkate parksEstateRestaurants
  Someones house (friend/relative/neighbours)
  Beach
  Shopping centre
• Other locationsPartiesInside a car
  Backyard/Garden