Youth Representation in TV Drama

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of youth using the following:

·         Camera shots, angles and movement.

·         Editing

·         Sound

·         Mise-en-scene

As the extract begins we are focused on a close-up shot of Tony’s face. As the camera slowly pans out we see Tony lying in bed, the spotless white covers are smoothed and neat as if he has hardly moved in his sleep. He opens his eyes to the sound of church bells as the camera continues to zoom out and we see the bodies of a naked man and woman printed on his sheet. The room is extremely tidy- unusually tidy for a teenage boy. Tony comes across as being almost robotic as when the scene continues we get an insight into what looks like a structured daily routine he has made for himself. We see this routine in extremely shot and fast shots of him doing morning exercises before we are shown a longer shot of Tony admiring himself in the mirror afterwards. Whilst Tony is doing these exercises to some upbeat music with the shots often change on the beat to the music, this could reflect through rhythm that he is a structured person and the music used also is a reflection of youth as young people have a reputation for liking upbeat and loud music. The fact that the screen time lasts for longer on Tony when he is admiring himself highlights a certain vanity about him. 

       The fact that he is wearing white shows us connotations of Tony’s calmer personality which can be juxtaposed with his father’s impatience and extremely angry personality as his father is wearing red. When looking at Tony in the opening scene, surrounded by pure crisp white and the sound of church bells we see a certain purity of his character, this is later juxtaposed as we see him watching a woman from over the street getting changed and tricking his father to let his sister sneak back into the house. We see two sides to the family in this extract. When Tony and Effy are later sitting at the table eating breakfast the scene looks like a perfectly normal family breakfast, however this acts as a mask of normality to shadow the darker secrets that the children seem to be hiding from their family.

      We can already see so far that youth is represented in a way that shows challenges between themselves and their parents. We see this from Tony and Effy working together behind their parent’s backs after she has obviously been out without any permission or the parent’s knowledge. There is a certain drift between the lives of the youth and parents. The teenagers seem to have an almost completely separate life when outside their homes, which we see when Tony is walking down the street calling all of his many different friends. The camera shot when Tony is walking down the street calling his friends is from a low angle, juxtaposed when shown with the high angled shot of his scruffier friend. These angles can reflect that perhaps Tony is more in control than his friend.

      When Tony is calling his friends we see many different representations of youth. When he calls his first friend who is still in bed under the covers we see a filthy cluttered and messy room. This is a somewhat typical stereotype of teenagers and youth, laziness and a lack of tidiness. The shot on this friend begins with a close up of their mobile ringing on a dirty plate of food, once again highlighting the lazy attitude of this person as he seems too lazy to clear up after himself. These realistic portrayals of different types of youth show a certain verisimilitude. Another one of Tony’s friends is seen as practising the clarinet, showing that some teenagers are focussed and do use their time constructively to improve on their skills. We then see another of his friends, wrapped in a towel and moisturising her legs. The shot runs slowly up her leg, which hints at us that she must be attractive and possibly quite vain, when hearing the phone call we also hear that Tony is trying to get her to sleep with somebody, showing the common stereotype of teenagers having many intimate relationships and perhaps because of this undermining what a relationship is or landing in awkward situations from their actions.

      When Tony is walking down the street we hear a great deal on non-digetic sound such as drills and cars, this ambient sound creates a feeling of verisimilitude. We also see Tony walk past some graffiti on his way, another subtle symbol of youth and the impact which is often negative that they leave on society. As Effy is sneaking into the house we are shown cross-cutting between her sneaking inside and Tony distracting their father, this created a certain paranoia for the audience as we wonder whether Effy will get caught, showing us that teenagers are perhaps scared of their parents despite the fact that they do not seem to be scared of situations that are far more dangerous. It highlights a certain irrationality of the views and things that young people are afraid of.