Evaluation of Distribution Institution

Group Discussion

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Alice's Additional Discussion

 

Evaluation of Representation of Teenagers in Our Sequence

Overview

• Our piece creates a very mixed representation of teenagers.
• The fact that our film is in the social realism and coming of age genres means the way in which this social group is represented has been affected.
• The teenagers in our piece have both positive and negative aspects which go against some of media’s standard representations (stereotypes), but reinforce others.

 

Representations and Genre

 

• Our genre of film aims at high verisimilitude and relies on convincing the audience of the authenticity of its characters and situations.
• Therefore this meant that the representations we focused on and created in our piece had to be taken from groups of representation that have become so common place that they automatically seem real, whether they actually are or not.
• This coincides with Perkins theory of stereotypes making someone and their situation appear easily recognisable, so the audience therefore believes them. 

Teen Representations

• This is what we focused on when creating the character Ruby. Her story needed to be something that people could identify with, not just through personal experience, but by putting her in a situation that is widely communicatedthe media, many could identify with it. 
• Teen suicide is something that is widely reported on the news and is something that now in the modern day, is continuously talked about and spread through social media. 
• Placing Ruby in a situation that many are aware of due to these factors, meant that without even needing to have the character appear on screen, due to death being informed by a news report, her representation as a troubled teen automatically is believable and seems very ‘real’.

Real Teen Suicide Reported on the News

Report of Ruby's Death

• Portraying Ruby as a supposed victim of teen suicide, works to back up Pickering.
• He says that having repeated stereotypes in media can create negative views of a social group, therefore affecting people’s perceptions of those groups in real life. 
• Shows how coming of age films often add to the debate around stereotyping can be seen as reinforcing this negative view of the teen social group. 
• However, We agree with Dyer that if stereotypes are not negative overall, they do no harm. Our teen representations seem initially negative but in fact are more mixed as the film progresses.

• The fact that she has had a possible overdose shows how Ruby has become involved with drugs etc.
• A negative view is therefore especially emphasised when Ruby is shown as a little girl in juxtaposition with being spoken about on the news, as getting involved with the wrong crowd has ultimately led to her death.  
• Showing the change in someone by looking at their childhood is also demonstrated in 'Stuart a Life Backwards'

Close up of photograph as Ruby a little Girl

Stuart from 'Stuart a life backwads' still as a child

• This kind of possible peer pressure storyline is something that has been written about in TV shows such as Skins, and has too led to the death of characters again representing teenagers negatively.

• This can also be compared to 'This Is England', as the lead becomes involved with the wrong crowd and in doing so alters the path of his life. 
• This kind of thing is suggested to have happened happened to Ruby, and is a negative stereotype for teenagers as it suggest that they have the ability to have their minds warped and are unable to make decisions for themselves without being peer pressured

Boy from 'This Is England' still 'innocent'

The beginnings of him becoming involved with wrong crowd

Being involved with a violent threatening act

• On the other hand, there is also enough positive representation of the character Ruby to ensure that a negative view of teenagers isn’t forced upon the social group. 
• For example in the flash back part of our piece Ruby is seen dressed in an innocent yet bright and colourful way (slightly altered due to weather) and is wearing  the beginnings expressive make up. 
• Suggests that she is beginning to create an individual identity for herself and it is something that appears positive and prosperous. 
• Represents teenagers positively as it shows how when ‘coming of age’, as our genre is, many teens are looking forward to the future and looking to establish themselves as ambitious people, ready for discovery. 
• This is similar to the representation of coming of age teenagers in ‘An Education’ through which the lead character, who is too a young girl goes off to experience new things as she develops her individual personality.

Ruby as a 'prosperous' character

Lead girl from 'An Education' 

• The way in which Ruby is represented even after her death at some points is also a positive representation as through dialogue she is described as an ‘idol’ who’s ‘voice and lyrics spoke to the world’.  
• This shows how those teenagers that take their ambition and turn it in to success can be role models for others and shows teens in a positive light. This can be compared to many bands around today who have come from humble backgrounds and gained success

News Reporter tells of her being an 'Idol'

 

• The film footage that is shows, taken in 1987, only a short time before her death, shows Ruby laughing and enjoying her time in the band showing how unlike some representations, those who commit suicide maybe aren't depressed and unstable all the time

A smiling Ruby

 

• These factors are something that contributes to a more complex representation as our opening sequence does not just portray Ruby as a character who took a disastrous downward turn, but instead demonstrates how she still made something of her life. 
• This shows how our media piece is different, as on the surface it appears we have used stereotypes as short hand like Adorno said but in fact, there seems to be nothing ‘stereotypical’ about Ruby at all.  Coming of age films often overturn stereotypes in this way.

In "The Perks of being as Wallflower", more and more sides revealed to all the characters as the film progresses

• This kind of thing is often present in films and TV shows of our genre as the teens in someway conform to stereotypes but in others do not, as their characters do outlandish and unexpected thing whilst still remaining likable. 
• An example of this is shows like Skins and Misfits. 



Misfits Cast

• ‘Misfits’ is a common culprit for avoiding stereotypes as their characters have very different and non-conformist personalities. 

• The way in which a fan weeps at the death of Ruby can be both interpreted both negatively and positively in regard to teen representations.
• The tears could just be seen as an outward sign of how much Ruby impacted their lives in an inspirational way. 
• However, it could be seen as showing someone, who is unable to control their emotions, a way in which teenagers are especially represented. 

This Twilight fan has become infamous for over-the-top reactions posted on YouTube

• In this case it is a young girl which without realising we have conformed to the sexist stereotype that women are more emotional and the victim of suicide is too a woman.

Crying Girl

• However we balance this out as Jimmy, a male, is seen to be deeply affected too, again showing how our piece does not completely fall in to serotyping our characters and therefore does not represent them in a 'typical' light. 

Evaluation of Representations in Coursework

• Representation is usually only discussed when the media use common representations (stereotypes) to convey their ideas.

• More unconventional representations are only evern discussed against the context of gthe stereotype. 

• The use of stereotypes can be advantageous in certain situations - they allow us to quickly convey a narrative structure to the audience and allow them to make predictions, which is imprtant to their enjoyment.

• They also have their disadvantages too - they can make the film predictable and can be criticised more generally if they reinforce negative ideas present in society.

• In our piece we use mise en scene, camera movements/angles, editing and sound and create quite a complex representation of teenagers. There are some elements of stereotyping but the representation is detailed and complicated and therefore overcomes some of this. 

• This is because of our genre.  Verisimilitude is an important aspect of our piece, because our piece relies on on being engaged to the audience emotionally because its important to the genre of our piece which is coming of age/social realism. Many stereotypes are too exaggerated to seem realistic so we have avoided this and our representations are quite muted.





                                     

                                                        Band Scene group involved in prductive action



      


                        

                                                   (Negative representation) Gang culture amongst teenagers

• We used the band scene during the news scene photograph to represent teenagers in a positive way as it shows that they are ambitious and successful, this is normally the opposite to what we normally see in media as teenagers are represented in a negative way (use of alcohol, drugs and gangs).
• The news caster talks of a cult following growing to a big fan base, so we know they worked for their success and it did not come easily - one of the reasons for setting this in the past to avoid a kind of X Factor representation.

Childhood photo

• We also used the pictures of our main character when she was a child, this could be used to shows the innocence, as let the audience infer that teenagers are still children, and they can choose the wrong path, and sometimes this can be wrong. In this case we see the childhood photograph during the news flash which announces Ruby Maverick to be dead from a potential overdose. 

• This is a use of common stereotypes as teenagers are normally shown throughout media as drug abusers. The use of childhood photo gives a mixed representation as it shows both innocence and immaturity, and it makes us wonder how the character came to their end.

Similar Image used in Stuarts Life Backwards

• The use of childhood photos being used to show innocence is normal in media, an example of this is in the  movie 'Stuarts Life Backwards' the movie has a similar plot as the main character also is a drug abuser and it also uses the childhood scenes to create sympathy and emotion.
• The flashback structure helps make the representation clear - because we already know what happens to Ruby, we look for clues in her early life. Makes us judge her actions carefully because we know the serious consequences.

Fan mourning the death of Ruby Maverick

Jimmy unable to cope with his sisters death

• Both our male and female characters show strong emotions in the opening. The female fan and Ruby's brother, Jimmy, clearly distressed, although Jimmy's grief is internalised. This might reinforce stereotypes about the ways men and women handle emotions, but our pieced is more complex - it also contrasts real emotion (Jimmy) and the emotions brought about by famous people (more shallow but somehow 'bigger'). Media representations of groef are being criticised in tis representation and so conclusions about gender are a bit superficial.

Stacy from Eastenders - strong emotion

 

         

           News Report

Sophia from Skins

• The fact that we suggested it could be possible suicide during the news report fits into a common representation that teenagers often go for drastic actions, this is a negative representation of teenagers. An example of this is in Skins when the character Sophia commits suicide due to an emotional breakdown.
• We might seem to be backing up media stereotypes of teens as unstable and emotional, but other representations in our sequence show them as more relaxed and happy.

Happy and friendly

• Our piece is full of strong and complicated emotions.

• Our characters are teenagers - but the whole point of a comingof age film is that they are learning to be adults so what they experience is seen as 'adult' so the representation is more general than it appears.

Evaluation of Representations

General

 

• Representation is when social classes such as gender, age, ability, sexuality etc. are re-presented through the media.
• In our piece we have created a mixed representation of teenagers (age), whilst also creating representations of gender.
• These representations are constructed using misè-en-scene, camera angles/movements, editing and sound.
• Genre plays a key role in the kinds of representations we construct - we are working in a hybrid of coming of age/social realism. Both rely heavily on high verisimilitude as the narrative relies on the audience being emotionally and visually engaged with the characters and plot.
• With this comes particular issues round representation - where there is concern about representations being "biased and limited" (Pickering) our style may be particularly harmful as it is believeable and gives an impression of 'truth' - it is therefore more likely to perpetuate stereotypes into wider society.
• However, like any producers, we need a certain amount of stereotypical representation to create our narrative (Adorno). This is even more the case as we only have 2 mins to convey ideas to our audience.

Representations of Teenagers

• Within the teenage group there is a split between how our representation of them can be viewed.
• The first way is a positive representation.
• In the flashback scene  a young, happy looking girl in bright colours and eccentric 80’s makeup is seen innocently waiting on a bench.
•  This is a positive representation - implies that she isn't a stereotypical wild teenager; in a big, intimidating group etc

  

  Happy in the snow

• It further defies the stereotype that most teenagers smoke or drink to enjoy themselves because instead she is openly expressing and happy to show emotions.  
• This stereotype is seen through various media/film products, such as ‘Skins’, ‘Project X’ and common soap operas like ‘Eastenders’ or ‘Coronation Street’.
   

Similar stereotypes to that of the characters in 'Skins'

Opposite stereotype to that of Whitney from 'Eastenders' 

• Another way in which teenagers are represented positively is by the relationship between Ruby and Sam, seen in the flashback scene.
• A close up of Sam picking up Ruby’s keys is used to emphasize the kindness of his character.
• This friendship is conveyed as a genuine one because through Ruby’s reactions and parts of her dialogue it gives the impression that she has feelings for Sam
• However, Sam's reactions prove that he does not necessarily feel the same, therefore keeping their friendship honest

Ruby and Sam conveying a friendly relationship

• Another relationship to consider between the characters is Sam and Jimmy’s.
• This is conveyed through Sam’s dialogue when he says ‘as long as it’s okay with Jimmy’. By subtly mentioning Ruby’s brother in between her attempt at ‘flirting’ with him, it gives the impression that Sam is loyal to his friend as he doesn't cross a line and try anything with his sister.

The band happy together in rehearsals

• One of the main positive representations of teenagers, however, is the subtle concept of the film; the teenagers have an ambition.
• This defies one of the biggest stereotypes of this generation that the majority of teenagers do not have any life goals other than to go to parks in their hoodies and drink or do drugs.
• This conforms to Althusser’s theory that when stereotypes are often repeated, they begin to seem ‘real’ because a lot of the media show the mishaps of teenagers on TV shows such as Geordie Shore or Skins.
• However, we contradicted this because not only do they have an ambition, but it is internationally recognised, made apparent through the dialogue of the news reporter saying that they were a ‘hit band’.
• This is positive because they have made a successful living out of something they love to do, which is further shown through another part of the news reporter’s dialogue saying they started with a small cult following because it proves they worked their way to the top. 

Nostalgia achieving ambitious dreams

 

• On the other hand, a negative representation is also displayed; the most obvious being the main event of the film - Ruby committing suicide.
• This does conform to the stereotype of teenagers using drugs excessively as confirmed by the news reporter declaring her death was an overdose.
• We see this stereotype portrayed through media series such as Skins. It also relates to an even closer stereotype of famous people eventually surrendering to life in the spotlight.
• This representation conveys Pickering’s theory that using stereotypes often result in ‘negative and biased’ views because it implies that Ruby could not deal with her emotions in a mature way.
• This reflects badly on how the audience will perceive her character because she appears weak as she essentially failed to pursue the life she so eagerly wanted. 

Innocent child with ambitious dreams 

• However, although it is a clear negative representation, Adorno suggested that sometimes stereotypes are essential in media forms as a way of acting as a ‘shorthand’ to compress life in a short form.
• Therefore, this stereotype is essential to our piece because of our chosen genre; as mentioned previously, our piece relies on high verisimilitude, which is what this stereotype emphasizes.
• There has been many famous people announced on the news because of their decision to end their life; the most recent example being Amy Winehouse. 
• Our 'death'is also announced via news - we don't see the older Ruby, only an impersonal report of her death. Distances audience - we are more emotionally connected with her brother.

Press coverage of Winehouse death

Similar press announcement in our piece

Representations of Gender

• To consider the representation from another angle,  it is worth noting that the character that crumbles is a female.
• This gives a negative portrayal of women because they are already stereotyped as being weak and less inclined to cope with their emotions.
• In addition to this, it is also apparent through the sobbing fan, who we didn't plan to be a female, but is one, as she cannot control her emotions over somebody she did not directly know but felt connected to through music.

Stereotype that women are more known for being unable to control emotions: a fan weeps to the news about her idol.

Similarities to real life famous people unable to cope with the stardom: Amy Winehouse.

• The audience, however, is given the impression that Jimmy is also struggling to cope with the loss of his sister shown by various close up and extreme close ups of his reaction to listening to the news.
• To further show this a sound perspective is used to highlight his confused and distressed emotions; the news reporter is only on in the background when Jimmy has the screen time and therefore, to the audience, it appears as though he isn't actually listening with great detail which conveys the emotional and sensitive side to him, considering he did not want his sister involved with the band in the first place.
• Overall, then, our characters' age and the genre, which is all about deep emotions, means representations of gender are less pronounced than they might have been.

Ruby's brother, Harry, defying stereotype that it is mainly women who cannot tackle their emotions sufficiently.

Use of Sound to Create Representation

• In the first part of our opening, asides from the diegetic sound of the news report in the background, there is no other diegetic sound and no non-diegetic sound.
•  This use of silence portrays the seriousness and intensity of the scene because there is nothing to alter the atmosphere except for Jimmy’s emotions. 
• Whereas, in the flashback scene, there is upbeat non-diegetic 80’s music and lots of dialogue; this highlights how Ruby’s personality changed in the years when she reached stardom because when speaking to Sam, it was apparent to the audience that she was a young, carefree teenager – until she had fame. 

Upbeat pace, more vibrant colours for the flashback

Summary

Overall, our piece conveys a very mixed representation of teenagers.

They are emotional, unstable and carry out dramatic actions.

They are also talented, motivated, loyal.

I agree with Wee who suggests that in teen drama of this kind, the age of the characters becomes irrelevant - they are used as a vehicle to convey adult problems and dilemmas, and their age gives them license to struggle with these, reassuring viewers of all ages.

Sequence Before Break - Next Cut

Cut for Audience Feedback