Mock - Age - Monarch of the Glen

In the last mock, the main things I needed to address were terminology and explanations of Editing.

In this Monarch of the Glen clip, adults and youngsters are presented in varying different ways. There are lots of wide shots that focus on the adults, all hard at work together, which juxtapose to the mid/two shots of the younger couple. These wide shots show how the adults work together as a unit and a team compared to the closer shots of the youngsters which could represent they’re in their own little world, which stereotypically when you’re a teenager, you think you are – this reinforces the stereotype of youth. The wide shots could represent the ‘bigger picture’ of life which the adults can see, but the younger generation can’t.

Jump cutting to another scene, the younger couple are presented in much brighter costume than the adults of the cast who are often portrayed as wearing tweed suits, dark clothes, and jackets – then youngsters wear a range of colours and the girl wears a flower in her hair. This all presents the idea that the youth can wear what they want but adults have to dress ‘age appropriate’. This all reinforces the stereotype that the youth are well dressed compared to the adults, wear clothes are not as important in society. The sound in this scene where the boy and girl talk is completely different to the sad and melancholy tune that is played later in the clip – it is funky and suggestive and also upbeat, aiming to show that that style of music represents their age much more than any other – they are ‘upbeat’ and ‘full of energy’ as the world expects all teenagers/youths to be.

In the next few scenes, youths are presented in a certain way and then the image is entirely flipped, which causes drama and tries to evoke the audience. Amy is presented at first as being responsible and takes up an errand, claiming to have passed her driving test ‘first time’. As she gets in the car, this presents a strong, confident and reliable example of youth. But it soon turns sour as the girl crashes the car. This quickly juxtaposes what the audience thought they saw with the actual truth, as she is re-presented as being irresponsible, careless and dangerous – much like the stereotype that is portrayed around the Western world of ‘youth’. This irresponsible representation therefore juxtaposes with the image of adults working hard in the previous and forthcoming scenes and reinforces the typical stereotype.

There is a clear juxtaposition between the ages in the next seen, as the Amy the youth fights with the adult and the man of the house – this man has had the most screen time out of all of the characters, showing that he has a large amount of importance. He’s not just any character, he’s the defender of the family – and this has been proved by his actions in the last scene where he stands in front of the teenagers on guard against the elder man. The camera pans quickly back and forth between this man and the boy, showing that although the boy’s emotions/feelings are stronger as he shouts, the man’s opinion is more important, as the camera keeps going back to him, even when the boy is upset and calling out. It is obvious that the man holds all the power throughout the scenes. There’s a flip side to this situation in that the stereotype is that the youth’s opinion is not as important and their parents’ or elders’ and also that kids never get listened to by anyone older than them – they often don’t feel valued. A low angle shot is used on the man as he argues with Amy to show how much more powerful he is than her, and a high angle shot is shown on the girl to show the same – she’s vulnerable and he will have the final say. When Amy shouts ‘I hate you’ and runs off after a tantrum, this leaves the audience with a familiar scene as it is expected of youth to disobey what elders tell them to do and to argue, stereotypically. It is also shown that Amy is a liar which reinforces the stereotype that kids are always ‘up to no good’ and can’t really be trusted.  Saying all this, the boy is often shown in the foreground at important and dramatic scenes with shows that the audience is encouraged to connect with him, as he is presented in close-ups and mid shots, given the audience time to identify with him.

Close-ups are frequently used with Amy too, to invite the viewer into her emotions. Sad music is being played over top to help with this and a slow pan shot is used too, to challenge the idea that the youth is always fast and doesn’t care about anything, as the girl stops to look at a family photograph – which is zoomed in on, to push the viewer right in to the scene. This music also shows that the character is hurting and unhappy. Challenging stereotypes again, in one of the last scenes, the adult man is seen behaving in a way one doesn’t expect of an adult – instead of rationally discussing the issue the elder man has, he simply tells him it’ll all be fine and then pulls a face towards the younger boy.

Throughout the entire sequence, the lighting has not been imposed on, so the effect of real life and day time, is actually real and gives the whole show and storyline a realistic edge, and an insight into the lives of these varying generations.