1B - Representation

In this essay I will be analysing my film opening which my group and I created, and the representation of different social groups within the film.
Our video constructs the representation of different ages through the use of editing, costume, sound, props, camera, body language and facial expression. When filming Aubrey(the teenager of Carol, her mum) we used a lot of panning shots and made the camera shaky to represent the instability of her drunk self, and to show her as a care-free, reckless teenager. For the editing in the first section of the video, we used short shots of Aubrey walking and stumbling but sequenced them next to each other so it looked in-cohesive and jumpy, so the audience knew what it felt like for her to be drunk. This contrasts for the editing and camera work used when filming Carol, as only still shots and close ups were used when filming her, which represents her stability and authority as a parent, opposite to her daughter, Aubrey. The costumes also clearly represented the difference in ages as Aubrey was wearing a crop top with skinny jeans, trainers, a loose flannel shirt, along with her curly hair down and eyeliner. This shows how care free and fun loving this character is, compared with Carol's character. On the contrary, Carol was wearing a dressing gown and slippers along with pyjamas underneath and her hair tied back. To further create a more realistic characterisation, we added dry shampoo to make her hair appear more grey and created wrinkles on her face using make-up. This represents Carol as a sensible and sturdy character who likes the comfort of her own home which gives the impression to the audience that she does not venture out much and is a strict parent.
It is also arguable whether Aubrey and Carol represent good vs. evil, and if so, which side they would represent. The opposing characters both show signs of good and evil, which the audience will subconsciously decide on when watching the film opening, depending on what their personal role in their family is. Aubrey would typically be argued as the evil character in the situation to any mums or members of authority watching as she is rebellious and unpredictable. However, she may be seen as the good character to any teenagers watching as she can relate to them and the struggles she goes through by having such a strict parent who suppresses her creativity and freedom. On the other hand, the mother may be seen as the evil character to any teenagers watching because she is restricting her daughter from being sociable and making friends, but could also be seen as good to the mothers watching as she is staying up late until her child is home and safe and only has her best interests at heart.
In the film opening, we include stereotypes of the British youth and their mothers. This is shown both through their charcaterisation and their actions in the film, for example, Aubrey is a rebellious teenager who does not live by her mother's rules and stays out drinking until late at night and runs away after a huge argument with her mum. This conforms to the ideas of British youth which is portrayed in the media as traditionally they are seen as rebellious and disrespectful towards their elders. Stereotypes of mothers are also put into place in the film opening when observing Carol, as she is a strict mum who appears conservative as she is staying at home with her cup of tea in her pyjamas waiting for her daughter to come home. This reflects the medias idea of mums and how they are sensible and not adventurous while not always caring about their appearance like the younger generation, while also being strict and playing by the rules. We did not subvert the stereotypes of the teenager and the mum because we thought by making the two characters polar opposites and controvertial, it would create more drama and interest within the storyline as the characters are exaggerated.
In conclusion, we created specific representations of the two characters because we thought it would be interesting for the audience to watch and create enigma which would make the audience want to find out more from the plot line.