Representation of Age

Representation of Age

Levi Strauss
The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative e.g. good/evil, day/night, male/female, presence/absence, old/young.

Stereotypes of the Elderly
- Grumpy - Conservative, Stubborn and are resistant to change. ("Good Ol' Days")

- Cheeky - Seen as having a second childhood, living life to the fullest because of their age.

- Helpless - The elderly are seen as a burden to society. Older people are also represented as pitied, dependent or an economic burden – helpless and dependent on other younger members of society or family.

Positives and Negatives of Age

Waterloo Road - Essay Plan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX1a_hfwhCo

Sound

- Hectic audio

- Sounds of screaming from the teenagers, relates to a stereotype of immaturity. Also shouts for help from other teenagers which counteracts the immature stereotype as they're acting in an adult manor.

Editing

- Fast Paced

Mise-En-Scene

- Majority of Characters are teenagers. When faced with a serious situation they all behaved with an authoritative attitude. Sensible behaviour. 

- Certain teenagers act selfish to protect themselves.

- Props such as wet paper towels, metal bars etc.

Cinematography

- Large amount of close-up shots to show the emotions of the characters. 

- A few establishing shots of the fire and the school during explosions. 

Waterloo Road Essay

Within the TV Programme of Waterloo Road, there is a range of ages represented both stereotypically and counter-stereotypically from teenagers to adults. They are represented in a certain way through Mise-En-Scene, Sound, Editing and Cinematography.

There were many aspects to the Mise-En-Scene that added to the verisimilitude of the scene and also represented stereotypes of all ages. The majority of the characters were secondary school teenagers and there were both stereotypes and counter-stereotypes within the scene. For example: There was a clear stereotype of an immature and irresponsible teenager with the majority of the young females represented. This is evident with the teenage pregnancy from one teenager and also from the actions of others during the fire. Despite this, there was also a clear counter-stereotype to this with the female who was trapped in the toilet. Instead of acting immature, like the other teenagers, she acted calm and made sure she called for help in a calm fashion that shows the counter-stereotype of the other teenagers who panicked. This shows a binary opposite in the stereotypes and counter-stereotypes of the female teenagers - This links to Levi Strauss’ theory of Binary Opposites. The male teenagers also show a clear stereotype and counter-stereotype. An example of this would be the teenager who called for help when his friend was having an asthma attack. Furthermore, one male teenager played a hero role in the scene when he went to save the young girl who was trapped. Another male teenager saved a teachers live by dragging her out of the burning building alone. This counteracts Ann Gould’s categorisation of the Nihilistic teenager as both males teens saved the lives of two females. This shows responsible attitude and is a counter-stereotype of a young, irresponsible teenager. Also, the other teenager who helped the trapped teenagers escape and also helped save a teacher’s life through his responsible attitude. The use of certain props from certain teenagers also counteracts the stereotypes of teenagers as dumb and immature. When a teenaged girl was alone in the toilets, she used props of wet paper towels to block the fire coming into the room that she was trapped in. This shows a level of intelligence that many people of an older age may think certain teenagers don’t have. All of these aspects of the scene counteract the stereotypical representation of youth in the media, as the majority of the teenagers are acting responsible. There are however a few odd teenagers who prove the stereotypes of youth with the teenage pregnancy presented in the scene.

Waterloo Road Essay

Within the TV Programme of Waterloo Road, there is a range of ages represented both stereotypically and counter-stereotypically from teenagers to adults. They are represented in a certain way through Mise-En-Scene, Sound, Editing and Cinematography.

There were many aspects to the Mise-En-Scene that added to the verisimilitude of the scene and also represented stereotypes of all ages. The majority of the characters were secondary school teenagers and there were both stereotypes and counter-stereotypes within the scene. For example: There was a clear stereotype of an immature and irresponsible teenager with the majority of the young females represented. This is evident with the teenage pregnancy from one teenager and also from the actions of others during the fire. Despite this, there was also a clear counter-stereotype to this with the female who was trapped in the toilet. Instead of acting immature, like the other teenagers, she acted calm and made sure she called for help in a calm fashion that shows the counter-stereotype of the other teenagers who panicked. This shows a binary opposite in the stereotypes and counter-stereotypes of the female teenagers - This links to Levi Strauss’ theory of Binary Opposites. The male teenagers also show a clear stereotype and counter-stereotype. An example of this would be the teenager who called for help when his friend was having an asthma attack. Furthermore, one male teenager played a hero role in the scene when he went to save the young girl who was trapped. Another male teenager saved a teachers live by dragging her out of the burning building alone. This counteracts Ann Gould’s categorisation of the Nihilistic teenager as both males teens saved the lives of two females. This shows responsible attitude and is a counter-stereotype of a young, irresponsible teenager. Also, the other teenager who helped the trapped teenagers escape and also helped save a teacher’s life through his responsible attitude. The use of certain props from certain teenagers also counteracts the stereotypes of teenagers as dumb and immature. When a teenaged girl was alone in the toilets, she used props of wet paper towels to block the fire coming into the room that she was trapped in. This shows a level of intelligence that many people of an older age may think certain teenagers don’t have. All of these aspects of the scene counteract the stereotypical representation of youth in the media, as the majority of the teenagers are acting responsible. There are however a few odd teenagers who prove the stereotypes of youth with the teenage pregnancy presented in the scene.

The sound within the fire scene is very hectic as there was a lot going on in terms of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. For example: The diegetic sounds of screaming from the majority of teenagers added to the verisimilitude of the scene. The dialogue of the adults conversing also added to the verisimilitude and emotion behind the scene. Both of these things add to stereotypes of both ages of adults and teenagers. The sounds of screaming from the teenagers prove some theories about the immature stereotypical teenager. The way the adults were reacting also showed a stereotypical adult as they were acting in a clam manor and acting responsibly. A lot of the dialogue revealed a lot about the characters and also linked them to the stereotypical representation of age and both gender combined.