Representation and Stereotypes

What is representation?
Representation is the way in which media portrays ideas/topics from social groups to different subcultures and how audiences acknowledge these portrayals.
The typical representations are: Gender, Ethnicity, Age and Regional/National identities.

Use of Representation
The use of representation is used in the movie 'Mean Girls', as the character Regina George is portrayed to be the 'popular girl' throughout the movie.
The audience identify her character through the use of mise-en-scene as she is seen to always wanting to be centre of attention as well as 'looking down' on most of the other characters.
Another character, Aaron Samuels is portrayed to be the stereotypical 'hero/love interest' as he is seen to have a caring and sensitive personality however this could become confusing to the audience as he was previously in a relationship with the villain Regina George.
Lastly, main character Cady Heron is portrayed to be the 'innocent nerd' in the movie, who has returned from Africa back to the USA. Although her character changes to be a mean girl in the midst of the film, she becomes the most favourite character by the end, which also links to the movie High School Musical as character Gabrielle Montez is also portrayed to be the 'innocent nerd' as well as being a transfer to a new school. The character is also shown to develop strongly throughout the movie as by the end of the film it is seen that she has hidden talents of being a singer and also finds her love interest.

To conclude, there are no particular characters I like/dislike however the combination of different personalities always makes the film interesting and exciting, which allows myself to expect the unexpected in a film.

representation and stereotypes

1. Representation is how a character is presented to the audience in a scene or movie which links in with stereotypes as it is a generalisation of a certain group of people e.g "The Jock." The Jock is always the character that has slicked hair and all the ladies want to be with, always wears a baseball jacket to represent the high school "football team" most oftenly linked to the head of the cheerleaders until the ugly pretty girl comes along and he begins to like her, most high school teens movies are stereotypically similarly  The representation and stereotype of a character such as this sets the character in a movie which will immediately help the audience identify who they are.

2. Jim Levenstein in the American Pie is the desperate virgin that wants to lose his virginity before prom, he's not really popular but has a close group friends he is always with. they are all young around the age of 17/18 and love to talk about women and sex the usual vulgar talk young males are used to.  therefore the main target of this movie is similar to the age of the main stars so they can relate to what is going on in the movie. 

Fogell also known as Mclovin in "Superbad" is a hilarious character who is the stereotypical  unpopular nerd in high school until there is a complete change in his character when he meets some police officers who change him and make him a "bad ass". He wears glasses and fitted tucked in shirts, very smart look which shows his representation to the audience for them to identify his character.

John Tucker in "John Tucker Must Die" is a stereotypical Jock at high school all the females love him and want to be with him he is a cocky character, he wears the high school football team jacket, he's a popular guy around school, everybody seems to look up to him.
  3. There is no particular character in a movie or tv show i dislike i only dislike the fact that it becomes  boring as it is very repetitious and predictable as all stereotypical high school movies have the same type of characters and dilemmas, which is the only problem, hollywood need to change it up a bit and make it less predictable.

Representation and Stereotypes

REPRESENTATION

Representation is how someone or something is displayed to an audience in mass media. When representing it usually certain features of someones personality or appearance for the audience to understand and connect with the character. A representation can be interpreted in many various ways depending on the person watching it as they will relate to it from their personal experiences ( can be due to; age, gender, race etc.). Representation is usually exaggerated for the audience this is done by stereotypes; a stereotype is a generalisation/assumption of a certain group of people it can also be defined as categorising people. Stereotypes can be displayed through camera, miss en scene, editing and sound. 

Some examples of character stereotypes:

• Popular guy

Camera- Starting from feet and following up 

                 Close up

                 Tracking

Mise en scene- Varsity

                             Expensive car 

                             Trainers

                             Lockers

                             Blue

Editing- Match cut

           

Sound- Non diegetic (Pop Music)

              Diegetic (Girl screams, dialogue)

• Weirdo/Geek

Camera- Long shot

                 Canted angle

                 

Mise en scene- Dark colours

                             Smartly dressed

                             Outside

                             Camera

                             Dark hair

                             Glasses

Editing- Cross cut

Sound- Diegetic- Chatter

                                School Bell

                                Footsteps

• Popular girl

Camera- Medium shot

                 Tracking

                  Close up

Mise en scene- Blondie

                             Pink

                             Short skirts

                             Heels

                             'Followers'

Editing- Match cut

               Sound bridge

Sound- Non diegetic (Loud music)

              Diegetic (Laughter, chatter, footsteps)

Out of all stereotypes my favourite on is the popular girl as they always represented in the same way e.g. blonde, mean, dumb, rich and many teenagers can relate to this type of character another reason is because they are always in a teen drama movie.

Holiday Homework: Teen Film Analysis

Step Up (2006)

Opening Clip:

Plot:
Tyler (Channing Tatum) is on the wrong side of the tracks, mixed up in a world of drugs, crime and violence. One night after getting kicked out of a party, he and his friends break into an arts school, committing vandalism. After getting caught he has to pay of by doing community service in the school. Attending the arts school is a girl named Nora (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) who is preparing for a showcase which is a step for her future. After an unfortunate accident which cost her her partner, he only choice is to have Tyler help her.
It's a film where 2 different worlds collide.

This film is appealing to teens, as it consists of themes which they can relate to, such as;

• crime/violence
• drugs
• dreams and aspirations
• school 
• love/romance

As the clear binary opposition in this film is a bad boy who's in a world of crime and a good girl who's working hard to achieve her dreams. 

There is a difference in clothing, where those from the guys world are in the streets therefore tend to wear baggy clothing with a range of hats, where as those of the art school have more either formal clothing of dresses and such or clothing comfortable for dancing.

Also there are also a couple of party scenes in the film, which is what teens are able to relate to. These parties include, loud music of hip hop or rnb, dancing and drinking. These are all rebellious acts and mirror the teenage stereotypical image. 

With the camera shots, there seems to be a frequent use of long shots as well as mid shots, this could be due to the fact that the film is dance based and these shots are able to capture the movements, however there are some close ups during the 'final showcase' especially within the audience which could possibly be to capture the emotions of the audience.

At the beginning of the film, there is use of cross cutting, which helps highlight the 2 worlds of the main characters, Tyler and Nora. The film cross cuts between two dances, one which is more hip and street with breaking etc and the other ballet which is more calm and soothing. This could possibly give the slight hint as to what this film is about and it gives the basic underlayer that it is about 2 worlds comming together.

Wild Child Analysis

Wild child is a typical teen drama targeted at females aged 12+; the film was released in 2008. In the opening scene there are credits of the main people involved in the film that displayed (e.g. actors, editors, directors etc.) which was accompanied by some non – diegetic calm music. The camera helped display the sub genre, binary oppositions and stereo types; in the very beginning the camera lead us to a young females room which was made clear through mise en scene as the room was filled with posters, pictures, bold/bright colours, which was shown through a long shot the camera zoomed into a close up of the main character (Poppy Moore) when she is asleep which is when the non – diegetic sound switched from calm to loud pop music as her eye’s opened and she spoke.

When moving onto the next part of that scene there was a match cut between the bedroom and the kitchen when there was a two-way dialogue from the sisters, the camera is used to show over the shoulder shots this makes it clear who is talking to whom. There is another form of editing used to which is match cut to introduce a new scenery viewed through a mid long shot of outside the house with all of Poppy Moore friends which is clarified through mise en scene showing the big white house, greenery, pool, moving van. There is also diegetic sound of shouting, screaming and dialogue that show how the main character is the rebel of the film, the camera is also used again as a low angle shot to show the sister looking down to her big sister in disappoint displaying typical characteristics of a teen drama.

There is a match cut for when the father is introduced into the scene through tracking the diegetic sound becomes quieter and you hear more mutters and sighs. Mise en scene is then used as the father is wearing a shirt; sunglasses and dark dull colours show a binary opposition from the teens vs. parent. When the father and daughter (Poppy Moore) are talking it is over the shoulder to show who has a higher authority the tone of voice also suggests that the father is fed up. Sound, mise en scene, editing and camera all add up in this particular part of the opening scene as is displays the typical characteristic of conflicts between parents and children.

Binary oppositions is shown very boldly when Poppy Moore is sent to England, there is a cross cut from the beautiful sunny America to the rainy and gloomy England where all the pupils and students are in dull, dark and smart clothing to suggest this is boring and also the weather reflects the mood of Poppy. When showing a long shot of the boarding school there are very obvious cliques; younger students (1^st year), good/smart girls and the evil kiss up’s. When the main evil kiss up who is also the head girl of the school goes to approach Poppy she is shown through a close up camera angle which is joint with the non – diegetic sound of music with tension to show she is evil and up to no good, there is also diegetic sound of footsteps which increase in sound as she comes closer.

In the opening scene the audience of females gets a vague idea of who the main cliques are and who is good or bad. Binary oppositions are shown throughout by the main factors of CAMERA, EDITING, SOUND AND MISE EN SCENE.

Film Analysis: Mean Girls

Mean girls is a teen comedy film, released in 2004. The plot of the film is based around one particular teenage girl named Cady, who has returned from Africa back to the USA however is attending a public school for the first time in her life.
The film also includes three other teenage girls who aim to mould Cady as apart of their group, however this plan backfires into Cady wanting revenge against them.

The film is a representation of how female social cliques operate and the effect they can have on teenage girls. Although the film is produced to be a comedy, serious issues are also portrayed such as bullying and sexual themes.

Throughout the movie, A vast amount of characters are presented such as: the innocent nerd, popular mean girl and hero/love interest; these specific characters are known to be the stereotypical personalities found in a teen movie.

Mise en scene, camera, sound and editing all show a clear binary opposition of the 'innocent girl' vs 'the mean girls'. For an example; the use of clothing worn on Cady is casual as she is mainly seen wearing jeans/trousers and a t-shirt whereas the mean girls are seen to be in glamorous clothing wearing skirts/dresses, heeled shoes with matching handbags. However during the middle of the film as the transformation of character Cady happens, her appearance changes which instantly gives the viewer an insight on her new attitude.
This is portrayed in the clip below:

During the clip there are number of cross-cutting between the dialogue when the characters are speaking. For an example, when the characters are in Regina's bedroom continuos cross-cuts are used which has been used to contrast the characters as one shot captured Cady whilst the other shot captured the three other girls showing a clear differentiation in their lifestyles.
As the clip continues, at the end a voice over is heard which is represented to be Cady's thoughts. This sets a different scene to what we see as it is clear that the character is uncomfortable in the new environment she has been introduced to which intrigues the viewer into how this changes throughout the film.

The Bling Ring