Waterloo road age analysis

Analysis of how age is represented in waterloo road 

 At first the audience sees a mid shot of two teenage school boys. Costume is used well here to show us that firstly, they are in a secondary school uniform and secondly, they are wearing it very scruffy and untidily, showing us that they are not wanting to be there and a little rebellious, thus reflecting the stereotypical teenager of society. The first scene also contains some digetic sound and we can hear uses of colloquialisms and sociolect in the way that they are speaking, for example 'chill out man'. This tells us that the boys appear to be typical teenagers that speak how they would stereotypically be thought to. After this, the boys appear to be hesitant when they are making excuses to the teacher in a three shot with the teacher stood on one side showing he has the most authority. We can hear the digetic sound of the boys using fillers such as “I was err.. Sick, sir." This connotes to us that the boys have been in trouble and are trying to avoid being caught, going along with the typical received idea that teenagers are always naughty and sly. However, the use of words such as "sir" and "miss" show that they know they are below the teacher in terms of authority and still are respectful. 

 The shot pan zooms closer into the older male showing that he is wearing what looks like a knitted cardigan or waistcoat under his tweed jacket. This outfit is wouldn't appeal to the younger man but someone of an older generation. The shot cuts to a mid shot of the teacher as he also uses a very demanding tone when he says "give it" showing the audience that he is the one who is in control in the situation and has the power due to his age. We are then shown a mid shot of the camera which allows us to focus on the item revealing that has been broken very badly. This supports the destructive nature that is stereotypically associated with young people. The shot cuts to a mid four shot as we are introduced to another teacher who is female, the students refer to her as “Miss” signifying how she has authority and power over the students. The shot then cuts to a panning shot of another male student slouched against a wall. The shot is an upper body shot so we can establish his wearing a sweat shirt under his uniform and his shirt undone; this reveals this student has no pride in his appearance and attire.

 The shot then cuts to a full body shot of a young girl walking down a corridor, we view that she is wearing a short dress with no tights; her attire lacks self respect highlighting the stereotypical view that the majority of teenage girls lack self respect, the mis en scene of the school corridor allows the audience to view the majority of top buttons undone and different jackets over the top of the uniform which establishes this is normal behaviour for students even if they are going against the school policy, this fits in with the stereotypical view that young people are unable to follow instructions and rebel to show their individuality. 

The shot then cuts back to a long shot of the girl coming into contact with another female pupil down the corridor who are also dressed in short attire. We then hear the non-digetic sound of other random conversations and view other students walking around the corridor. The volume of the conversations is loud and begins to replace the main characters voice this use of representation illustrates stereotypically that teenagers are very loud. The non digetic sound then quietens as we hear some dialogue between the two characters and we soon find out they are talking about someone’s family, throughout their conversation slang is used, the fact they are discussing someone else’s personal life emphasises that it is gossip which once again is associated with young female girls. 

The shot then cuts to a class room scene where the teacher is discussing the lesson with the class, the camera focuses on a two shot of a boy and girl talking instead of paying attention, this highlights their lack of respect as they are speaking over their teacher. The scene then cuts to a upper body shot of the teacher as his made aware the students aren't listening, his expression shows him to be angry and aggravated, illustrating how teachers and older people as a representation don’t like to be spoke over or ignored. Later into this shot we see a scene where a girl is confronting a boy, in this shot the teacher walks in and interrupt trying to resolve the problem, the students stop and separate illustrating how the teacher has authority as they have obeyed what he has just asked.

The scene then cuts to tilt long shot as we are introduced to another male teacher, he is dressed in unusual clothing which we assume he is trying to look like a teenager himself, the scene then pan zooms across to the female teacher who is presented to be laughing and clapping at the male teachers attire, in the back ground the non digetic sound of rap music is playing which makes the scene comedic, The representation of this male teacher highlights how some old people like to think they are still young and fashionable but don't have any idea on what fashion is, This is shown as the scene cuts to two young school girls laughing at what the male teacher is wearing, this reveals that the students find the male teacher funny but for the wrong reason as they start making jokes about his outfit choice.

The last part of the clip is a two upper body shot of the male teacher talking to the head teacher, the head teacher tells the male teacher to go and get changed as he doesn't see the humorous side to the teachers attire, however the male teacher follows his instructions revealing that the head teacher how power over him, This shows that even the older generation have to deal with a power heir achy. This shot is also an establishing shot as in the background we can see the students laughing at the fact the teacher is being told to get changed as he looks ridiculous, this emphasises how young people are stereotypically immature.