Representation of Age - Assessment Point

Exemplar Opening

This extract constructs representations of differing age groups.

At the very beginning of the extract a representation of middle-age is constructed through the character of the strict teacher. This representation is that of middle-age as possessing authority and power, with the character having control over other characters who are both teen-aged and young adult.

A sense of enigma is created on this character's first appearance as we see a tracking shot of feet walking through tables from a low level. The absence of non-diegetic sound allows us to focus clearly on the noise of the character's footsteps. A cut to two teenage boys clearly shows them as behaving in a suspicious manner before we cut back to the feet steadily approaching. This juxtaposition constructs meaning for the audience as it becomes clear that the boys are keen to hide from the approaching adult, suggesting that he has authority over them. 

A series of quick cuts adds pace to the scene before we see the middle aged teacher's face for the first time in close-up. The use of a close-up allows us to see an expression that has connotations of enjoyment as he passes judgement over the boys. He puts the boys under pressure by asking where they were as everyone else was 'suffering the screening'. This dialogue, an aspect of diegetic sound, helps to further construct his character as being a somewhat disillusioned and cynical representation of middle age. The composition of the shot where he questions the boys gives him power as he is anchored in the centre of the shot with the boys either side of him.
 
His character is developed through his use of sarcasm in the delivery of lines of dialogue such as when he finishes the first boy's sentence by saying 'holding his hair..' The actor's tone of voice, an element of mise en scene, is patronising and this character is developing into a very negative representation of his age group. His use of non-verbal commands, such as the clicking of fingers, and commands using the imperative tense, 'Give it!', ensure that the audience are aware of his authority, a fact supported through the character's costume with his suit, shirt and tie having connotations of power. Further interactions between the character and a young adult teacher reinforce his representation as middle aged authority.



A different representation of middle age can be seen at the end of the extract through the 
character of the maths teacher.

At the end of the extract another representation of middle-age is constructed through the maths teacher however this representation is almost the complete opposite of the previous one, in this clip the maths teacher is shown trying on some different clothes to try and impress a woman. This representation of middle-age is showing that the maths teacher clearly cares what other people think of him which is why he is changing how he is dressed to try and impress. 

When you first see the maths teacher the camera pans up from the floor to then reveal the face of the person wearing these ridiculous clothes which you would expect for this person to be a younger teen-aged person as that is stereo-typically what a teenager might wear but instead it is a middle-aged maths teacher. He then proceeds to say "are they meant to be like that?" clearly showing that he has never worn these sort of clothes before and that he is only doing it to try and impress people because he cares what they think; unlike the first middle-aged man. This dialogue, an aspect of non-diabetic sound, constructs the character as someone who needs someone else's opinion to make him happy, he cares what people think of him.

You know that this maths teacher cares what people think because when two students tell him that he looks stupid he clearly doesn't like the idea after all. After he is reassured by the younger teacher he continues on with his quest to impress the woman he is doing all of this for - he is then trying to get in her way for her to notice him but then completely shuts him down with the dialogue 'you look ridiculous' and walks off, you can see that he cares because his head drops and his body language tells you hes upset about how she feels about him - the complete opposite from the first middle-aged man as he would not care and continue as he was.

A janitor then comes in to re-illustrate how to bad this maths teacher looks with those clothes on and the maths teacher agrees almost like he has no confidence and cares a lot about what people feel about him because he agrees that he should go and get changed back into his previous clothes, then the maths teacher sighs (non-diagetic sound) as he walks out and pulls up his dragging trousers that were earlier said to "look cool".

Overall, the maths teacher is the opposite of the earlier shown middle-aged man. The maths teacher has a soft, gentle voice which shows that he cares about others whereas with the other middle-aged man he has a very deep and strict showing he didn't care what people thought of him when he gave his instructions out, this is an example of mise en scene. The maths teacher is insulted three times by all that encounter him and every time his body language shows that he gets more and more upset each time because he cares what people think of him whereas with the other middle-aged teacher he would not care and would carry on giving orders and showing his authority. The maths teacher then listens to the insults/advice he has gotten and gives in to switching back to his original more stereotypical clothes instead of these teen-aged clothes which shows what people think gets to him enough for him to try and change to impress them.