Tuesday 11 November 2014

How is Age Represented in Waterloo Road


Through the cinematography of the extreme close ups and a tracking shot, which highlights the footsteps of the senior member of staff, a sense of prowling and stalking is attached to Grantly, it seems as if he is always ready to pounce on students who are not conforming to proper conduct and are breaking the taboo in school. He is seen as an antagonist in the school and this is a stereotype of senior members of staff inside schools, they will always find out! Moreover the quick change in camera angle is effective as the viewers realize who is catching the two juvenile youths in the act. Even before we see the characters face the viewers are able to guess the teacher by his clothing, he seems to wear a full tweed suit, this isn’t terribly fashionable which is another stereotype of senior members of the public this quickly distinguishes a contrast in personnel and persona. The close up shot reveals the boys facial expressions, which are of despair and anxiety, which is a large juxtaposition with Grantlys smug and patronizing look. The youths are scruffy and don’t take care in their personal looks as ties and shirts are not tucked displaying a rebellious attitude typical of teenagers. Grantlys attitude is of haughtiness and snobbery as he enjoys making the youths lives a misery, he demands authority and respect as he displays diegetic sound when clicking, this is another stereotypical action of a senior staff member, it is almost like an old fashioned style of teaching. We again see the naivety of the youthful boys as one speaks saying” chill out man” he uses colloquial slang language which represents the youthful ness and even more so displays a large contrast in pronunciation between Grantly and the lads which is a display of higher education and a sense of hierarchic manner in the school.

Just as Grantly deters the boys and begins his prosecution he is bewildered by a mistake: Miss Chowdry, a young professional woman, who seems to be fashionable choosing colourful clothing and speaks with a inexperience about her joins the prosecution of the boys only to be caught out by Grantly too. We can see by the close up and her rapid change in facial expression, where Grantly asks the question, “You did take out the insurance?” that she is only young and seems stressed due to the lack of experience she has. She changes from anger with the boys to anger and disappointment with herself, this is much like Grantlys opinion, of Mrs. Chowdry as they quickly join in alliance however rapidly she herself has become a target of Grantlys opinion. Grantly seems wise and omniscient which is a key characteristic of his.


There is a perceptible change in interior setting from the school classroom, where students are expected to correspond to the school etiquette and silence is expected, this contrasts to the manifest of chatter and shouting in the stereotypical school scene, the mid-long-shot displays the youthful behavior, in the corridor, of students at their lockers and colloquial slang being barked across hallways, the continuity editing and smoothness between shots display the coherence in the friendly relationship between the two friends gossiping in the corridor, this is a common trait of the teenage generation, this is unsettled by the entrance of Amy, (the girl who all the commotion is about) the continuity editing is disrupted due as the smooth fades in and out of shots are noticeable sharp and snappy which link well with her piercing and quick diegetic answers back. Some of theses answers are explicit which displays the grammatical weakness of the students at the school, these unambiguous terms are also stereotypical of the younger teenage generation as they see it as an act of rebellion as it is generally taboo to use ‘swear words.’ Amy seems very aggressive and over protective even to her friends, which is another peculiarity of young teenagers, they hate confrontation and care about what other people think of them. The entrance of non-diegetic sound in the scene informs the viewers of a situation occurring however as it is fast paced electronic music it symbolizes an emotional commotion. This is reassured by the introduction of the point of view shot, where the viewers can see from Amy’s position, it is as if she is eyeing up her prey before she strikes, the up beat non diegetic sound symbolizes the turbulent youthful emotions of hormonal teenagers. This is exaggerated by the use of fast pace match on action and a tracking shot, which gives a sense of uncontrollable anger by Amy throughout the confrontation. The viewers receive an antagonistic understanding of Amy moreover Amy seems to break the gender stereotype that women are defenseless and need protection as she almost starts a fight with Stewart Foley; it seems as if he is the vulnerable and innocent one in this case, which again breaks the male gender stereotype.


The quick change in interior leaves the viewers on a cliff hanger whilst a sub plot develops, we see a classroom scene where all of the students are silent, whilst a middle aged teacher is speaking; this displays how he can control the class as he is respected more and seems more relatable to the students, this may be due to the fact that many of their parents will be the same age and will think of him as a parent giving the respect he deserves. This is in comparison to Mrs Chowdry who seems young and incapable of control and Grantly who demands respect and isn’t mutually given it. It is interesting that a high angle is used here; this usually represents weakness and vulnerability however this is juxtaposed here as the teacher has the class in fine stead. On the other hand this could be displaying his authority, as it seems as if everything is leading to him in the classroom. We can see his stereotypical opinions on teenage pregnancy as in a sarcastic tone congratulates “the happy couple, “clearly stating his abhorrence to this increasingly popular ideology. The close up of the pregnant girl displays uneasiness about her, she like most teenage girls feels the need to apply numerous amounts of cosmetics to her face to make her seem desirable. This is mainstream for girls between 14-18; she uses unusually large earrings, this may be because she is restricted to school uniform therefore she has to find a way to be unique and fashionable. It seems as she is masking her true feelings with this made up appearance. She is afraid replying to her boyfriend, who is extremely naive and senseless, “ yeah course I am,” in relation to his question concerning her happiness with having a baby at the age of 16! The viewers can tell from her sheepish reply that she obviously is not happy with this and most probably wants an abortion. Shyness would be typical of a teenager in school especially with a baby as they rank other people opinions very highly.


There is an element of bridging music as the scene begins ands ends with the carry-over sound from the previous scene; the electronic music begins from a fade, this time the non-diegetic sound is much louder which could display more frustration from Amy. There is clever use of editing and camera work as there is a point of view reflection shot; it is as if there is a person trying to see through a window to get the best view of the commotion. This would be typical of a student, as they may want to be the first person to spread the rumor. There is increasing use of match on action and continuous non-diegetic sound; this gives a agitated and furious emotion. Amy seems to be the alpha controlling Stewart while he sits trapped looking increasingly venerable, he is stereotypically geeky which displays that he cant fend for himself, the fact that the characters contrast so much displays how you cant stereotype everybody into one group. The interesting use of different shots and angles in the confrontation scene displays a disorientated and a panic stricken state of mind, like Stewart. We see he is in mental stress and in significant pain as it seems Amy is inflicting this pain with her words (not even by touch) Luckily for Stewart a teacher deters the situation, he like all the other students takes charge of the situation and acts responsibly and correctly in a scene of panic, this is typical of anyone over the age of 18, they are level headed and cool under pressure. He is following the positive stereotype as he diffuses the situation displayed by the editing and fade out of the non-diegetic sound.


In a comical contrast to the serious scene we see previously we have a teacher who has decided to break the middle aged stereotype of smart well-dressed and respectable adults and decided to try and become more like the students; at a guess I think he is trying to be more relatable for students. However he is removing his right for respect as he is wearing almost gothic and very unstylish clothing which is unapproved of by his colleagues. This is again stereotypical of middle-aged people they tend to try and follow the ‘style’ but they tend to not be as fashionable as the younger generations. The rap non diegetic music which is played in the background almost mocks the teacher as it contrasts his physic and appearance, rap is generally speaking a young persons type of music; in this you would expect a young looking, physically fit, boy or girl to walk through the double doors in some sort of grand entrance however it is anti climatic and leaves the viewers confused therefore a comedic reaction would be common.


There are numerous stereotypes throughout the three minute clip for example senior, middle aged, young professional and youths, the only age this clip doesn’t cover is infantile however the target audience for “waterloo Road” will be of people aged thirteen and over therefore these are the main protagonists and in Grantlys case antagonists.




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