Essay

Discuss the way in which the extract uses camera shots, editing, sound and miss-en-scene to costruct representations of different generations.

The extract of this TV drama represents generation in traditonal and non traditonal ways. It shows the generations in conflict between the parents and the children, especially the children and there step mother and also shows stereotypes of teenagers becoming pregnant and having to have an abortion as well as the mum outside in a council flat drinking cider and not taking care of her baby, they use this to construct different representations of generations as it becomes roll reversal when the step mother says shes having a baby and the daughter offers her a number for the abortion clinic as well as telling her she cannot have the baby and that it would be a bad idea. This represents generations in a very non traditional way because it is not the way a family is meant to act and the child is never meant to be in control or try and take control. The generations are also represented in a non traditional way when the girl states she is leaving and the parents do nothing and as she walks back through the living room she sees them having sex and says that they are sex freaks. This is non traditional generations as most people would assosiate having sex in the middle of the living room something not normal for parents to do and would find it more normal for teenagers to be doing that kind of thing as teenagers are stereotyped as doing things like that.

Mis-en-scene is used from the very beginning to show the audience what type of family it is. The dad is playing on his phone very loudly as she gets ready for school and tries to talk to him. This is already a roll reversal as most parents get annoyed with there children for not listening to them because they are to busy on there mobile phones, later on in the clip you also see the father playing a gaemes console with the son showing the audience that he does not take responsbility for anything and is more like a child then an adult. Although the props used in mis-en-scene show roll reversal and the non traditional generations the costumes used show more traditional generations as he is wearing adult clothes and she is wearing her school uniform, with a short skirt and make up on. This represents how the generations actually are with her showing she is still young as she has to go into school and him sittiing in a shirt showing he should be at work. This then links in with the use of props as its showing how the generations actually are with her being young and still having to go to school but him playing on his phone acting like he has no responsibilities. Costume is also used to represent different generations when the step mother is at school and teaching there lesson as all the girls  are in uniform and she isnt showing her status and that she is higher in importance to them and in charge as well as the costumes used in the scene when they are having sex showing that they havent really grown up yet and act how you would expect teenagers to act.

Sound is used to represent different generations mainly in dialougue. There is sound used in the tittle sequence and it is a very up beat sound that gives the audience a feel of energy and the type of song you want to sing and dance to. This is used to show they are teenagers and are very bubbly and energetic and like to have a good time, representing there generation. Sound links in with the mis-en-scene as you hear him playing on his phone to make it clearer to the audience what he is doing. The main use of sound is through dialougue because in this TV drama it is the best way to represent different generations as its made clear to the audience through speach who is in charge and who takes responsibility. It also represents different generations because you can clearly here the tones of there voices and when they get louder and quiter showing when they are happy or sad about something especially when the step mother says she is pregnant the way the girl reacts is most important to the audience by what she is saying. A song is also used called "fuck you" which links in with how the teenager is feeling about the whole situation.

Editing is used mainly in the tittle sequence which sets a feel for the rest of the TV drama. Wipe and disolve are the main editing techniques used in the tittle sequence which links in to the sound. By using wipe it represents the generations as it is quick and seems energetic and that with the music shows the audience what type of people they are and how they are bubbly teenagers who want to have fun. The editing represents different generations because the audience is then shocked about how the generations actually are like within the family and the feel of the family is very different to how you would think the girl was from the tittle sequence so it makes it more complicated and interesting for the audience to see how her life really is.

Camera shots are used to represent different generations by having close ups on her when she is getting ready for school and doing her make up and pushing her boobs up as well as when the camera is pointed at her books showing that she is a school girl and a typical teenager because she wants to look her best and wants her body to look nice for people. Wide shots are used when they are training for football to show all the teenagers and an over the shoulder shot is used from the teenagers point of view to look at the teacher which still shows conflict between the two generations which is normal as they are at school and most teenagers wouldnt like going to school or like teachers. Mostly wide shots are used to represent the different generations as it shows the whole picture.