Representation: Teenager and Young Adults

The group that I am choosing to analyze is teens and young adults and their representation in the media. My first example of this group’s representation comes from the film The Internship. There is a main character by the name of Stuart(Dylan O’Brien) who spends almost the entirety of the film engulfed in his phone. He is rude and anti-social and thinks that he is better than everybody else around him. This character later goes through a change which exposes him to the world and people around him. This is one of the most common and a typical approach used when representing this group.

The second example of this group’s representation comes in the television show The 100.This show follows a cast that is mainly full of teenagers and young adults who are sent down to Earth after it has been destroyed due to radiation and. This show portrays the characters as mostly defiant and not wanting to follow any sense of order in this world. The core of this show revolves around characters making bad choices and further leading to danger for everybody.

I feel as if the characteristics that are representing this group are fair to a certain extent. I think there is a prevalent use of technology by teenagers and young adults but not to the extent that it is all they do where it entirely consumers every moment of their lives. I also feel as if the idea that most of these people seem to have this revelation in their life and change for the better is entirely unrealistic. This is a case scenario that is presented heavily in the media world but in the real world is not prominent. There is a constant lack of any actual events happening in a person’s life if they do not choose to take action and go upon doing things on their own volition, in the media world it just seems to happen.

The representation that I would retain within this group is the idea that they can be independent thinkers and be on their own, but I would challenge this idea that the vast majority of teenagers are incompetent and cannot make the right choices. Teens are extremely capable and they are being portrayed as dumber than most of them are. To further this, I would also juxtapose this idea that teenagers are entirely engulfed in their phones and are negligent to the real world. The problem with technology today is not that they are so engulfed with it, but rather that every area of the world requires exposure to the internet. It is rather difficult to understand or process different things without the array of knowledge that is attained using technology.

The Genre of Romance

One of the core genres that have been in theaters since the origin of cinema is romance. This genre has changed with time and ranges from older films such as Casablanca to modern-day films such as The Fault in Our Stars.

When dealing with romance films, it is important to first analyze the typical content that is present.

Firstly, the main characters are almost always a male and a female who begin the film in their mid to late 20's. This has slightly been changing as of late due to a more outspoken LGBTQ community and their aspirations to have the main characters be of whatever gender or sexuality they believe is fit. This change can be seen in modern-day production such as Love, Simon and Call Me by Your Name. The storylines that are present within most romance films span across a longer period of time, being up to a few years if not longer. This allows for the characters present in the film to have some sense of development. Along with allowing for character development, it allows for the love and relationship between the characters to grow or diminish depending on its respective story.

To tie into the typical content that is noticed within romance films there are also typical production techniques. When looking into how most of these films are shot it is rather simplistic. At times where the characters are showing their love and affection the shots tend to switch towards close-ups. These are extremely prevalent in every romance production. Another feature that ties into these close-ups is a zoom into that shot to portray that close view into the relationship on screen. Another common feature that is utilized is color. The use of darker areas or colors, especially rain, is done to portray a sad state or troublesome period in the love story. When this happens and it begins to rain it is meant to play with the audience as then the character typically get back together in the rain and kiss. This is seen in one of the more romantic scenes in Cast Away.

The last major topic to discuss when analyzing the romance genre is how it is marketed to the public. The posters that are created for these films typically have both of the main characters on them and their proximity towards each other shows at what level/state their relationship is in. In Crazy Rich Asians, you can see the characters are touching and close which symbolizes their strong relationship at the beginning of the film. The opposite of this scenarios where there might be words, objects, or space in between the characters to represent some sense of distance or issues that are present in this film. This is seen in Silver Linings Playbook and Sleepless in Seattle.

One of the most popular romance movies that exists is The Notebook. This film revolves around the characters Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) and their relationship over the test of time. The characters are separated for a period of time and Allie gets a new love interest. This film does utilize that period of time that goes on in typical films to show the relationship and how it changes over the course of time. Also in the film, the poster shows the two characters embracing each other which is represents their strong relationship which lasts the test of time. Along with the closeness of the characters, there is also rain which is present at this same scene in the film. The characters get back together and express their love for each other. This film follows some of the basic and popular aspects that are associated with the romance genre.

Another prevalent and popular romance film is Love, Simon. This film follow one of the newer trends and has a gay main character named Simon(Nick Robinson). One thing that this film does not follow is the typical idea of the already defined relationship with the two main characters. It is a young high school student who is trying to understand love and himself. In this film, there are scenes towards the end which are more emotional and closer. They are important in developing the character and his relationship and multiple close-ups are used. While no rain or detrimental color tones are used, in the poster you can see the main character, Simon, who is standing in front of everybody else and they are merely behind him. He feels as if he is the most important and at the forefront of a difficult time in his life. This is one of the more popular romance films to come out over the past year and is a strong representation of the genre.

Other films to check out that are in this genre are: Notting Hill, Brokeback Mountain, Pride and Prejudice, Beauty and the Beast, and When Harry Met Sally...

How is Drama so Dramatic?

The drama genre has and continues to be the most dominant area in which films in modern day are made. Directors Today such as Damien Chazelle, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Spielberg have all made and continue to create films in this genre.

The main reason this genre is so popular today is due to the young to middle age group that it is marketing for. These pieces cover a range of ages (13-15 years old) and it provides something for teenagers all the way to middle age. A strong example of a modern drama film that grossed over $446 million is La La Land, created by Chazelle, which appealed to this group of people.

The aspects that tie into these productions is what some people do not always catch onto. When it comes to the typical content that is present in these films it tends to have a single male or female lead or two main leads of either gender in a realistic environment. The stories that consist of the two main leads tend to base the course of events that each character undergoes on the opposing character. This is seen in Twilight with the two main characters, Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart). The love that exists between them and the idea of trying to have a relationship with each other is what drives almost all their actions in the film. When it comes to stories with a single lead, a similar concept where they are fighting against themselves. This can range from this character being upset with what they have done in their past, with what is currently going on in the world, or with how they can change what is going on around them.

The drama genre’s narrative ranges from romance to modern day social injustice. The constant in these films regardless of the narrative is the realistic scenarios that are created. Whether the world or characters are fictional, the story and characters take what is going on around them as a realistic scenario and that dictates how they act. Even if a character pulls out a light saber, they do not gawk at the fantasy but rather take it as a threat. This is scene directly in any Star Wars fight scene. 

Productions that exist within drama also tend to lean towards certain techniques. All these techniques stem from the use of dialogue as the core of every film. Tying into this as well, the score and soundtrack that go along with the film are meant to tie into the meaning, purpose, and implications of what the characters are saying and what they lead to later in the film. The driving points in many drama films are not fast paced and let the dialogue dictate what is going to happen and the intensity or lack of it in the film. To tie into this, the art direction tends to have a darker or lighter tone than usual according to the story and what is happening within the film. In this picture from Fifty Shades Darker, the scene is dark and promiscuous which is alluding to the characters and what they do to each other in the film. 

All these technique and aspects of drama would be useless if it weren’t for how these films are marketed. The marketing campaign almost always consists of television adverts and trailers. With popular films based off novels, this is always mentioned, as seen in the Hunger Games. These adverts and trailers attempt to give a brief overview of the characters and the conflicts. When it comes to the posters for these films, they tend to consist of close images of the main character or characters as seen in Moonlight. The other techniques is then all of the characters around each other and items from the film that represent something. There is typically distance between them which is used to convey their relationship towards each other in the film.

 The Shawshank Redemption is a film that consists of two main characters by the names of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) and Red (Morgan Freeman). The story focuses on Andy and his life and struggles in prison. It divulges into the story of his battle against himself and his mind for being locked up with two life sentences. This piece is created entirely through a realistic lease and the characters are viewed as living these lives and the cruelty of what they are subjected in prison. Alongside this, is talks about how difficult it is to spend such a large portion of your life somewhere and not knowing if you will be able to live with the change of seeing the outside world again. In the production aspects, this is a darker film and the colors that surround the characters are grays, blues, and blacks that create this sense of feeling trapped, just like the characters are in the film. This film is not fast moving and follows the voice-over from Red, narrating and transitions through the events in the film. In the poster, it shows the two main and most important characters, Andy and Red, who are friends. They are right next to each other showing their relationship. The charters in the left side corners are darker and portray their dark presence in the film. To oppose this, the characters in the right corners are lighter and portray the sense that they are viewed as kinder and caring in the film.

A Beautiful Mind is a film that follows the life of John Nash (Russell Crowe) who is a brilliant mathematician as he is trying to make a breakthrough. In his life, he comes to the realization that he has a mental illness and that it complicates everything he has ever believed. It plays with his mind and doesn't all how to know what is real or fabricated. This film uses the dialogue as its basis and catapults Nash through a series of events. As things seem to get darker and have a more depressing tone for his life, so does the aesthetic of the film. Nash is placed in isolation from the rest of the world and leads to him wearing colors that symbolize loneliness. The events that he undergoes are viewed as realistic from every character in the film and presents what he is going through as a real challenge. In the poster for the film, it shows a close image of Crowe's face and is portraying the close and deep story that this film tells about his life. 

For more example of all of these aspects take a look into Searching and Titanic.

Introduction to Me and My Blog

My name is Bailey Selvidge and I am a 12^th grader at Cypress Bay High School. I am at a crossroads in my life between deciding what I want to do in college and where I want to take myself. In the midst of that I am currently enrolled in AICE Media Studies. I am creating this blog with the intent of explaining the process for my Cambridge project in my Media Studies class. In this project, I am going to be creating a fictional film opening and through these posts I will explain the step that my partner are I undergoing. These steps will consist of creating the idea for the film opening, knowing what genre to approach and the best way to do that, finding locations to shoot, and anything else that might possibly come our way.

All my posts will either explain the steps in my project or work to convey concepts that I am taught in class at a deeper level.