The Representation Of Age in Glue

The young characters in this series are represented to be

irresponsible and show themselves to be troublesome from

the misuse of drugs/alcohol to be involved with stealing

and burning another’s’ car. There are different ages

between the characters shown in this episode which help

to differentiate how they should act or are expected to and

how they treat each other due to age.

A lot of the way they are stereotyped is negative in this

episode and can be related to the way teenagers are

viewed in current times as many older people view the

younger generation of reckless and ‘out of control’.

The characters each have a different style and personality

making them act and dress differently within the story.

Each character shows a different view of how teenagers

are represented from current fashions and cultures.

The first time the audience meets Tina she

is dresses in shorts and a cropped top which

shows her to be quite a confident person but

also as a ‘styler’ as she is following the

trend. The way that Tina speaks makes her

appear rude or that she does not feel that

the older adults on the farm deserve her

respect, this can be seen in the farm scene

where she tells Dominic that she was riding

the horse “how he wanted to be ridden”.

Rob appears to be the leader of the group,

he has a lot of influence over his friends and

uses this in a negative way. He is the

negative stereotype of the teenager that

most people would think of, he likes to throw

parties and is not afraid to try, drugs or to

share them with his friends. Also he is seen

to be cheating on girlfriend with Janine, a

stereotype of teenage boys in current times.

Mise-en scene

Annie Maddocks is the quiet one of

the group, and unlike Tina she has

a more ‘indie’ sense of fashion.

Her image is not stereotypically

like other teenagers and her

personality shows her to be a more

mature compared to her friends

who are more easily lead.

Being the youngest of the group Caleb

has the stereotype of being easily

influenced by the others, which he proves

to be by taking the drugs that Rob gives

him and jumping in after Tina. From

Caleb’s death his friends are shown in a

bad light that is stereotypical of how the

situation would normally be seen; he was

too young to really know the damage it

could cause and therefore relied on the

other’s for guidance which ended badly

Mise-en scene

Ruth is the odd one out in the series,

her job as a police officer turned her

friends against her and is no longer

apart of the Romany culture due to her

job. She contradicts the stereotype of

young single mums by her hard working

career that she clearly works hard for;

doing everything she can to be part of

Caleb’s case.

James Warwick, the ‘foolish

character’ who is easily tricked; he is

fooled into arriving naked by his

friends who told him it would ‘be

better that way’. Moreover, he runs

past the place he is meeting his

friends which represents him as

foolish to the audience.

Mise-en scene

Eli Bray isn’t introduced until the police

are searching for him after his brother

has passed away. Eli is wearing a top,

jacket and coat walking over a field which

makes the audience believe he has been

out for a long period of time and therefore

had to wrap up. His reaction to his

brother’s death is minimal, he does not

cry or shout at the police man which

portrays him to private person who keeps

his emotions to himself.

Janine is the oldest but unlike Ruth

she does not choose to let her job

come first. Janine joins in with the

others and therefore misses seeing

that the calf was in danger. Also

she is seen later in the episode

with Rob, clearly showing she has

no respect for his and Tina’s

relationship or her image if she

gets found out.

Mise-en scene

Editing

During this episode slow motion is used to make a shot seem more

dramatic and to make the audience think about what it represents

further.

During the scene where the teenagers are jumping into the grain slow

motion is used to slow down their fall. This represents that they have no

control over the fall, that they have chosen to jump and now what

happens is out of their hands.

This represents the teenagers as out of control and reckless as they

are doing something dangerous for fun and especially James who gets

told to do it naked as it will be more fun. It shows the stereotypical

image of them being irresponsible and causing trouble as they

shouldn’t be messing around in the grainery.

-At the very start of the episode we see many extreme long shots and establishing shots. This gives us

an introduction to our setting, environment and the time of day in each particular clip.

-There is also several long shots of the characters at the beginning of the episode, which gives us an

idea of what the characters look like and their behaviour at the start. This immediately gives us an

impression of the characters. For example from their actions, which are mainly portrayed through these

long shots we can see that they are behaving erratically.

-We also have point of view shots, for example at the beginning when we are shown the man taking

drugs that he is carrying. With all of these features put together we can already see that the characters

are quite experimental and enjoy the party lifestyle. This already, in the opening scenes alone ,matches

the stereotype of many teens and young adults in the UK. They are portrayed to be irresponsible and

endanger their own lives through reckless behavior, a common stereotype which is becoming more

publicized in the media due to social networking etc.

-There is also several two shots between the characters when in conversation, so that we can

see the relationships between characters. Through these shots we can see that the

characters appear often to be quite emotionless and do not regret their behaviour. What they

say often doesn't match the truth however from these two shots we can see that the

characters seem quite confident in not being entirely honest. This again matches the

stereotype that teens are quite unfeeling and emotionless. They are consumed in their own

interests and not those of others.

-Furthermore, there is also several crabbing shots which show movement of the characters

and helps us to keep up to keep up with their actions and behaviour.

-When the man is standing on the top of the large grain container we see a low angle shot.

This shows possibly the feeling of power that the character has at that specific moment in

time possibly due to the influence of drugs.

When he jumps and is falling we see a high angle shot which perhaps shows his vulnerability as he is not fully aware and in control of his actions.

-There is also several close ups of the characters, for example when one character tells another about the news of Cals death, this allows us to see the expressions and their reactions to the news. It shows their regret at their behaviour and emphasises the stereotypical idea that teens do not think about actions and their consequences.

There is several pieces of non-diegetic music

used throughout this episode. For example at the

very beginning there is music played in the

background. It almost creates an uncomfortable

feeling for the viewer as it gives a sense that

something is not quite right and gives us a feeling

that something is going to end badly. It almost

seems to create a feeling of danger which

matches the characters behaviour.

When Cal is found the next morning in the field,

music is also used to create greater effect and to

build tension. It is used throughout to create a

feeling of uncertainty for the viewer and to build

tension and suspense.

Diegetic music is used when the two female

characters are dancing, which shows us that the

characters are young and quite playful , and are

just keen to explore the world and the different

things on offer to them. The use of this different

music may emphasise the tendency of young

adults to explore the world around them. This

again shows a stereotypical view of the young

teenage characters.