'Quadrophenia' is a 1960s movie set during the period of time when the Mods and the Rockers were two very notorious groups within society. Theoretical analysis including mise-en-scene, camera, editing and sound can be applied can be applied to this media production in order to show how youth has been portrayed. A prominent theme that has been shown is the theme of hegemony. This is the dominance being shown from a superior class in society over another.
To start with, theorist Ann Gould can be applied to movie production ‘Quadrophenia’. Whilst studying youth behaviour, stereotypes and stigmatic labels associated with youths discovered that there were six main categories which all youth groups can be divided into: rebellious, artificial tribe, sexual, nihilistic, violent and self-destructive. Jimmy, the main character of the film, conforms to almost all of these key categories. His rebellious behaviour is demonstrated when he is seen going out early during the day and arriving late at night without his parents having known where he was or who he was with. This is exemplified with this instance happened, resulting in his dad punching him in the face and an argument occurring between them. Furthermore, the fact that Jimmy is a self-proclaimed Mod is an indication that he is part of an artificial tribe due to the fact that the Mods, just like the Rockers, have a leader, rules that must be complied to and have demands, just like an established tribe. Moreover, during the fight scene in Brighton, on and off girlfriend Steph and Jimmy are shown engaged in sexual activity in an alleyway whilst the fight is happening just around the corner. Further exemplification of this occurs during the first party of the film whereby when the party is beginning to make a close, many couples can be seen engaged in sexual activity all throughout the house. His Nihilism comes from his subversion from the hegemonic morals of the upper classes, as exemplified through the use of dialogue of “I need new ‘blueys’” meaning blue drug pills, to give one example. His violence is above all shown at the fight in Brighton but also during his attempt to return to the Mod artificial tribe after having been to prison from being caught at Brighton. He was refused and due to an envious rage, punched his best friend who was in a relationship with Steph. Finally, he is self-destructive due to the fact that he is constantly wanting to take drugs, driving motorcycles without proper protection such as a helmet and the way he isn’t able to be told he is wrong and doesn’t want to receive help from his parents.
Furthermore, theorist Dick Hebdige can also be applied to ‘Quadrophenia’. Hebdige said that youth groups can be seen as either fun or troublesome. For example, acts that would be seen as rebellious would stereotypically be seen as fun by other youth groups, however the wider, dominant culture at the time would see these acts as troublesome, therefore conforming to the negative stereotype youth groups have been given. This is demonstrated within the fight scene at Brighton beach. Here, many high angle shots accompanied by quick cutting between each shot and diegetic and non-diegetic sounds of gunfire, shouting, glass smashing and laughter can be heard. To the other youth cultures, this type of event was seen as normal, encouraged even due to the Mods and Rocker’s ambition to constantly establish dominance over the other. On the other hand, Jimmy’s (the main character of the film) mum, who is portrayed as being part of the dominant upper class, expresses that she is “disappointed with” her son’s actions which results in Jimmy being kicked out of the house. Additionally, Hebdige said that youth groups resist hegemony through establishing their sense of identity, to exemplify this, through style. This is demonstrated within ‘Quadrophenia’ due to the fact that the subculture groups known as the Mods and the Rockers during the 1960s ensured that they established their own sense of style and therefore conform to Hebdige’s theory. For instance, the Mods wore classy suits, expensive Parker coats, rode Lambretta and Vespa Scooters and listened to upbeat dance music. Contrastingly, the Rockers wore leather jackets, rode motorbikes and listened to Rock ‘n’ Roll music. Through these characteristics, the youth within ‘Quadrophenia’ are shown resisting the ideals forced upon them from the Bourgeoisie, also referred to as subverting from hegemony, and conforming to Hebdige’s theory seeing as these subcultures are creating their own identities through their styles. Additionally, they also conform to Hebdige due to the way they partake in drug usage, partying, vandalism, frequent sexual activity and violent behaviour.
To conclude, it is unclear whether or not the representation of youth within ‘Quadrophenia’ is fair, biased or equal due to the fact that it is a 1960s, and therefore historical, media text. In my opinion, I would say that some aspects of youth culture are accurately represented, such as the rebellious aspects, however as for youth groups as a whole I would say that due to the fact that youth groups are forever changing and are very different, it is difficult to specify whether or not the representation is fair for the community as a whole.
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