How is Age represented in 'Waterloo Road' Essay

Camera

• Low angle on head mistress at start of explosion position of authority contrasts high angle of student bent over coughing, shows difference in ability to gain control over ones emotions
• Mid two shot of student helping teacher, example of selflessness subversion against common stereotypes 
• Focus pull - teacher is blurry and students are focused. Pulls audience's focus to the students to allude to the focus that the teachers have solely for the students. 
• High angle tilt down shot on teacher coughing and falling to the ground - being protected by the student. Subverts from lazy, self centered stereotype of teens. Conforms to dependent stereotype of old people.

Editing

• Shot duration, teenagers seen through series of quick jump cuts however longer low angle shot on teacher. Further shows the ability to gain control over emotions. Subversion from weak stereotype of age and strong stereotype of teens 
• Match cut - inclusion of the fire and smoke between girl in bathroom and crowd trapped behind door. Recurring theme of teens doing that they have to do in order to stay alive whereas the older person has fainted on the floor. Conformation to the stereotype dependency of old people

Sound

• Diegetic sound - difference in screams of teenagers and panicked shouting against the authoritative calm voices of direction from the teachers.
• Sound bridge "there's been a huge explosion" shows the panic in the youth. Conforms to the vulnerability of the youth
• Diegetic sound "because I'm pregnant" vs.. "get everyone to the assembly point" shows the differences in priorities. Conforms to hormonal stereotype of teens. Subverts from dependent stereotype of old people 

Mise-en-scene

• Positioning of actors - positioning of teacher at the back to let the students get access to the air in the gap in the door. Conformation to naive stereotype of teens and subversion to helpless stereotype of old people
• Uniform - variations to uniform from students vs. regimented uniform of staff. Conforms to the rebellious stereotype of teens and conforms to wise i.e. smart looking stereotype of old people

Essay

In the clip of 'Waterloo Road', the representation youth is contrasted to the representation of older people in terms of characteristic, dialogue and actions. However, there is equal evidence that shows how teens and older people equally subvert and conform to common stereotypes associated with their respective age groups.

Firstly, young people are represented through camera, editing and sound. The low angle shot on the head mistress connotes how she is in a position of high authority due to the audience being in the position where they are looking up at her, which relates to her power of being head mistress. This is contrasted to the shot directly after which is a high angle of a teenage boy bent over, coughing, walking towards a door. This puts teenagers at a lower position of authority to the audience now looking down at the teen how, coughing, is in a vulnerable position. This relates to age as it makes the teen in the shot seem dependent on the teacher, subverting from the common stereotype with older people being that they are dependent on others. Furthermore, there is a longer shot duration on with the scenes denoting teachers trying to gain control of the situation, however there are fast jump cuts from different angles in the form of parallel editing. For example, when the head mistress and the subject teacher are planning to get all of the students to the assembly point, the shot duration is much longer than scenes of fast jump cuts showing the panic of students being trapped by the fire. This relates to age as it connotes how older people are more able to have control over their emotions as opposed to the teens who are frantic, as inferred by the pace of the cutting shots.this subverts from the stereotype of old people being weak as they are shown as the stronger age bracket out of the two and also subverts from the stereotype of teens being strong as they are seen not being able to stay calm and find a solution. This is further explored through the use of diegetic sound. The sounds coming from the teens are mainly screams, shouts and panicked talking. However for the teachers, there is only the diegetic sound of them talking calmly. The authoritative voices of the teachers contradicts the dependent nature of older people, due to the fact that this situation makes this stereotypes fit the teen age group. Likewise, there is a diegetic sound bridge of the dialogue "there's been a massive explosion". This shows the panic within the teens not only to survive but to comprehend the situation. This conforms to the typical stereotype of teens being vulnerable due to their lack of experience.

Furthermore, teens are represented as selfless through the use of camera shots and mise-en-scene. During the medium two shot of the student helping the teacher to escape, the theme of teens being selfless is broken. This is due to the fact that as opposed to the teen only thinking about himself and trying to get air through the small gap, he ensured that the teacher was helped. This shows a subversion from the typical selfish stereotype associated with teens. Furthermore, there is a focus pull from the teacher in the foreground to the students in the back ground. This pulls the audience's attention to the students which connotes how the focus for the teachers is solely the students. This demonstrates how these older people are subverting from the stereotype of being weak as their strength to put the students needs before their own is more prominent. Moreover, during a high angle tilt down shot of a student helping to lower teacher to the ground due to having inhaled too much smoke shows another break in typical teen stereotypes. Here, the teen is subverting from the stereotype of being a lazy, self-centred teen due to the fact that he puts himself at risk of inhaling too much gas in order to help the teacher. This is however a display of typical stereotypes associated with old people being that they are dependent on others due to the fact that the teacher was knocked out after a while whereby the student carried her out of the building on his own.

However, older people are also represented through the use of sound. The diegetic dialogue of "I'm pregnant" from one of the teenage characters as opposed to the diegetic dialogue of "get everyone to the assembly point" from one of the teachers shows that the two different age groups demonstrate very major differences in their priorities. This conforms to the hormonal stereotype associated with teens due to the fact that the girl is under-aged and pregnant, however, it also conforms to the naive aspects of teenagers seeing as there has just been an explosion however the girl is jealous because the apparent father of the child is about to save another girl. On the other hand, it subverts from the dependent stereotype of older people seeing as they're making sure they ensure the safety of the students first.

Furthermore, students are represented in two different ways through mise-en-scene. The positioning of actors with the teacher at the back (i.e. closer to the fire) and the students at the front (i.e. closer to a supply of oxygen) makes the teens conform to certain stereotypes. This includes the stereotype of teens being naive as they are very panicked and haven't considered that their teacher has passed out behind them. This also subverts from the helpless stereotype due to the fact that the teacher sacrificed her access of oxygen so that the students could breathe, an act of selflessness that conforms to the stereotype of older people being strong. Furthermore, there is also evidence that the students aren't fully aware of the reasoning behind rules that are in place. For example, all of the teachers are seen in smart wear with no exceptions, however, many of the students made alterations to their uniform, such as an un-tucked tie or a rolled up skirt. This conforms to the rebellious nature of teens due to their display of a deterrence against the rules. Likewise, this conforms to the stereotype of older people being wise due to the fast that they know that wearing a uniform makes them look smart and professional.

To conclude, teens and older people have been depicted as age groups that both conform to and subvert from different stereotypes associated with their ages respectively. The fact that there is an explosion acts as a tragic event that brings out the true personality of people, exposing who they really are.