17 going under can only possibly come up in one question… the representation comparison in component one!
You may be asked to compare 17 going under to…
- A music video
- A trailer for a videogame or film etc
- A print advert
- Newspaper
- A radio/podcast clip
- Or other forms of media
Representation
Representation is where people, places, events and issues are shown again by the producer to convey their ideology. By presenting a forceful ideological perspective, a producer can therefore more easily sell this product to a receptive target audience
What representations are constructed in 17 Going Under?
- Working class people
- Teenagers
- The North of England
- Poverty
- Mothers
In order to understand this video, we need to engage with the concept of stereotypes. A stereotype is a widely held belief about a certain group of people. Stereotypes are particularly important to Stuart Hall who argues that stereotypes have uses or function. Stereotypes function in many ways. Stereotypes allow us to form straightforward opinions about the world. They allow us to form generalisations to form ideas about experiences we’ve never had. For audiences, they allow us to understand exactly what is going on at all times, and for producers Stereotypes make a product easier to sell to a wider audience.
What representations of teenagers exist in media?
- Taking drugs - Skins
- Violent - Euphoria
- Cliques and exclusionary - Mean Girls
- Awkward and naive - Derry Girls/The Inbetweeners
- Rebellious - Inbetweeners
- Lazy - Modern Family
- Funny - Superbad
- Sexually promiscuous - Sex Education
17 Going Under features conventional representations of teenagers to provide a relatable mode of address. Yet there are also unconventional representations, for example the fighting, violent girls on the beach. This allows the producer to demonstrate the realities of life in the north of England.
How to answer a representational comparison question
Compare how the ‘Made in the Royal Navy’ TV advert (2014) and ‘Seventeen Going Under’ represent social groups. In your answer you must:
- Consider the choices media producers makes when constructing representations of social groups
- Consider the similarities and differences in how social groups are represented
- Make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the representations reflect social and cultural contexts.
Plan
MES
Run down setting
Stuart Hall
Handheld camera
Binary opposition
Rough upbringing
Stereotype
Mis shot
Close up
Light vs dark
Out of focus
Fast paced editing
Montage
Van Zoonen
Unconventional
Glamourise (the navy)
Long shots
Semiotics
ECUs
Voyeuristic
Direct address
Narrator
Narrative
BEV
Big ship
Tomato sauce on a fry up
Working class
North of England
Working class
Rapid fire montage
Representation Hall
Stereotypes
Dull colours
Adventure
Binary opposition
Tracking shots
Anchors
Positions
Caring mother
Working class
Run down setting
Underpass
Accent
Danger
Identity Gauntlett
Narrative
Hegemonically attractive
Family
Van Zoonen
- An exclusive mode of address is used to explicitly target working class people for joining the Royal Navy. This is accomplished through the highly stereotypical representation of a working class northern teenager. A rapid fire montage constructs a stereotypical representation of a northern setting. The MES of run down fences, cracked flag stones and wood chipped wall all construct a highly stereotypical representation This is further reinforced through the clothing of the protagonist. A hoodie is connotative of informal costume which connotes both youth and working class identities.
- The north of England is constructed through the stereotypical assumption that the average income is lower. This is perfectly encoded through the stereotypical working class pub, with run down and basic MES. This constructs a highly leading stereotype of working class identity.
- Both videos represent working class teenagers in the north of England in a stereotypical way. In one MES, we see an abandoned and run down urban setting that is typified through the MES of chipped paint and dirty floors. This anchors an ideology that young people in the north of England are characterised and defined by their poverty and status as working class. We can compare this setting to the establishing long shot that starts 17 going under. Here we see Fender standing in the center of a stereotypical northern terraced block of houses. In both cases, these representations are defined not through the individuals themselves, but the setting. This reinforces the ideology that exists in both videos that we are more than our upbringing, and that with hard work we can escape the poverty and situations of our childhood. This complex representation of working class identity may appeal to the working class target audience of both of these videos