About a Girl, analysis of age and class

Title text is imitating texting - suggesting its a modern film (technology and teenagers can be associated with this showing her age category)
After the titles, we see a shot of a girl dancing and singing to pop music which suggests this girl is young as this is the type of activity we would expect a young teenager to do. At this point, we see her through an extreme long shot and we are unable to see detail of her costume as the ambient lighting has created her to be slightly silhouetted. However the dialogue of the lyrics: "I'm not that innocent" is quite foreshadowing...

• The setting (shown by several shot sizes) we see her walking through shows blocks of flats which demonstrates low working class. Outskirts of the urban city, places aren't so expensive.
• The parallel editing used throughout shows various settings from her past which all help to suggest she comes from a low working class background.

In some of the scenes we hear diegetic sound  of dogs barking, kids screaming which could suggest a hectic area or low class. 

Dialogue of the main character - "bastard" its very colloquial, conveying her upbringing and a working class background. The girl also refers to her mum saying: "do I look like a fucking bank?" implying their family has low income and therefore working class. 

Costume - girl wears hoop earrings, stereotypically conveyed as being 'chavvy' which allows the viewer to associate her with a working class background and her hair is very casual.

• The props of coke and crisps are very basic suggesting her dads working class as that's what he can afford. 
• Facial expression when smelling the perfume; the main character screws her face up suggesting she isn't used to it, (the perfume being expensive and something older women wear) showing her immaturity and again her working class background. The ot
  her women within the two shot is shown higher in the composition and wears a black shirt showing her higher class and more authority. 

Another scene from the past is her traveling on the bus with her friends; public transport indicates the wealth of her family (working class).
The camera is kept at eye level throughout the present side of the film which allows the audience to feel sympathy with her as we feel as though she is talking to us direct, like a friend. 

The girls youth is shown by her talking of her future aspirations; to be "drinking Bacardi Breezers". This unrealistic lifestyle shows how she desires to grow up quickly. This highlights her low class background as there is a big contrast between the two situations/ideas. 

• The cut to an aerial shot shows the girl to look very small in the composition and therefore appears vulnerable.
• As it cuts to and from the aerial shot we are able to see her just walk away from it easily showing that she doesn't have a lot of responsibility and therefore implying she is young.
  
  
  
  
  

The shots from beneath the water suggest that she may not have been brought up well and in an area of low class, as she has already managed to have a baby at such a young age and simply thrown it into a canal. We hear only muffled diegetic sound of the movement of the water which allows the focus to be on the baby and adds emphasis to the situation. 

The sound bridge of the girl singing over the shot of the bag floating down the canal shows how she is young and irresponsible and she carries on with life despite the occurring event.

 

 

Representation of gender, age and class - Never Forget

Close up of the an unknown person opening a suit. Dry clean cover indicates the wealth of this person and the name printed on it conveys that it is of high quality. It is also in gold which connotes high class.

Cut transition then shows us the second character; a tracking shot (which could suggest that she is going somewhere for romance purposes and it connotes sexuality) allows us to see a women's heeled shoes and long black coat which both show sophistication on the women and her class. The background is of blurred city lights suggesting an upper class.

Parallel cutting takes us back to the male character. This type of cutting allows the viewer to presume that the two characters have a connection/relationship. The props used in this shot demonstrate the mans wealth and class as he is shown by a close up of him adjusting his gold cufflinks. The shallow depth of field puts extra emphasis on the costume and demonstrates the characters attention and care over his appearance. 

The male character is shown using an IPhone which connotes his upper class as they an expensive brand. The sound of the locking of the phone (which could've been created using a Foley) further reinforces that these two characters have a link. 

Throughout the shots of the women hurriedly walking, diegetic sound of background noise is used to show a more rushed and chaotic character than in contrast with the man in which diegetic, contrapuntal music of pianos is played to show a calmer male character and he is planning something romantic.  

Both the male and female characters appear to show traditional representations of femininity and masculinity. The use of the heart shaped mirror, shown through a close up, the women uses demonstrates her feminine traits. 

Another big close up on the female characters face allows us to see her facial expressions which connote guilt and nervousness due to the previous night. The fact that she was out could perhaps demonstrate her younger age as opposed to the male character, who we assume is her husband.

Also as she speaks on the phone to her supposed husband (we assume they're married due to her taking her ring off when out the previous night) a slight tilt movement creates a low angle which implies how at this point she may feel she has more power as she thinks that she has gotten away with cheating on her partner and lying. 

A cut takes us to a medium long shot of the man. His facial expression contrasts the female character; he is the one asking all of the questions through his dialogue which indicates his domineering masculinity as he appears to be in control. 

• At the end of this short film, the man jumps from the building; before this he says over the phone that "this is all your fault". The man was obviously devastated about what she had done due to the severity of what he does next, which shows how much he valued and loved her as apposed to being angry as you may expect a man to do. The diegetic music is cut out whilst he speaks which emphasises this point even more and makes it more dramatic.
• Finally, as the man hits the ground, we hear a loud thud from the man hitting the ground. The absence of the music allows us to sympathise more as the situation appears more dramatic. The women also lets out a stereotypical woman scream: high pitched and loud. This shows her femininity.