White Girl


The snippet from White Girl uses some types of representation of age in it's programme. For example, at the beginning, the bike portrays the youngness of the girl riding her bike - the bike is pink with streamers on and she is wearing trainers which light up. This shows that she is still in her childhood - probably a girl of 12 or 13. The different angles used when she is riding her bike also portrays the pace at which she is going and the youthness of her. The cuts are quick and short between the places she rides throw to show her speed. The camera is jerky with no static movement whilst she is moving, also, to portray her speed and age.  The weather shown also can be associated with the age of the young girl as it is a sort of idealistic view of a child in their childhood. The outfit of the girl is very plain, with hardly any make-up. This can portray the idea that she isn't quite a teenager yet (who stereotypically wear a lot of make up and try to be fashionable) and can show the vulnerability of her as she is just wearing a long, plain, grey dress and trainers. 


The scene is then cut to a high angle to look at the mother throwing things out of the window. White feathers are falling from the pillows thrown down and the camera switches to the young girl looking at the feathers falling. The feathers can show a type of innocence in the girl and have connotations of youth. It is though she is in a fairytale. There is a contrast with the dark grotty building and the white feathers which shows the innocence of the girl even more as the colours represent vulnerability and innocence. 
A low angle is used to look up at the mother to show the young girl looking up at her and her age. The music doesn't change at this moment when you look up to see the mother throwing things out of the window, maybe emphasizing that this is the norm. The feathers are then thrown down in the air and the camera goes to a mid-shot and then close up of the young girl to emphasize her innocence through the white feathers and maybe the idea of wanting to be in a fairytale. The feathers are also a contrast to the dark grotty buildings in the background which also can even more emphasize the idea of her wanting to be in a fairytale.


The next scene shows the older adults and the younger children escaping from their flat with the father(?). The little boy is carrying an xbox which portrays his youthfulness as you associate a young boy playing on an xbox. The little girl is carrying teddies and is being carried out to the car as though she is incapable of walking at a fast pace due to her age. A range of mid shots and full shots are used to show the pace at which they are trying to run away. 


Lastly, once the family get away in the car, it shows a close up of the little girl in the back of the car cuddling the dog looking back at her bike which is left behind. The bike in a way symbolizes the idea that the girl doesn't have to cling on to her youth anymore and is free from having to act as a child. In contrast, the mother is at the front looking forwards to signify her looking into the future and all the possibilities that could range.


To conclude, I think that there are a lot of portrayals of the young generation in this clip and the youth is shown in a variety of ways through camera shots, editing, mis en scene and camera angles.