A representation is the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.

My teen film opening focuses on the social group of teenagers as it is a teen film and we thought the best way to reach out to our teenage target audience would be to include teenage characters with the hope that the audience can relate to the characters. We represented our teenagers through stereotypical characters, such as the jock, the princess and the nerd, which were established in 'The Breakfast Club' in 1985. 

 

In 10 Things I Hate About You, the mise en scene creates a lot of tension between the two characters; the bully is tall and masculine and is wearing a casual, plain shirt, whereas the nerd, is short and skinny with neat hair and colourful clothes. The opposite placement of the two characters suggests they contradict one another, connoting future conflict between the two characters. Brody, the jock is roughly dressed in all black. The colour black connotes a dark, negative representation of Brody's character, revealing his personality to the audience. Whereas, Reggie is dressed in a bright blue, tight, women's jacket and is wearing an old hat. His dress code opposes Brody's, foreshadowing the conflict between the two characters. The over-the-shoulder shot clearly establishes the space between them, which symbolises the disconnection between the two characters.

 

In terms of mise en scene, both characters have a mischievous look about them, foreshadowing their negative personalities. In our film opening, the jock, Brody has a sound motif of rap music about violence, connoting his violent, rough nature. Therefore, we have followed the traditional representation of the jock. Similarly, in 10 Things I Hate About You, the antagonist can long, messy hair which also suggests rough and violent nature.