Kids (1995) Film Trailer - Representation.

The trailer sets up expectations for the themes and character’s in the film. This is by showing the social class the characters are such as lower class. This is shown by the age they are and the things they are shown doing, such as getting up to mischief. The opening shows a long shot of a group of friends walking which then fades into different scenes showing the audience each character. At the end, there is the same scene shown as the first. This can connote these people are mischievous and could have a private life by going behind their parents backs. This can suggests the characters are stereotypical because teenagers are seen as bad and always getting into trouble. O’Sullivan Et Al (1998) said that stereotypes are a label that involves a process of categorization.

There is a mid-shot used on the opening part of the trailer on each character. This shows the audience who the main characters are in the film. This section is also slow paced. Each shot fades into the next mid shot which shows all the characters are laughing, sad and active which is stereotypical for teenagers as they are viewed as hormonal. This is a stereotypical representation of a teenager. There is also a close up used on the T.V showing the audience what the characters are watching. The close up shows a person falling over on a skateboard down some steps. Watching T.V is something a child or teenager does stereotypically as they are seen as lazy in some aspects. This close-up can show that children are easily influenced which can connote the characters will copy something later on in the film.

There is also a hand-held camera shot during the scene where the male characters are in a house playing about. This happens at 0:57during the trailer. This makes the film look more realistic and the audience can feel involved. During this scene the trailer becomes fast paced which shows of the energy of a child or teenager which s stereotypical. There are also intertitles used such as ‘KIDS’ which is repeated. There is also another intertitle which says ‘A wake up call to the world’. This suggests parents should watch this to get an idea of what their children could be getting up to.

There is non-diegetic sound of a guitar playing at the beginning which is quite slow which flows with the slow motion used on the longshot. This non-diegetic music starts to play when the film company logo is on the screen. The lyrics are “School children” which instantly represents the characters are young and are in education. At 0:35 the music then fades into a loud and fast paced song which sound like drums.  The singer sounds like he is shouting and there is clapping involved when the intertitle ‘KIDS’ appear. This emphasises that the characters are kids and it shows how much energy they have.

The mise-en-scene represents the characters in many ways. For example, there is a setting used at the beginning near a road. This could be seen as stereotypical as the characters could be walking to school. It could also be a counter type as it is stereotypical for gangs to hang around the street and these characters are not in a gang as they do not have the stereotypical features.

A female character is wearing hooped earrings which are stereotypical for a lower class person to wear. This represents the social status these characters are. The characters are mainly wearing T-shirts which are flexible and easy to move about in. this is stereotypical for a child or teenager to wear back in the time this trailer was made. There is high key lighting used mostly all the time which emphasises happiness which is a stereotypical thing for a kid as they don’t have anything big to worry about. There is a low angle shot showing a boy holding a bottle of alcohol but it is hidden in a bag. This does help support the stereotype of teenagers going behind their parent’s backs and trying new things. The idea of Hegemony is important to representation theory because the way people and groups are represented and the messages and ideology we receive as the mass audience could influence public opinion.  For example we often see some negative representations of teenagers which can be seen through the media and many films such as Project X.

Laura Mulvey suggests a distinct mode of male gaze. This is voyeuristic which suggests women are seen as ‘whores’. This is shown during the film such as the long shot of two female characters in their underwear jumping into a pool, followed by many mid-shots of boys kissing girls and then a mid-shot of a boy putting his hand on a girl’s thigh.