Identify one adult character in your chosen film.
An adult character in my chosen film is Rainer “Herr” Wenger.
Briefly describe this character’s appearance and behaviour.
Herr Wenger is shown as the start wearing a punk rock ‘Ramones’ t-shirt to school, whereas all the other teachers are dressed appropriately, this represents his childlike image and him wanting to be seen as the cool teacher. He is shown driving to school and blasting punk rock antiestablishment music out of his external speakers with his window down, the song is about high school rebellion. By leaving his windows down he wants people around him to hear the music as he is trying to create an image for himself. He is seen as quite immature, when we first see the students they are getting on with what they are supposed to be doing however Herr Wenger got scolded by the head as he didn’t complete something he was set to do. Herr Wenger is traditionally seen wearing jeans and a t-shirt, as the wave experiment continues he is normally wearing a white t-shirt and jeans.
Describe how adult characters are represented in the film you have studied.
The majority of adult characters within this scene are shown as mature, appropriate and smart, Herr Wenger is the only one who doesn’t fit into these categories at the start. Anke Wenger is typically seen wearing smart clothing and is represented as quite mature. This can be seen due to the contrast of how she presents herself and how Herr Wenger presents himself.
Within the Tuesday sequence it’s clear that the older characters aren’t as united as the younger characters. Herr Wieland is shown having more power over Rainer due to the fact he tries to get him “told off” by the head as his students were stomping loudly above his classroom. Wieland is dressed appropriately and shown as more respected for his role which shows Herr Wenger to be more childlike.
The headteacher is shown to clearly be in charge as she is dressed appropriately and therefore she is represented as fit for her role. She has the power to scold Herr Wenger for not doing something he was meant to do if he wanted to teach the anarchy class. She is presented as having the control over the other teachers etc.
Explore how age is represented in one or two key sequences from the film you have studied.
In your answer, you may consider:
How younger characters are represented compared to older characters.
Key elements of film form (i.e. cinematography, mise-en-scène)
Contexts (i.e. social, historical, cultural).
Within the opening sequence there are several examples of how ages between younger and older characters differ. For example Herr Wenger is presented in a way that would typically be associated with youth. He defines himself by youthful qualities and attempts to stands out against all the other teachers and he is deliberately unprofessional on purpose as he is trying to make an image of himself. In this sequence there are low angle shots of Herr Wenger looking up at Mr Wieland, this emphasises how Wieland has the power.
In contrast when we first see the students the first presentation is of young calm students trying to get on with what they need to be doing. A young boy sneaks in late to the class so he doesn’t disturb what they are doing and doesn’t draw attention to himself. The young characters within this sequence are represented as mature and sensible in contrast to Herr Wenger.
The teacher who arrives at school is shown wearing a punk rock t-shirt and chaotically drove to the school whereas the kids are shown looking mature. Herr Wenger is the teacher, who is supposed to know better, but instead he is the one who causes all the chaos. This represents the reversal of roles the teacher is acting like a kid but the kids are shown as mature and getting on with their work.
During the Tuesday sequence Herr Wenger is shown as more of a leader and having a purpose which contrasts to him in the opening sequence being childlike and immature. As Herr Wenger is walking to class there is a low angle shot of him silhouetted against the window the effect that this has is that he looks more imposing and like he has more authority than he did from the start. As the sequence goes on the students begin to take more responsibility for themselves and be less reliant on Herr Wenger.
Within this sequence there are more cuts to close ups of the students which shows how they are interred and immersed in what Herr Wenger is saying. This could potentially be foreshadowing the fact that they end up getting easily dictated by him. Also during this scene is is clear that the students individuality is gone, they are all sat down doing what they are supposed to do, this scene emphasises how Herr Wenger’s influence on them has gotten stronger and unravels how easily people can be dictated. Towards the end of the scene the students and teachers begin to become more similar to each other due to the fact that they are all marching in unison and also wear similar clothing.
Cinematography plays a role in representing who has the power out of the characters. There are several low angle shots looking up at the teacher which shows him to be the authority figure. Also there is a majority of wide screen shots of the classroom from the front as if its from the teachers point of view, this therefore shows them listening to Herr Wenger and develops the process of them becoming manipulated.
- 1/1
- Correct!
- 4/4
- Thorough and accurate.
- 5/5
- Exactly right!
- 13/15
- A very convincing and thorough response. Just do this in your real exam!