Fish Tank (2009)

Mia and Connor

 This is a mid-shot from the film 'Fish Tank' which is a British set and produced teen angst film. Being a British coming of age film means that it is a counter type as most teen angst films are usually set in an American school and around the American lifestyle. However, in this the film the main plot is about a girl, Mia Williams, who lives in a flat in a lower class part of England and has had troubles at school and has been suspended. She also doesn't have many friends and nobody really appreciates her. In addition she argues with her family a lot, including her mother. These things are all stereotypical of the teen angst genre but are emphasised and exaggerated more than usual in 'Fish Tank'. This is because it is set in England and so the USP is British social realism. Mia turns to drink whenever she can as this helps her to reduce her stress and forget about her problems. Many teenagers do this but most only do it socially and do not do it on their own. The main event in the film is that Mia tries to steal her mum's new boyfriend. She does this successfully and her mum doesn't blame her boyfriend but blames her daughter. It is stereotypical that a teenage girl has problems when it comes to love and is interested in a guy but it is not usually her mums boyfriend.

Joanne

The main characters in the film are; Mia (below), the girl who is suspended from school and steals her mother's boyfriend. She is violent, troubled and unaccepted by many people. This is supported by the fact that in the film she headbutted a girl because of her dancing and that she is suspended from school. She ends up sleeping with her mother's boyfriend who then regrets sleeping with her. The next character is Tyler, who is Mia's sister. She is younger than Mia although they argue a lot. Tyler is in trouble less with both her peers and the school. Another main character is Joanne (above), Tyler and Mia's mother. She is portrayed to the audience as a counter type as she does not act very responsible since she acts promiscuously. She is also not a very caring character as when her boyfriend sleeps with her daughter, she puts the blame onto her daughter. The other main character is Connor who is Joanne's boyfriend. However during the film Mia and Connor start talking and eventually end up together. This is the main reason for Mia's falling out with her family and friends. Connor is a stereotype as he is good looking, dark haired and tall love interest in the film. However he is also a counter type as usually the love interest in teen angst films are usually young and at school as this is the age of the main character such as Mia but also because the audience can relate to this more. However Connor is much older than Mia and so this is unusual for teen angst films. The last main character is another love interest in the film who is more of a stereotype to the teen angst genre called Billy. Billy and Mia meet when Mia finds a horse and is taunted and abused by Billy's brothers. Billy and Mia eventually move to Wales.

Mia

An example of the gangs shown in Fish Tank

The main settings in the films are estates in Essex/London. The estate in Essex is particularly "rough" or lower class and are stereo typically high in crime, gang culture and not looking particularly attractive due to it being quite rundown. This is supported by the picture above, it is predominately urban and doesn't look attractive or somewhere that the higher class would choose to live. This is the type of estate that Mia grew up on by living in a flat. This adds to the USP of the film, the British social realism. This means that estates in Britain are portrayed in films as somewhere that isn't very glamorous or pleasant to grow up and that life can be tough and doesn't come easy. However most Hollywood produced teen angst films show a character growing in america and focuses on the school/social life of the character progressively getting better.

Most of the mise en scene in this film connotes a negative effect on the life that the characters live. For example, when inside their home, the lighting is mostly low key lighting foreshadowing the negative view on life many of the characters have, particularly Mia. Many of the actors in the film are from or lived in Britain compared to actors in big Hollywood films who are usually from America. This is usually done as the actors know what life is like in their respected country and so in small, British, independent films such as fink tank, the British social Realism and stereotyping can be as accurate as possible. Also in small, independent films, many of the actors are not big names in the acting community and so are often not as popular whereas big Hollywood films can afford to pay popular actors/actresses and so attract a larger audience who are interested in watching these actors/actresses. This means that independent films have to rely on other USPs.The only appropriate examples of iconography are that Mia is shown with alcohol and it portrays to the audience that she drinks regularly. This connotes that she is troubled/she has many worries which is stereotypical of teen angst characters. It also shows the audience that this is a common sight/experience on estates in Britain. Other examples of iconography for British made teen angst films is that the estates look run down. This is down by litter, rundown shops, and damaged property/furniture.

Mean Girls Research

 

This picture is from a scene in mean girls. It is a mid-long shot showing 3 girls, each looking in a mirror. This shot type allows the audience to see what the characters are wearing but also their body language and facial expression. The characters are teenaged girls as teen angst films are mostly targeted at girls between the ages of 12-18 years as they can relate most to the characters. Two of the three girls are wearing skirts which connotes that they are very feminine girls and this is a stereotype of teenaged girls. Another reason they could be wearing skirts is to catch the interest in boys as this is stereotyped as the main focus of girls this age. One other possible reason could be that they are trying to rebel against rules of school/society that has a certain expectation of what they should wear. This is done purposely so that the audience can relate to this as they may also be thinking/feeling this way. The blonde girl is in the middle as she is blonde, pretty and often the leader of the group of friends. Putting her in the centre of the shot and the three girls portrays her as the centre of attention which may reflect on her attitude to most things in life. Also the lighting is fairly low key around the edge of the room but is high key on the girls, particularly the one in the middle. Again this portrays her as the centre of attention and the leader of the group. The girl on the right is the only one wearing trousers and not doing her make up. This is a countertype of girls in teen angst films as they are usually wearing girly clothes such as skirts and these clothes are often pink. Also girls are stereotyped to care a lot about their appearance and this is shown in this picture as two of the girls are looking in a mirror and doing their make up while the other girl is looking in the mirror at herself

In this picture from mean girls, it shows that the group of girls are in a shopping centre. This is a stereotype of girls as they are often thought to enjoy shopping and socialising with their friends. This shot is a long shot as you can see clearly what they characters are wearing but also what is around them. The setting is a nice setting as it looks like it is high quality and somewhere that could be expensive. This connotes that the girls are not lower class and more likely to be middle class. It also shows that they are not scared to spend money and so probably care about how their peers look at them. This is a stereotype of teenaged girls as they often want to be popular and looked up at by their friends. There is high key lighting that shows that this is a light hearted scene and that nothing terrible is happening and they are enjoying themselves. All four girls are wearing pink which is stereotypically a girl’s colour. 3 of them are also wearing skirts which is, again, another thing that portrays them as stereotypical very feminine girls. An example of iconography is that they have handbags and this is very common in teen angst films since many teenaged girls will have handbags to look after their belongings.

The main narrative in the video is that a new girl, called Cady, joins the new school after leaving where she grew up in Africa as her parents were conducting research out there. This was her first time in a public school so she was unfamiliar as too how the social hierarchy works. At first she befriended two people called Janis and Damien. She learns from them that the highest social status she could have is from being friends with the 'Plastics'. Cady is accepted into the plastics and her and Janis hatch a plan to bring down the leader of the plastics, Regina George. Cady learns about the 'Burn Book' and also falls in love with Regina's ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels.
Cady carries on ruining Regina's reputation and her popularity. She turns her friends against her by telling them that Regina sees her as a better friend. She also tells Aaron that Regina has cheated on him with another boy. She also goes on to trick Regina into eating high calorie nutrition bars by telling her that they will help her lose weight. After this it turns out that Cady has lost her personality and has changed and become more like Regina.
Regina decides to leak the contents of the 'Burn Book' and spread rumours around the school. She makes up a fake rumour about herself in order to put the blame onto the other members of the 'Plastics', including Cady. The girls are made to apologise to their peers and when it comes to Janis, Regina makes a joke about her sexuality. Janis them reveals about her and Cady's plan to ruin Regina's reputation, with the support of the rest of the school. Regina runs out of the school upset, where she gets hit by a bus and rumours start that Cady pushed her.
Cady is distrusted by everyone, and she takes the blame for the 'Burn Book', she feels less guilty after this and even joins the matheletes where she realises that insulting people's appearance won’t help her with her situation.