Representation of age within ‘Monarch of the Glen’

Age is widely presented in TV dramas, as it defines each character showing authority and power of a certain character. In ‘Monarch of the glen’, the extract focuses on the character Amy, who we first see as quite young, wearing scruffy, average looking clothing. The other characters shown in this scene are wearing drab colours, which are fit for the work that they are doing, Amy is standing out as she is wearing brighter, younger clothes, which makes the characters more identifiable with age. With the non-diegetic sound of upbeat ‘hillbilly’ music, this associated with farming; hence there are workers on the farm. The camera follows Amy around, panning to her, having more screen time than any other characters within this extract.

By including the scene of the range rover, we assume she is over 17, along with the panning around the car, with a slow zoom, and her nervous facial expressions and body language shows that she is quite nervous, which questions the audience of her actual age. At this point the noise level increases with the diegetic sound of bashing and clanging of tools and the non-diegetic sound of the music slowly building in pace. As the range rover leaves the farm, the camera follows the car, which almost builds up tension; therefore the audience knows something will happen. However the crash is not filmed, the other characters who are working are being focused on which anticipates the viewers. Therefore we will see the reaction on the characters faces when the sound of the crash happens. This makes it more effective in my opinion, as the audience and the characters don’t know how serious the crash is.

At this point the representation of age becomes more vivid and clear, the middle aged characters immediately rush to the incident. Amy instantly hides away into them making her look weak and vulnerable, all of which are taller than her, making her look younger than she already is. The camera angle is disjointed and keeps reverting back to two shots and long shots.

We are introduced to another character, is the head teacher at Amy’s school, which she has not been attending. The head teacher is well dressed, and is very traditional, by wearing a tie and blazer, speaking with Standard English. Another representation that could be brought forward is the use of regional identity; Amy has a strong Scottish accent, whereas the other characters have English accents. With more analysis this could be a type of discrimination, making her an outcast to the group.

There is then a jump cut from the crash to the room with the head teacher. The head teacher asks for a Brandy, which shows, that he is stressed on Amy’s behalf, which shows that he likes to drink and is a representation of a stereotypical elderly person.
Another elderly lady presented in this extract is well dressed, and smart looking, although she never says anything and we don’t know whether or not she is related to Amy, but the worried expression on her face shows Grandma-like qualities, showing sympathy towards her.
Overall camera angles and clever techniques of editing have a huge impact of the way age is represented, such as; the use of high angle shots revealing her age and her place within society, this gives the older generation higher authority, making them seem superior to the young adult.