Discuss ways in which the extract constructs the representation of age

From this extract of Waterloo Road, we can see that the representation of age is constructed with the help of camera angles, mise en scene, sound and editing.

In the opening scene, we can see camera angles such as a establishing shot and a panning shot. The establishing shot portrays the characters that will be involved in this scene, being two pupils and a male teacher and the shot gives us an idea of the time of day, location etc. The panning shot reveals that the two pupils are wearing similar clothing and the male teacher is wearing smarter clothing. From this mise en scene we can put together that the male teacher is higher up in authority as he is wearing his own clothing and has the power to do that but the other two younger men in the scene can't do that as they are younger and don't have the authority so they must wear the correct uniform. By the teacher wearing these clothes it fits the stereotype of them being work orientated, whilst he tells the boys off for not wearing their uniform correctly, which meets the stereotype of teenagers being lazy and they meet the stereotype of arrogance when they talk back to the teacher. Over the shoulder shots are used so the audience can follow the conversation between the pupils and the teacher. When a second teacher arrives on the scene, the flow of the conversation abruptly stops when she finds out her camera is broken. The atmosphere becomes more hostile which fits the stereotype of there being conflict between different age groups and shows the generation gap.

The next scene shows an interior, two shot of a boy and a girl walking down the school corridor. The mise en scene implies that they are in a school environment as everyone is wearing similar uniform to each other, they are all carrying bags and it is very busy and crowded. This two shot combines with an establishing shot to show the location that it is set in. Loud, intense music is added when another girl enters the scene and starts to verbally attack them both, and then physically attacks a different boy. This loud music portrays the conflict between them. The girl that enters the scene meets the stereotype of teenagers being out of control due to her breaking school rules and attacking someone.

The following scene shows a male teacher sitting at the front of the classroom full of students. He fits the stereotype of adults being in control and having more power as the students seem to obey his commands. Loud music is introduced during a sound bridge over to a scene of the girl from a previous scene attacking a boy and cornering him in a room aggressively. A symbolic code is recognised as the room is darker than all the others which implies that something dark or bad is going to happen. When she is attacking the boy, it meets the stereotype of teenagers being selfish as she is only picking on him because she wants to and no other reason at all. Over the shoulder shots are rapidly used to keep up with the conversation. A countertype is also shown as they both seem to be expressing emotions but a stereotype for teenagers is that they don't show emotions but they clearly do as she is getting angry and he is scared and panicking.

In the next scene an adult is shown wearing teenagers clothes. When two girls appear and see him, they see him through a low angle shot and he sees them as a high angle shot, this implies that he has more power than them because of his status as a teacher. A countertype is also shown as a stereotype for adults is that they dress smartly but he is dressed in a jeans and a t-shirt so he doesn't meet the stereotype but counteracts it.

In conclusion, stereotypes and countertypes are portrayed through this extract in the use of camera angles, mise en scene, editing and sound.