Monarch of the Glen Essay (Re-Written)

In the sequences ‘Monarch of the Glen’ we are originally presented with two separate Worlds, divided by the representation of age. The representation of age is exemplified through the character, named Amy who is in fact 16 years of age, however she is pretending to be at the start of adulthood (18.) The older generation is clearly represented in this sequence through the character of Amy’s old head teacher when she accidentally crosses paths with him on an unfortunate event of a small car accident.

Mise-en-scene is the first aspect in which the representational issues are highlighted. The setting of the clip is in a rural area of Scotland, peaceful with aspects of natural lighting, which makes the setting initially seem like an unusual place for issues about age to occur. At the beginning of the clip we are first introduced to Amy. She is wearing a bright yellow top and blue jeans, she doesn’t seem at ease with her surroundings almost as if she has not been there for very long and is still getting used to them. Previously before meeting Amy, we are able to see many workers dressed in work clothes including; all in one suits with large leather boots. As soon as we see both sets of characters the audience will begin to question why and how these two sets of characters are linked.

Soon after, Amy is presented with a male of the similar age where she engages in a short conversation where she in fact looks quite on edge and not at ease, causing the audience to immediately have some suspicions.

Mise-en-scene continues to be relevant to the representation when we see Amy inside the Land Rover pretending that she is capable of driving.  The use of the large Land Rover has been used to highlight the differences between Amy and a usual teenager who would most likely be seen driving an older and smaller car due to the lack of money and experience – which again suggests that Amy does not belong in her current environment.

After the car accident when Amy first realises that she crashed into her old head teacher’s car her body language drastically changes… Before the incident Amy displayed a mature, yet bubbly body language but after the accident had taken place her body language clearly became a lot younger showing her insecurities, however she ever so easily fell back into the younger body language almost as it was more normal for her. Her facial expressions clearly show that she is distressed, allowing the audience to come across her vulnerability. During this scene of the car accident, is when the audience is first able to see Amy acting her real age and is in fact represented as a child who needs to be shielded by her guardians from all the troubles of adulthood.

The final scene where Amy is in the children’s bedroom provides further evidence that youth is represented, and may allow the audience to feel sympathy towards Amy herself. Whilst Amy is in this room it becomes a lot more evident to the audience the representation of age, as the room looks typically like a young teenage girls room, with the bright coloured walls, ornaments and posters and through Amy’s actions and facial expressions we can see that it means a lot to her and represents her personality and everything close to her heart.

The way that the camera is used in the clip further highlights the representation of age. Initially a high angle is used when showing the audience all the workers together, as the high angle has been used the audience will automatically get the impression that they have a higher authority due to them being adults, whereas the camera angle used when we see Amy again is just a normal mid shot, implying that she is lower down due to her young age.

The use of editing to provide the narrative structure of the piece is motivated by Amy, the audience’s primary confusion of why she looked uncomfortable and is hidden from the audience until the accident. However, we are then provided with scenes encouraging us to understand further the state of her emotions.

During the clip there is a use of both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. The non-diegetic soundtrack to the workers working is just a traditional track that would usually be associated with their rural working environment. However, non-diegetic that is played during the sequences involving Amy tends to display her thoughts and feelings, these usually make the audience feel sympathetic.

In addition, the use of diegetic dialogue further allows the audience to understand the severity of the representation. When the car accident occurs and we hear Amy’s old head teacher shout, “Amy, I should have known it was you” his voice displays aggression, however, his next tone of voice used differs when he is talking to Paul. This highlights how a young girl like Amy may not deserve the head teacher’s respect. Surprisingly, although her head teacher is confronting Amy, she does not use any dialogue showing her vulnerability and nature to want to hide behind the adults in her life.

To conclude through the use of Mise-en-scene, camera, editing and sound we are presented with a complete sequence, which is motivated by the young character of Amy who is dealing with the representation of age.