About A Girl Analysis-Jess Smith

About A Girl (Brian Percival, 2001) - Textual Analysis

Jess Smith       

‘About a girl’ made by Brian Percival presents age through many different ways throughout the short film. One of the ways they have done this is from the beginning of the film in the opening title sequence when there is a black background with white text quoting the film title in a text-like styled font.

 

This has been purposely done to give viewers an insight to the characters age before seeing her, as stereotypically all teenagers are constantly using their phones. They have also used white colouring in a large size in order to stand out against the black background, which works well as it is simple, yet still effective. As the title is typed out there is off screen sound of texting to sync up with it. The dark background could also be symbolizing the type of difficult, dark life this character leads.

In addition, after a fast cut to a side angled medium-close up of a female character walking in a run down area with a bridge behind with graffiti written on, dressed in a large, silver thin coat with large hoop earnings  age is further shown. As the camera tracks the character at a fast pace in a handheld method it gives the impression shes very rushed and full of energy, which is done to convey the young age of this girl. There's also on screen diegetic dialogue during this shot quoting ““Then he takes me to the pub afterwards and gets me a can of coke and a bag of crisps, bless”. This confirms that she is still is fed by her parent, however she isn’t impressed with what she is given and the fact that she says “bless” presents her as quite cocky, which is very common for teenagers.

There is then a fast cut to a low angled medium- long shot of the character at a change of setting, sitting on a grafittied on bench. She appears to have a less of smiley facial expression and a more slumped body langauge, suggesting she is used to be left out when it comes to being with her dad.

 

The camera then pans slowly to the left and zooms out slightly at a very slow pace, creating an extreme, establishing long shot. This allows viewers to see the old, dark pub building behind her as there is non diegetic background sounds of cheering and shouting coming from inside the pub, that she is obviously not welcome in, due to her age. Her dad is presented as being careless during theses shots because he has left her outside alone with a can of coke and bag of crisps, which is not a substantial meal for a growing teen. However the diegetic sound of her singing along to her CD player begins, implying she can easily shut off reality and focus on her music, suggesting she has musical ambitions, which is almost impossible to achieve at her current age. Overall the lighting throughout these shots in very dark, creating a bleak atmosphere, juxtaposing with her young, lively age. 

 

Following on from this, her naivety is also shown when there is another fast cut to an eye level, front on handheld camera shot of the character. The camera is tracking her at the outdoor, dark setting with a graffiti bridge in the background as there quotes “right what it is right is there's gonna be me, Stacey, Kelly C, Kelly P and Mera”. This on screen diegetic dialogue presents her young age as she has poor English language, due to the unknown, correct language. 

 

The camera then cuts to an eye level 2 shot on a bus of her and another girl, also dressed in a coat as they loudly sing on screen diegetic dialgoue of Britney Spears lyrics of “I’m not that innocent”. This shows the girls aspire to be like teen idol Britney Spears. However there is diegetic dialogue quickly after the singing when the main character quotes “I know I'm not”, creating enigma for the audience as she is still at a young age, therefore what could she have done? The volume of the singing connotes how confident the girls are, even at this young age. 

The camera cut back to the tracking medium- close up shot of her as she has on screen dialogue of “got the dances worked out and everything”, which is a childlike thing to say, however she believes in her group and thinks she’s older than she is, emphasizing her big hopes and dreams for the future.

 

Next, there’s a very fast cut to another eye level, side angled medium shot in the bus setting, displaying their dance moves, showing there carefree age.

 

This is followed by a fast pan to the right to her friends with happy facial expressions and scatty body language, matching the on screen laughing and diegetic chatting sounds.

Her young teenage is also represented in the eye level, medium-close up tracking shot, back in the dull, natural lighting. She is shown quoting the diegetic, on screen dialogue, describing herself as the “organiser”. This implies she acts mature for her age and enjoys being grown up. 

This juxtaposes with what she then goes onto say “I write the music, just in my head like, not on a piano, that’s cos I’ve not got one, me mum says there’s no room” which shows that she is not in charge in her household and it’s up to her parent still, as she is still relatively young, even if she enjoys acting older. The eye level, tracking medium-close up continues as the on screen diegetic dialogue quotes “she never lets us have nothing” which suggests she feels a deprived child. In addition, her bad language supports the idea of her living in a deprived household and she appears to be frustrated that she can’t get what she wants due to her lack of power because of her age, shown in her tone of voice and facial expression. 

Furthermore, the fast cut to the change of setting, however still in a dark, dull lighting, at a cold temperature along a canal. She quotes “She said she’s not got enough to save for a piano but she’s got enough for ciggis, does she think I’m soft or what” showing she’s smarter than you may think and she knows what things cost and that her mum clearly doubts this knowledge. This is shown in a tracking shot at eye level from a medium distance.

Then this cut to a side angled tracking close up is used for the on screen diegetic dialogue of “You won’t be sorry when I’m dead rich and famous and people want me autograph and I’m living in a top flat in London”. This quote strongly emphasis her high hopes and dreams and large aspirations many teens have that are far from reality. The diegetic dialogue said next “drinking Bacardi cokes” also shows her lack of knowledge of the others at a higher class and older age than her and believe that that drink is ‘posh’ and expensive, therefore so unaware of life for the rich.

Following on from these points, this short film also displays many representations of the character ‘class’ throughout. One way this is done is through a shallow depth of field shot with the main character positioned in very close proximity in a (blurred effect) to the camera and a mother figure in the further distance, which is in focus. This is a represents their family as lower class due to the fact that the mum is scratching a scratch card and this is an often used by people in need of more money in order to survive, in a cheap, easy way. The setting of this shot also displays an urban area with small shops and vehicles around, emphasized by the diegetic car engine sounds. There are also non diegetic background sounds of children screaming, suggesting this is a more affordable area for families with little money. A Foley sound of a dog barking is also used in this shot. The mothers costume further supports the idea of them fitting into the lower class because she doesn’t appear to be wearing enough clothes and the clothes she is wearing don’t seem to be suitable for the cold weather conditions, implied through the dark winter afternoon lighting and colouring.

The camera then slowly pans the right to show another daughter of the mother, along with a pushchair. Therefore, overall there are 3 kids shown and it seems that the mum is in need of more money than she currently has, in order to take care of them all. The plastic bag that she is also holding could suggest that they don’t have the means for large shopping trips that people of a higher class would, as the bag appear to be far from full.

 

In addition, there is then a fast cut to an eye level close up shot of the female character sat on a bus. This strongly represents their class as public transport is known to be the cheapest way of travelling, whereas if they were in a higher class she would have been shown in a more comfortable, relaxing car instead. The lighting also tells the audience that it is night-time, therefore creating enigma as to why a young girl is travelling alone on a bus at night. This close up with the character positioned in the centre of the frame allows us to clearly see she is also wearing large silver hoop earrings which are stereotypically known as being worn by those of a lower class. She’s also got no make-up on and a simple hairstyle, conforming to her low class status. In addition, her facial expression suggests she isn’t happy in her life and appears to be quite a lonely teenager. Throughout the film there are many fast and sharp cuts which make it seem rough which works well with representing the low class.

 

Furthermore, the next shot is another tracking shot, at a side angled medium shot as she is walking through a rundown setting along a canal with rubbish in it, along with deserted, boarded up attached houses which all conforms to a low class area, along with the handheld camera this shot gives a sense of roughness. As the camera tracks her, there are ambient sounds as well as her on screen diegetic dialogue as she is dreaming of when she is older and rich and quotes “2 houses we’ve got, one in London, one in wales”. This quote clearly shows the audience that she has lived a very narrow life, meaning she has never traveled outside of the UK and believes wales is as good as it gets. 

 

   

The camera then fastly cuts to a change of setting to another run down housing area with metal fences in fount of them, implying it is a high crime area where houses need that extra protection. The wide straight angled shot shows 2 teenage boys standing/sitting on the side of the canal wearing grey tracksuit bottoms, trainers and caps which are all products associated with those of a lower class and in general un smartly dressed. Their low class is further supported when they shout their diegetic dialogue of “can you fuck off” to the girl as she walks past in a calm manor, suggesting shes used to this abuse on the street, something you would only see in a low class area. One of the boys then points his middle finger up to the female, something people with no class do. This shot has a very grey colouring, creating a very dull, dark atmosphere. 

Then, a fast cut back to the previous canal setting is done as she quotes “actually it might not be wales, I don’t like it there, we were sat in a caravan when me dad lived with us, we was squashed in like a shoe box”, which tells viewers they lived in a caravan which is known for not being very classy and has stereotypes of dangerous people living in them. The characters language used is also a display of her low class as it isn’t proper English, for example saying “me dad” instead of “my dad”. This is further emphasized by her strong northern Manchester accent.

 

 Lastly, the camera makes a fast cut to a 2 shot of the girl and her dad, who is dressed in a loose, sports jacket reading a tabloid newspaper, instead of a higher class broadsheet. They are sat in a restaurant setting which appears to be very simple, due to the ketchup bottle and mugs on the table, suggesting it is a greasy diner, which would be used by those of a lower class. The dad is also smoking in the diner, creating a low class effect. 

During this scene there is on screen diegetic dialogue from the girl as she talks to her dad who seems to have no interest in her, so she goes onto say “I’ll run away then”, suggesting that she feels alone and not cared for by her family.  In addition, her dad then quotes “you can’t come and live with me; it’s too much hassle yeah”. This appears to be hurt the girl’s feelings as her body language is much slumped and her facial expression is very disappointed and upset, whilst he still remains reading the paper and smoking, unaware of how he’s making his daughter feel. Overall this scene displays the fathers idea of a good meal out with his daughter is in this diner whilst ignoring her, something those of a low class are more likely to do.