Critical Investigation Task #1
TASK #1 TEXTUAL
ANALYSIS
The Inbetweeners
1. Football Friend
Analysis of clip
(after 55 seconds)
Media language:
The concept of the
clip demonstrates how Jay is being ridiculed by his two other best mates Neil
and Simon, who repeatedly use the word “friend” to mock Jay’s new football
partner.
Setting: the friends
are all outside what appears to be a private road
Camera work: two-shot
frame used when Neil and Simon mock Jay to show they are in control and the
ones who aggravate Jay to damage his football friend’s car. Medium close-up
used to show the frustration Jay has after being the butt of the joke and
therefore jumps on his friend’s car.
Composition - As it
is a single camera sitcom, there wasn't any complex arrangement with the
camera. It would always be placed in front of the action and facing straight
on.
Editing - There was a
lot of cutting in the clip, especially during a conversation as it’s a single
camera production they have to cut from one person to another. And when it came
to changing scene, they would do a simple clean cut to move the clip on smoothly.
1.29 – there is a dissolve, this suggests how
Jay is the object of comedy for a long time
Non-digetic sound,
for example at the end of the clip when Jay has humiliated himself in front of
all his mates upbeat music playing in the background, they use this because it
is the type of music that age group would listen to that type of music and
creates a comedic atmosphere as the audience are entertained by Jay’s extreme
antics.
Diegetic sound is
most prominent when the car alarm sounds goes off.
Lighting – high-key
lighting is used throughout the clip to illustrate the fact that the characters
are young and simply because the whole scene takes place on the road. The use
of natural lighting reinforces the light-hearted banter between the boys and
creates a settling atmosphere for the comedy to take place.
Pose – at the start
of the clip, Simon and Neil and sitting down and mocking Jay at the same time,
this depicts how they are a tag team and Jay is the only one standing up.
Costume - Jay’s
clothing represents his age as he’s got that very casual almost chavy look with
the Adidas tracksuit top, which is a look more common in younger generations.
This links to Dyer’s theory of ‘Stereotypes’ as it reinforces the average
working/middle-class teenage boy.
Theory –
Barthes theory –
action code: the fact Jay is stomping on a car and the alarm goes off loudly signifies
that he’s going to get caught out and the neighbourhood is quiet.
Post-modernism: adolescent
nature and includes frequent use of extreme swearwords. There are many intertextual
references that they employ throughout the episodes, allowing audiences to
familiarise themselves with settings, props, locations, characters and plots
and link it to their own personal experiences and everyday life in general. The
Inbetweeners is much more daring and rude, by far and swearing is used very
freely and loosely.
Issues for debate –
the fact that Jay is seen to be stomping of a car makes it seem that teenagers
are out of control and have no high-standards in society as they act out and
vandalise things. Others could interpret Jay to be a hooligan, but I think that
he represents a stronger representation of a typical “lad” as he’s standing his
own ground and proving himself. This links to gender roles, typically because
he’s trying to be overly masculine and shouts curse words to reinforce that he
is not the butt of the joke which is that he and his new “football friend” are
closer than what their friendship actually is.
2. Simon Pukes Over Carly's Little Brother
Camerawork: use of a
fish-eyes lens when Simon talks to Carly to highlight how drunk he is
Two shot frame as
Simon declares his love for Carly in the kitchen, in the living room Will and
Carly’s younger brother talk about politics in the UK – the fact that two
different discussions are going on highlights the theme of a sitcom
As Simon gradually
becomes sicker, the camera zooms in and many jump cuts as he pukes were the
camera then automatically turns to Carly to get her reaction.
In terms of language,
Simon repeatedly refers to Carly as "babes" which reflects how young
teenagers in Britain often refer to each other.
This scene is comedic
as it ends with Simon vomiting all over that same, poor, little brother which
Will scared beforehand telling him that his parents were in danger.
Gender roles: Simon
is needy and suggests that Carly pleasures herself, which reinforces typical
traits of a young teenage boy as he is overly desperate.
Theory –
Carly is a source of
male gaze (Mulvey), she is a pretty teenage girl who is intelligent, with
blonde hair
Uses and
gratifications – the fact that Simon gets overly drunk and pukes on an innocent
child is humorous and interlinks with the ‘entertainment’ factor as Simon’s aim
was to impress Carly, when in actual reality he has made himself look like a
fool.
Uses and
gratifications (personal identity) – another reason why this scene is comedic
is because many teenagers could most probably relate to some elements of this
scene, such as trying to impress a girl and being overly drunk. However, as
Simon pukes on a helpless child this heightens the comedy and is outside the
norm of what an average teenagers would do if they were drunk themselves.
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