Riverdale representation essay

This short clip taken from the TV series 'Riverdale' is a Teen Drama which shows the core media representation groups of class/status and age. The opening scenes of this clip show a strong sense of typical High school stereotypes which have been thoughtfully created through the use of camera, mise en scene, sound and editing. In this short two minute clip we see the contrast between normal high school students and students who see pride in themselves and act dominant over everyone else such as Cheryl blossom, Who is seen as wealthy and strong willed. These students are teenagers as shown through the complicated and dramatic High school. In this clip we see that Stuart Halls representation theory which represents a specific group. In this case, age and class and status are the ones most clearly seen. 

Mise en scene refers to everything in the shot from lighting, costumes, make up, props, symbolism and iconography. Firstly there are five main stereotypes shown throughout the five main characters. First the new girl Veronica Lodge who is seen as mysterious and sinister. Every classic high school movie has a new girl and Veronica is portrayed just like that. Veronica is dressed very elegant for high school which shows class and status as she looks wealthy and dominant over everyone else as she has seen looking down on everyone as she Comes outside to go eat lunch.She is dressed in a dress with pearls around her neck, a black leather handbag and her hair and makeup done up. Just from one glance we can tell that she represents the group of classes and status. Veronica shows the audience that she is confident in the way that she walks, not looking nervous to be the new student seen in her body language by the way she walks up and talks to the group of students. The second stereotype is the good girl which is Betty Cooper. Betty Cooper wears a light pink blouse with her blonde hair tied up in a high pony. This shows the audience that she is the kind and soft girl which can represent innocence out of the group. The audience can tell that Betty does not like confrontation and stays quiet when things are said about her. Another stereotypical character is the main and popular student, Cheryl blossom. Cheryl blossom calls herself Cheryl bombshell which represents that she is mean and has no filter. Bombshell is like she can say anything she wants without being hurt and can ruin peoples reputation as she is seen as fierce and dominant. Also showing the representation group of class and status, Cheryl wears a red skirt which matches her fiery red hair. Her whole outfit is made up of red and black colours which is quite suspicious as those colours represent darkness and evil. Cheryl is confident in herself while she tears other down which could symbolise that she is actually the one hurting and wants everyone around her to fall to the ground with her. This is seen as selfish and bratty as we get to understand her character further. One typical stereotype that is being introduced more and more today is the gay best friend, Kevin. He is seen as very quiet and the audience weren't given any clues as to being gay until Cheryl blossom comes up and says 'is being a gay best friend still a thing' as she makes a come back to Kevin. He seems like a very nice and supporting friend which is a stereotypical character in a friend group. The last stereotypical character is the jock, Archie Andrews who is A football player and a musician. In the opening of the clip we heard his song playing from his laptop when he soon closes his laptop as Veronica emerges up to the table. This symbolises that Archie Andrews may find it hard to trust people Which gives the audience Chloes that maybe something has happened to him in the past where he's gotten hurt and doesn't want it to happen again. Archie suddenly takes off over lunch to go over some music and we don't see him again in the short clip. This shows the audience that Archie doesn't like to get involved with drama or any complications, that he is just a chilled back guy. Archie where is the classic football varsity jacket with the colours of yellow and blue. These colours symbolise sports and being a nice and chill guy who may find it hard letting other people he doesn't know as well in his life. The setting in this clip is at a high school which is based during the day. We see many people walking around which shows that school is intense and chaotic. We know that this is a typical high school as there is some low-key bullying where Cheryl says mean things to Betty such as, ' Looks like she already has a lot on her plate' as in food and thats why she can't try out to be a cheerleader, which is also a very Stereotypical sport. Overall all of the symbolism and iconography keynotes to the TV series being a TV drama as we can see lots of gossip and chaos among the teen cast. 

Sound in the short clip has a mix of Diegetic and non diegetic sound which helps the audience get a better understanding of what is happening through the use of tone in the dialogue by using representation theory to understand what mood and tone has been put off for the scene. Non Diegetic sound is first heard in the opening scene as Veronica makes her way down the stairs looking over all of the students eating lunch. This non diegetic sound is Archie Andrews song which plays loud drowning out most of the loud sounds by the high school students chatting and laughing during their break.  This is also known as Pleonastic sound where the sound is heightened at this point of the film to help set the scene. A sound bridge is used to transition into the next scene where the same song is playing from Archie Andrew's laptop using diegetic sound: sound within the world of the film. The song is playing quieter on Archie's laptop which connotes back to how he is personal and not a very open person which makes him very secretive over his song as it could be personal and only wants to let his friends listen to it. The song cuts off when Archie shuts his laptop as Veronica makes her way to the table. This action  gives the audience an understanding that Archie could be hard to come across which is the opposite of veronica, as she is very open and confident as the new student. "can i join", Dialogue used by Veronica Lodge makes her seem nice and friendly which drains out the sinister and mysterious side of being in the representational group of class and status. The contrast between Veronica saying nicely, 'can I join' Is a lot nicer than Cheryl blossom's way of telling Betty to move over when she wants to join the table. This shows through body language that even though Veronica is in a representational group of class and status, that she can still be kind and respectful to others opinions. In this clip we hear normal teen talk, average middle-class teens talking gossip and about Archie's music. We have no slang or bad words which shows that the school is representable and nice compared to other public schools. This gives the audience an understanding that these characters are mature for their teenage years. Do you audience knows it's Veronica's first day through the use of dialogue, "How's your first day going?". This being said, Upon Cheryl's arrival to the table, There is a music change. The music becomes more itense and louder Before we even get to see how Cheryl acts. This symbolises that Cheryl acts dominant over everyone else just because she has money and that she is an overall very dramatic and intense person to hang out with. This is also seen through facial expressions by Betty and Kevin, Where they look at each other and Betty tells them to stop talking about what they were talking about so Cheryl doesn't hear them. This could mean that Cheryl likes to judge other characters.

Camera work was used to capture a lot of different angles, movements and shots To show full affect of the teen drama series. The camera is a vital technical element in creating meaning which can be shown through body language and establishing the characters and relationships. From all of the different movements and angles from the camera we can distinguish the difference between the students who have a representational group of class and status between the normal students Who just show their representation of group of age. For example a A high angle is used in the beginning of the scene showing Veronica Lodge looking over everyone at the top of the steps. This is like Veronicas grand entrance She makes from the school to outside where everyone is eating lunch. From this high angle we see all the different tables full of different students such as the jocks, the popular kids and the regular students, all sharing the same representational group of age. From this angle we can tell that the school is very Cliche as it is full of clicks where everyone has their own groups that they go off into and where they Categorise themselves into. The camera is seen on a dolly following Veronica Lodge as she makes her way down the steps as everyone looks at her like how everyone looks at the new girl. This dolly shot follows Veronica to the table which seats Betty, Kevin and Archie, which seen as a very inclusive table as they have the jock, the good girl, the gay best friend and now the new girl. The camera pans around the group a lot which shows that the camera has a lot of movement in the clip. This shows that there's a lot of movement and intensity and chaos in the school which links well to my point of the high school being very complicated and chaotic. The camera slowly moves around the friend group which moves closer up to their faces. These close-up shots show the characters facial expressions and their reactions to what people are saying. These reactions are shown through shot reverse shot where the camera is continuously moving from one person to another as the conversation evolves. All of this movement is quite overwhelming which connotes to the fact that they are in high school which is a very overwhelming and crazy time in your life where everyone has so much going on and is so busy. Over the shoulder shot are used. For example the camera does an over the shoulder shot behind Veronica Lodge talking to the group asking if she can join them. This symbolises that we don't know Veronica's character yet Hants seeing behind her back. It is like we don't know what she will do or what she'll bring to the group. Overall, this makes it more Sinister and mysterious which could be foreshadowing anything suspicious in the future. Another high angle is used when Cheryl emerges up to the table looking over the group. This links back to her acting dominant over all of the students in the school thinking that she is the best. Cheryl speaks and acts dominant over everyone at the table interrupting them and speaking rudely and disrespectfully. Camera shots a scene being handheld, which brings a shaky and natural sense to the scene as we are seated in a high school. This almost makes the audience feel a part of the film, making them feel like they're sitting at the table with the group. The handheld camera also relates to this film being set in a school with lots of people talking, chatting and laughing with overall a lot of movement. The establishing shot in this Opening clip is seeing Veronica look over the lunch yard where everyone is sitting at tables and eating lunch where we can see the trees the field for sports and all of the different groups people are divided up into. Overall, The camera action sets the scene showing a lot of movement which creates a sense of being there at school making it more realistic. 

Editing is used in this clip to create a fast paced scene, Achieved from the shot of shots, sound bridges, quick jump cuts, Smooth transitions and continuity editing. These quick cuts help show the relationship between the group of students at the table and also Represent that the school has a very intense and chaotic place hence the fast paced cuts. The shot reverse shots are fast, making them seem even more intense relating back to the representational group of class and status Which makes it a Intense conversation. For example as seen with Cheryl blossom, the shots are very fast as Cheryl doesn't have much to say apart from rude comebacks. Continuity editing is used in the beginning of the film as the camera is seen all over the place which keynotes to the school being intense and not so peaceful. The camera moves closer to the characters faces which adds in the effect of seeing their expressions well flipping back to the shot of the schools. Mini quick cuts help engage the audience and link to the TV teen drama series as being rushed dramatic and fast paced. Especially if the audiences in the same age group as what the characters are portrayed as, The audience can connect with them on a deeper level and relate to them as being in school. The short clip ends with Betty saying, 'show me your moves', Answering back to Veronica about cheerleading. The ending is very sudden which is like what happens at school. For example, as seen they are seen in their lunch break which goes super fast and ends in a hurry. The end of the clip ends with a black screen which could mean that the audience needs to know much more and understand what is happening. These editing hacks help increase audience engagement and Makes the audience want to finish watching the episode and then onto the next episode. Overall among all of the fast paced shots and cutaways, fade to Black's add and a little bit of peace during their school lunch break.