Skins Analysis - Representation Of Age

In the first series of skins episode one our media class has watched the introduction to the episode, in this episode we have been introduced to Tony, Effy and their parents. We have been told to write an analysis on the representation of age.

To begin with the whole series of skins has been aimed at teenagers, it is a film full of teenagers who basically party and fight. Firstly the theme song in skins is unique, this is because the actual music isn’t a song, its just upbeat, fast paced music. It is also catchy and it’s not boring. Usually in a programme like this the theme tune would be chart music that teens would take a draw to, however skins has done the complete opposite of this but it has created a unique effect. Because the music is different, it can be seen that the programme is setting itself apart from other similar ones, creating an identity for itself. The music could still be seen, as specific music teenagers would like to listen to though.

When Tony gets out of bed and starts exercising in the montage of clips we are introduced to some electronic music, this could be seen as music that a teenager would typically listen too as well. This represents the current age and the target of teens.

When we are introduced to tony at the beginning we are shown he is laying in the middle of an immaculate bed, none of the sheets were crinkled it was as if he hadn’t slept in it, also on the duvet cover there is a naked man and woman, the character appear to be layed in between them, this could suggest he is confused about his sexuality, which links with his age because some teenagers are.

After doing weights and exercises Tony looks in the mirror and starts to tense and look at himself and smile, some could suggest he is full of himself for this but I believe this is a normal thing for a person to do after working out, and this can be seen as a stereotyped teenager, always cautious about how they look.

Another way Tony can be seen as a stereotyped image is by the way he constantly annoys his dad in the first scene. Most teenagers are stereotyped by the older generation as annoying, and this is exactly what Tony is doing to his Dad.

Another representation of age is shown when we see Tony’s rug on his floor, this is a very old fashioned ugly rug which he has on his floor, which any other teenager most probably wouldn’t want to have, this can make the audience see that Tony is different, and also, not into fashion. Another thing that backs up tony isn’t into fashion is from the clothes he is wearing, tony is infact wearing basic plain clothes, we are shown he is wearing, baggy chinos, plain top and a v neck jumper, this shows that he isn’t fussed about looking good, the fact he wants to be simple isn’t normal for somebody of his age which makes the audience think.

One more strange thing about tony is that all of the clothes in his draws and his room are perfect, for example the clothes are immaculately folded and his room is spotless. This is a binary opposite to a stereotyped teenager whose rooms would usually be known to be untidy. This shows us the character is quite peculiar.

When we are introduced to the character Effy we are shown a long shot of her walking towards her house, this scene can show us many things about the representation of ages. To begin we are shown Effy is wearing a mini skirt, and the kind of clothing anyone normal teenage girl would wear to go out, however she looks scruffy due to her makeup being smudged around her whole face and also her hair is messy, assuming its also the morning and she’s walking home dressed like this, it can put an assumption in our heads that she has been out all night partying. This is a representation of her teenage age. When Effy has eventually sneaked into the house and got into her school uniform we are shown her taking all her makeup off and looking neat, this makes the character in fact look a lot younger than before, and also when with her family she is shown to not speak for the whole time in the scene, this can suggest she has a split personality and wants to keep this away and not draw in attention.

We are shown more representation of age between Tony and his Dad. Tony’s dad is very foul mouthed and always swearing even when in the company of his family, this is funny to the audience however it gives a representation of the Dad not acting at his age, infact probably acting at his son’s age.