'About a Girl' Analysis of representation (Class and Age) - Ettie Greenwood

• The first scene denotes a young girl singing and dancing in a field. Here she is represented as young and possibly lonely because she is alone, and she is doing an activities which as usually associated with children. She is also thought as innocent as she is in no danger, and because the audience can not yet see what she looks like (costume/hair/makeup) she seems as if she is the stereotypical child. However a binary opposition is created when she sings and the lyrics that she sings denote: "I've had enough, I'm not that innocent" and "I'm lonely". This may foreshadow a negative experience in her life and how that she wants to feel more grown up. Her body is also silhouetted by the light which created restricted narration and possibly enigma to the audience. 

• When the girls costume is revealed, the audience may hold assumptions about her personality. The girl wears a white oversized puffer coat, tracksuit bottoms and large hoop earrings. This is the stereotypical of what some people think that a 'CHAV' would wear. As this type of person usually has negative assumptions, it may lead the audience to believe that she has had a troubled upbringing; especially as this personality is associated with the working class.

• The setting also connoted the working class environment: As the girl walks through the neighbourhood, a lot of run down areas are denoted along with frequent graffiti and rubbish littered. This highlights the poverty influenced area and with the post-production effect: destaturated colour, the setting seems to be a negative place to be.

• Cuts are used throughout the piece to reinforce realism: It also allows continuity to be achieved as the sequence can flow without any obvious changes.

• The lighting in the sequence is dull and realistic. This makes the setting seem real but unpleasant and adds to the working class environment. It may also foreshadow negative events later (getting rid of the baby).

• Throughout the piece, the camera is kept mostly at eye-level. This is so the audience can feel like the girl is talking to them as if they were her friend, and it also allows the audience to sympathize with her. However after the girl drops the bag in the river (the audience do not yet know what is in it), the camera moves away from the girl and raises up to a birds-eye view shot. This creates a sense of the relationship between the audience and the girl ending. This may foreshadow the audiences' reaction in the next shot whereby the dead baby is denoted to sink to the bottom of the reader, therefore the audiences reaction -whether sympathy or anger- may connote a change in the relationship/view that they had on the girl before.
  
  
  

• The girls accent: Slang and northern may also indicate to the audience about her background. These accents are stereotypically joined with those who are poverty stricken so  the audience may assume that she comes from a similar class.

• The girls' age is connoted throughout the whole piece. At one point she says: "I'm not 5...I'm 13" which may connote her desire to grow up quickly. She also talks about her future and how when shes older she will be rich. famous and "drink Bacardi breezers". This highlights her youth as most children have unrealistic dreams. It is also therefore a binary opposition from realism and her dreams, but also from poverty and wealth.