Representation of Age - Criminal Justice

Initial Thoughts:
The first thing I noticed was a young man / teenager entering manhood in a place filled with middle aged/ adult men, the boy also looked out of place, this represented that there was some hierarchy where age was concerned. The scene is set in a prison and the boy looks quite worried whereas the older people just seem to get along with it, this represents the older aged to be quite careless and easy going where as the boy is quite obviously concerned. The men older than the boy are also represented to be quite tough as they stand up against one another and one tries to push the younger boy around, almost seeing him as an easy target die to his age. The elderly are represented to be quite nosey as as soon as the boy walks into what looks like his shared cell, the old person is questioning what the man who previously talked to him wanted, showing an evident interest in other peoples live that aren't their own which can only be described as nosey. The elderly are also represented to be quite knowledgeable because when the boy is questioned what he is in for and answers, the old man continues saying what the other man had said, showing that it is a typical story and that due to his age he has heard it many a time before. This segment also represents the the boy and the old man to have a child and father relationship because the boy lies to the old man telling a story a friend has told him to say and the old man catches him out like a parent does. The old person is also represented to be friendly despite what he is 'in' for, this is shown in the way that he is giving the boy advice of what to do, this representation is very strong because the old man is in fact a criminal in addition to this. You can hear the men walking about as they have just woken up, the young man is still in bed, this is a representation of the young being lazy and lay about's, this representation is usually a stereotypical view about teenagers. The scene switches and the younger police officer asks the older police offer to check over his statement to see if he has done it right, this is like a child and teacher relationship, the younger person wants the adult to recognize and correct their efforts, this shows the representation of age hand in hand with superiority, the older person is higher up and in charge of the younger people.

Camera Shots: 
An extreme close up is used on the younger males face which highlights the emotion of worry on his face, this represents his age to be quite innocent. The fact that he is in prison and very unhappy about it does not make him seem like a hard, strong character and makes his seem as if he is too young and innocent to handle such a situation. This camera shot also highlights his features, showing that he has smooth young skin, rather than wrinkled which is a stereotypical representation of elderly. (0:23)

A medium close up shot is used of the old man, this shows his facial features which include wrinkles, baldness and slight breathlessness from the action of taking off his shoes. This represents the elderly to be quite weak, this is put in comparison to the young when the young male is shot being stood up with ease, whereas the old man is shot sitting down, taking off his shoes, clearly striving for comfort. (1:44)

An over the shoulder shot is put in use when the young male and old man are sat talking sitting down, the old mans is talking first which represents the hierarchy of age when speaking, but mainly it shows respect and that the old man is thought of first when filming rather than the young male. This over the shoulder shot also shows the young male listening, which again highlights the representation of respect and how it is more given to those of an older age. In contrast to this, earlier in the clip a middle aged man is shown harassing the young male which is a representation of no respect, the boy also just takes this harassment , showing the fear that is represented due to his young age and the tolerance due to the representation of respect given to those of an older age. (3:22)

There is a low angle shot from the boys shoulder which represents him looking up to the old man which again is the representation of the respect the youth have for the elderly. (3:50)

Editing:
The first thing I noticed in terms of editing was right at the beginning, there are eye line matches between the young male and the older man, in the end the young male looks away as if it is a stare down. This is representation of the power that older ages hold, making them also a thought to be more important figure. (0:01)

In other eye line matches the young male seems to be looking up the the older people which represents the youth to be aware that their elders are more important than them, this is also a representation of the respect the youth have for their elders again. (0:28)

Sound: 
At the start there is a backing track which can only be described as mysterious and creepy, this is a representation of the boys feelings and how he feels scared and out of place, this is a representation of his age as he feels out of place next to older people, also this adds up well because the whole scene only contains older people and he is sort of the odd one.

There is also diegetic sound of the prison and the bustle of the amount of people in the prison this represents those of an older age (which the prison is made up of) of being quite loud and confident because of their age. The boy is silent which contrasts against this as it represents the older people being superior to him and the young people to be quite scared and attempt to fit in which is another representation of younger people strive to fit into certain groups.

A synchronous sound is the dialogue within therefore their voices, the young boys is quite timid which represents young people to be quite shy and again their attempt to fit in and not make too much of a fuss, also his voice is higher in comparison to the older mens which shows that he is young. The older mens voices are booming, loud and low which represents their age to be older and represents them to be confident, loud, bustling people.

Mise-en-scene: 
In the clip you can see there is a shot of the prison with barb wired around it which is a stereotypical thing for a prison. However the clip surrounds around the young boy and the barbed wire represents protection and therefore the protection that the boy could need because of his age and he is seen as a man but in fact a child due to his age against everyone else.

Also the man is taller than him when the man is blowing in his face, this represents the older you are the more superior you are and the higher up you are, which is represented literally within the height factor. The young man is smaller which represents him to be under the older peoples command. The older person is also in his face which represents the superiority and shows that he can take advantage of him. Also the people are also all dressed in the same, this is because it is in prison, however this is contradictory as it shows that everyone is equal when inside however everyone is not as the age makes them differ to who can take advantage of who. The only people not in the same uniform is the police (obviously) and the older person who is in a 'listener' t shirt, this is a representation to the audience that the older person is more important and more respectable due to his age.

Overall, age is mostly represented in the idea that the older the person is the more superior and the more respected the person is.