How are teenagers represented in the film ‘Kidulthood’ Essay Example

as it's a big part of teenage life.

Music is the voice of the youth and adds to the theme of the film (teenagers). The music helps to bring home the message of the 'youth'.Music plays almost throughout the film, intensifying and giving emotion to the film, without the music I don't think the film would be as dramatic or as effective. In 'Kidulthood' adults are portrayed as out-of-touch and they don't seem to know what is going on with their children. Katie's parents didn't notice when she was getting bullied, despite obvious cuts and bruises and she was clearly very unhappy. For instance, Sam's girlfriends mum appeared uncaring when Sam and her daughter were alone together she just said, 'use a condom' to her 15 year old daughter.

The girls however do seem more close to their parents than the boys are, the girls say things like 'I love you' and the mums are always asking if they're okay and if they need to talk. The boys, on the other hand, seem to only say 'hi' and 'bye' to their parents, although Sam appears to care a lot about his mum's well being when Trife, Jay and Moony knock her over. Teachers in the film are shown as weak and a bit pathetic. They are portrayed as the typical 'socks and sandals' teachers who wear beige and seem quite afraid of all the teens and can't control them.Another main adult in the film is Trife's uncle. Trife's uncle is dodgy and tries to lead Trife astray and puts a lot of pressure on him.

This representation of adults makes them appear out of touch and

distant. This is a problem and many people objected to being told that they didn't know their teenagers as well as they thought. The film arouses many issues that people wouldn't expect teens to have to deal with. In my view, the film is giving a message to adults to look out for their teenagers and to be more aware of the signs to look for in troubled teens.Another issue dealt with in 'Kidulthood'is teenage pregnancy.

In the film, Alisa is pregnant with Trife's baby and at first tries to act maturely. She calls him and tells him, but he reacts very immaturely and sets her back. Alisa then irresponsibly decides she doesn't care about the safety of herself or her baby. She starts to drink and take drugs. Trife has a very careless attitude towards Alisa and their baby.

He shows it in the film after the phone call, just going back to play on his play station, almost without a second thought of the news of his un-born baby and ex-girlfriend.Neither of them knew what to do and both ended up reacting in a bad way. Promiscuity is also brought up in the film, through the character of Bekki. Bekki has indiscriminate sex with several people during the course of the film.

She uses her body to get what she wants including drugs, money and to feel a sense of power. She uses sex in a manipulative way to feel attractive and wanted. She has no sense of self-respect or self worth. The film gives the impression that that is what all teenagers do, which in many places is not the case.Its showing

teenagers with a careless attitude towards the safety of themselves and of others. In the film you see all of the characters growing and developing in just 48 hours.

They all become more mature, making more decisions about their lives. Trife and Alisa decide to sort out there lives and to keep their baby, Bekki realized selling her body for what she wanted got her nowhere without her friends being there for her. This is the only part of the film that doesn't fit in with the stereotypical teenage behavior. These are a few examples of teenagers appearing to act in a more adult way.There is a lot of violence in 'Kidulthood'.

They show the 'fun' side, the dangerous side and the consequences of being violent. They make it look comical by the music playing. Its fast beat and lyrics give the audience an adrenalin rush, as if its them causing mischief. When Trife, Moony and Jay beat up Sam, this is the effect it has. However, there was quite a lot of pointless street violence in the film that indicated the immature behavior from teens. The film also shows violence at its worst, when Sam beats up Trife with a bat at the end and kills him.

There's a crowd of people watching while Sam hits him, Trifes friends try to help, but are unsuccessful. Trife realizes that Sam is not worth fighting just before he dies. The violence in 'Kidulthood' does not give a good representation of teenagers because it portrayed it as the 'norm' and that teenagers find it fun. The film, I think, portrays stereotypical teenagers well, although the audience should remember

that not all teenagers behave as the teens in the film do. It shows how teenagers go through a lot in the time between coming out of childhood and going into adulthood.I think teenagers are not shown in a good light and it doesn't make them look mature or well behaved.

It may influence adults to think badly of teenagers and cause further stereotyping. I think although the film shows stereotypical teens, the audience should remember that is what its about and not teens in general as some of the scenes in 'Kidulthood' are very unlikely to occur in smaller schools in more rural areas. The events in the film were realistic although dramatic in the time setting- overall I think the representation of teenagers in the film plays up to the stereotype.