Monarch of the Glen - Representation of Age

The Monarch of the Glen shows the stereotypes of youth, adults and elderly. The youth are represented as rebellious and irresponsible. The adults are represented as responsible and strong and the elderly is represented as traditional and wise.

In the first scene of the clip is a medium long shot showing a group of adults walking with heavy tools. There are only adults within this clip because they are the responsible ones which can handle heavy tools and can be responsible with them. This reinforces the stereotype of adults being in control and responsible. It also reinforces the stereotype of elderly being weak and incapable of manual work and also youth being irresponsible so cannot be trusted with heavy manual tools. There is also slow, country music playing. This music represents calmness the adults feel as they are not stressed about work, therefore how they are strong and responsible and can handle work.

The next shot is a medium long shot of the young girl walking out the house towards the young boy. The younger boy is sweeping, showing although he is working it is not a strong manual job and many people can do it. This challenges the stereotype of reckless and irresponsible as he is doing work which he has likely been told to do and is behaving well. He also agrees to do more work which again shows responsibility and good behaviour. As the young girl walks out, due to the medium long shot showing her whole body shows how she and the younger boy are in casual clothes and do not look to make much of an effort with appearance and therefore reinforce a stereotype of youth as lazy. When the young girl is also asked to do something, she also agrees but it is clear that she in incapable to drive and therefore being reckless and irresponsible. The stereotype of strong and responsible adult is also show when the adult man is putting tools away. We can hear that they are heavy and show be handled with care and responsibility, which is what he is doing. 

There is then a shot of the young girl sitting in the car thinking of what to do to start it up. The medium-close up shows confusion in her face which reinforces the stereotype of irresponsible. She is also whispering as she is thinking of how the drive. The quietness in her voice shows she does not want to be heard because she is unaware of how to drive which again represents recklessness and irresponsibility. The other young boy looks at her as he drives off showing concern for her, therefore challenging the stereotype of recklessness and irresponsibility. He and the adults then hear a non-diegetic sound of a car crash, just after she left, implying she is involved. 

After hearing this sound, the shot then goes to a long shot of the cars to show what happened. The fast pace of the start of these shots represent the young girl's irresponsibility. The young boy and adult man and woman then run to her; they are strong and should be there to protect her because she is their responsibility. The medium close up shows how they surround her because she is weak in comparison to them and they are there to protect her. The elder man is dressed in a suit, reinforcing the stereotype of traditional, because he wants to look well kept and smart. His raised voice also gives the impression that he has a high authority over the young girl. 

When the adult man and elder man are in the elder man's office the stereotype of wise and traditional are shown through the location. The room in which they are in show how the elder man has done well for himself, representing how he is wise. It also is an old fashioned with wooden walls, candle sticks etc. which reinforces the stereotype of traditional. The elder man also has a well spoken accent and is drinking brandy. Both of these features show how he is old and traditional, again reinforcing the stereotype. 

As the adult man storms out of the room (his pace showing anger and strength), he forcefully takes the young girl by the arm. This shows his authority over her, and that he is responsible for her and her stereotypical recklessness has caused. The shots also show a low angle when focusing on the adult man, again showing his authority over her. When the young girl exits the room she shouts 'I hate you'. Her shouting this reinforces the stereotype of rebellious and threatening as she is being hateful towards the adults.

The next scene is a lot like the first scene. The positive music, high key lighting and shot of a rainbow show positivity from the adults because they are in control and strong, even in tough and hard work situations. The use of heavy tools represents again the strength which adults have, which cannot be seen in youth and elders.

The scene of the young girl in her room represents her youth and how again she is acting reckless and irresponsible by running away. As the elder woman walks into her room she can see that the young girl is gone and therefore, because she is weak, she runs for help. She runs to the adult man because he is the character which has most authority and power.

The clip, Monarch of the Glen reinforces stereotypes for the youth, adults and elderly. The stereotype of reckless and irresponsible youth can be seen is reinforced throughout the whole clip, the stereotype of powerful, in charge adult is reinforced throughout the clip and the two stereotypes of wise and traditional and also weak elderly has been reinforced throughout.