Mock Exam: Monarch of the Glen

Monarch of the glen is a show which successfully shows binary opposites in accordance to Levi Strausss theory. In the case of this clip the opposite is age with Amy and the head teacher. Amy is the side of youth and is shown to be very emotional, nave and immature compared with the older character of the mature, well spoken, strong headmaster. This all makes for a very interesting and entertaining conflict. Amy is shot in a very similar way throughout the clip mainly using mid-shots. As I have mentioned in my introduction she is shown as a stereotypical teenage girl with personality traits such as her immaturity, her being nave and over emotional self. Many different conventions are used to portrait this personality type. First convention you notice on first seeing Amy is her costuming She is dressed very casually in a bright t-shirt, the casual style of clothing tells me she is very layed back, the baggy jeans she is wearing tells the audience she is quite tom boyish and the bright t-shirt tells us she has a girly side. Her body language throughout the clip speaks volumes for her personality. Amy slouches when she walks, this tells me she is very easy going and doesnt take life too seriously, and this is a sign of her immaturity. Another use in body language and also positioning occurs when we are first introduced to our binary opposite in the head teacher. The introduction is very conflicting and Amy shows the child in her as when she is threatened she hides behind the alpha male figure and cuddles up into the mother figure. Amys emotional self comes out in her dialogue throughout the clip. A key example of this is when Amy is caught in a confrontation with the alpha male/father figure. The argument resembles those of parent and child and Amy takes up the child role during the argument perfectly with her use of dialogue using exaggerated emotive language and phrases such as I hate you! and he doesnt care he never has any time for me. The perfect word to pick out of these quotes is hate; this shows this shear passion in her emotions as to be able to use such a powerful emotive word against a loved one. Another convention used effectively to show this emotional state of Amy is setting. The main use of setting in regards to Amy is how she is placed in her bedroom which is a room of security to a person which tells me she is quite insecure. The design of the room in particular in the use of props conveys Amy's emotions. First prop is the hearts drawn on the cards of peoples names this tells the audience she holds these people close to her heart. The second prop use is the teddy bears in the room; these tell me that Amy is quite a soft person under a hard exterior. The Binary opposite for Amy as you know is the head teacher as a mature, strong and aggressive older man compared to her little girl type personality. As soon as youre introduced to the head you get feel for the obvious differences as they begin with a confrontation between him and Amy in which at first the head explodes aggression in Amys direction and Amy decides to flight not fight and have others step in for her. The heads maturity and sophistication is shown perfectly in the use of setting. The head is lead into a grand study with oak vanished walls and furniture perfectly matching his bold, classy personality. Another use of setting is the prop of whisky which the head asks for. This is a very formal sophisticated and more importantly a drink which gets better with age.

Costuming of the head is a very cleverly used convention as it catches this class and sophistication. He is put in a formal suit and waistcoat which also shows his personality to be stern and bold very opposite to Amys which is very weak. His dialogue goes along with this boldness of his costume as he uses very proper English with a rugged tone. Overall the head is shown as a stereotypical old fashioned head master with old fashioned views. To conclude the clip in monarch of the glen shows binary opposites using Mise-en Scene and camera shots to show youth and maturity effectively.