Monarch Of The Glen - Analysis of Representation of Age

 To watch the clip, you can follow the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs9vN5kvAmw

          In the scene when the headteacher is speaking to the man in charge in the office, cinematography is used to represent both characters in different ways. When looking at the man from the headteacher's point of view, there is a significant use of over-the-shoulder shots, which help to emphasise the fact that the audience is looking at the man from the viewpoint of the headteacher. This type of shot also gives the audience the impression that they may be listening in on their conversation, which in turn creates a certain amount of tension and suspense with what may be about to happen. The angle at which the over-the-shoulder shot is taken from creates a view which gives the man a sense of dominance within the scene, that makes him fit in quite well and more comfortably into the environment.
          This is in contrast to when the camera is showing the headteacher, who is an older character. This is because the camera does not use an over-the-shoulder shot, but a wide-angle shot. This makes the character look quite small in terms of the shot, as there is a lot of empty space around him. The fact that the shot makes the character look quite isolated, gives the connotations (Barte's theory) that he may be an outsider to the environment in which he is in.
    
          The mise-en-scene is also used to represent age within this scene. For example, the way in which both characters are dressed suggests the kind of background that they may come from and are used as signifiers (Saussure's theory) for the kind of status and job that each of them may have. The man is wearing a shirt, coat, trousers and Wellington boots. This gives the audience the implication that he is middle-aged and capable of hard manual work. Whereas, the headteacher is wearing a suit, which implies that he is smart, professional and respected. The way in which he is dressed shows that he may be quite old fashioned and traditional, but also quite authoritative. This therefore makes it quite difficult to determine which one of the characters is the dominant subject within the scene.