MONARCH OF THE GLEN

Age is something that a lot of people discriminate against and they discriminate at both ends of the cycle- e.g. employers wont take teenagers too seriously and many people think some elderly people are unable to do everyday things, when in fact they can people are judging you by what age you are. This is perfectly presented in the television show, Monarch of the Glen. The clip we are shown starts off, set in Scotland, on what looks like a farm. It is also obvious that some heavy construction is taking place as shown by a group of people lugging around great loads of wood, materials and equipment around. We see this through a wide angle shot of older men carrying these bits of wood, doing plumbing and other complicated jobs. Note: Not many women are shown in this scene. In contrast to these heavy manual jobs going on, the scene cuts to a young boy, who looks around 19/20, who is simply just doing a bit of gardening and unloading small items from a truck. This says to me that the older generations dont believe that a younger person is able to do the things they can; they do not have the strength, intelligence or ability, which is unfair and stereotypical. The scene also involves a middle aged named Paul who is the Monarch. And it really is like back in the 1930s when the men just had orders barked at them and they obeyed. Paul is obviously the at the top of this small hierarchy, and the workers, though some are older and may have more experiences, are just given orders and seem to comply instantly. This do as youre told business seems to not just work for the younger generations its almost like Paul is treating the older generations as children too. From this very short clips, I get the impression that if you dont do what Paul says, you will be disciplines, no matter what age you are. The camera then cuts to the protagonist a young girl called Amy, who also looks to be the same age as the young boy. The Monarch, barking out orders, then turns to Amy and the following dialogue is spoken: Paul: Amy, you can drive first time cant you? Amy: Yes, passed first time. Paul: (curtly) Good. Then you can pick up something for me in town. Clearly, Paul is not a man of praise. The camera then shows a long shot image of Amy, looking down at the keys in her hand, like shes never seen them before. This forebodes that something bad is going to happen. Her body is sort of rigid and she is biting her lips with a little frown on her face. These facial expressions and body language say to me that Amy has never driven before and that she has lied to Monarch. Like everyone else, she obeys him, but its also a way to cover up her little secret. Once in the 4x4, we get a close up shot of Amy with utter confusion and bewilderment on her face, trying to figure out the controls. This further supports the fact she is lying. This whole lying thing is a typical teenager trait- she is being portrayed as mischievous, and like someone whos trying to grow up too fast. Seeing the young boy stare at her, she finally figures out the controls and pulls away. Unfortunately Amy crashes- just like stereotypically young people do. She also unfortunately crashes into her headteacher. The headteacher, Edwards Greene, is displayed as an older gentleman, who dresses in obviously not modernised clothes. He comes across as a very traditional, formal character, the way he dresses and speaks, and clearly he does not like Amy, as shown when the Monarch says We will of course pay for the damage, and Edward answers with a gruff I should hope so. He also says crossly when he first gets out of the car and realises who the driver is Amy McDonald, I shouldve known. He

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seems to look down upon her, she is impertinent and a minor in his eyes, and I think her age contributes greatly to this opinion. Evidently, the young boy didnt know about Amys age after he checks shes okay and the headteacher announces her true age. The young boys face is full of horror as he exclaims to Amy: 16? Youre still at school?! Hes obviously been lied to, but the saddening face of Amy and her pleading eyes make us think theres more to it, and makes the audience feel sorry for her. The biggest representation of age difference and discrimination is the big argument at the end of the clip, when Paul discovers that Amy hasnt even sat her exams. When we hear this, we begin to wonder, is Amy as innocent as she seems? Is she being a difficult teenager? Or is there a backstory? Amy had done very well; shed managed to convince everyone she was older than she was, with the help of makeup and dressing right. Shed kept this facade up, but now however it was all spilling out, and as most people do, she tried to defend herself. When the Monarch stepped out of the office, his body was almost shaking with fury, and his face very set. Terrified, Amy got up and started to plead with him. At this point the clip showed a high angle shot, showing Pauls back, not even his head and the camera looks down on Amy as she speaks, insinuating that her words are lost, she is the minor, the submissive one in this conversation. Its almost like a juxtapostional transition here as the camera changes to a low angle shot, looking up at Paul, the back of Amys head just visible. Its like we are seeing Paul from Amys point of view, Paul is the one in charge, the head of the hierarchy, the dominant speaker in this conversation, she is inferior to him, and she is just being ruled over by the Monarch. The other character that I noticed was the landowner at the very end. Obviously he is older than the Monarch, and likes to keep things nice, traditional and the same stereotypically older people dont like change, and this is displayed when he asks the Monarch in an angry tone, What are you doing to my land? Stop, get off! The Monarch, obviously feeling powerful rudely says with a fake smile, How about we talk later yeah? and just walks off. The Monarch feels in control here and clearly is not following the rule respect your elders! Sophie Boston