Quadrophenia essay

Quadrophenia Essay

Youth culture is a group of adolescents grouped by their cultural practises, interests and lifestyle choices. Youth cultures are often marginalised and isolated from society. The term Teenager was introduced by American marketers in and advertisers in the 1940's. The 1979 rock opera film Quadrophenia features two different example of youth culture; the Mods and the rockers, one more so than the other. During this essay I will be exploring how said media text represents both social groups and youth culture as a whole

The film Quadrophenia follows the story of London Mod Jimmy Cooper as he copes with life as a teenager dealing with belonging to the youth culture, the Mods and also dealing with everyday life such as his family and his work. The title of the film itself is a reference to Jimmy's 4 personalities that he inhibits during the film, the tough guy, the romantic, "the lunatic" and the beggar. Already from such a reference youth cultures and youth are being depicted as unsure of themselves in terms of who they are or who they want to be; it's connoting that being a teenager is quite a confusing experience. The title is also a reference to the term quadraphonic sound a recent invention at the time of the original album Quadrophenia's release which also is the source material for the film.

The image above is the DVD cover to the DVD release of the film, on the cover one notices the protagonist a set against his Mod friends highlighted in black whilst his friends are highlighted in the traditional Mod colours; red, blue and white.  This connotes how Jimmy is not quite a Mod he doesn't quite fit in with his group, however in terms of representations of youth culture this may show youth cultures as being more like families as evidenced by the composition of Jimmy's Mod friends and the colours they are highlighted in. They all seem close together, literally in terms of how they are composed together and how some of them blend into one another as if they are one large silhouette. This illustrates how the Mods and youth cultures groups made up of individuals but rather one large unit. However with Jimmy being a Mod himself and being on the outside of this blue silhouette, one could argue that this may represent youth cultures Not so much as a gang or army the media sometimes portrays but rather shows how there can also be conflict within these youth cultures; one could say that the idea that Mod's only are against those who are outside the Mod culture is disputed here in this image. 

When looking at the Tagline of the DVD cover " A way of life" this reinforces the idea that youth cultures are more than just a bunch of teens but rather culture similar to being British or even to the extent of belonging to a religion. One can gather that this tagline explains how being part of a youth culture affects your daily life and practises; what you wear, what music you listen to, your daily activities and hobbies etc. In particular the Mod lifestyle and ideals are represented on this cover as well for instance the Mods fascination with the RAF evidenced by the large RAF aviator jacket worn by Jimmy on the front cover as well as many of the Mods throughout the film and also the use of the RAF roundel graphic in place of the "q" in quadrophenia. The RAF roundel became the symbol synonymous with the Mods during the 60's. In addition when looking at the costume of the Mod characters featured on the cover one notices how the Mod fashion sense and ideals are reflected by such imagery; the Mods seen here all wear high class clothing such as tailored suits, trilby harts and dresses thus conveying the Mod culture with a sense of fashion. Also notice how each of the most of the Mods posture with the exception of "Ace face" is quite relaxed, all leaning on one another. This represents the Mods as quite laidback and in some way conveys there free spirit, not only this but the fact that most of them are learning on each other can represent how this culture and youth culture as a whole are dependent on theses who are within these group often given reinforcement with each other and helping each other out in direct and indirect ways such as either moving and spending time together as a group or giving the feeling to someone of belonging to something.

When looking at "Ace face's" posture its quite antagonistic as he cups his fist in his hand and stands upright. This may also represent how the Mods are "violent" or were considered "violent" by those around them. Finally, whilst looking at the quote by Pete Townshend "We've all been there", such direct address and personal pronoun represents how youth culture is something common in our lives, we all eventually go through what the character Jimmy feels in the film and just want to belong to something.

The soundtrack to the film was written by the Who and produced before the film's release in 1979 as part of a rock opera for with the same title. Each of the 4 personalities previously mentioned that Jimmy exhibits describe each of the 4 members of The Who. Also just like the film each tracks tells a narrative and when the film was released in 1979 two more tracks were added to further explore the storyline. The film is considered as a complete visual representation of Townshend's vision of Jimmy and his surroundings. The whole score is an endorsement of The Who and its band members reflecting each of their personalities.

 
When a man is running from his boss
Who hold a gun that fires "cost"
And people die from being cold
Or left alone because they're old
And bombs are dropped on fighting cats
And children's dreams are run with rats
If you complain you disappear
Just like the lesbians and queers
No one can love without the grace
Of some unseen and distant face
And you get beaten up by blacks
Who though they worked still got the sack
And when your soul tells you to hide
Your very right to die denied
And in the battle on the streets
You fight computers and receipts
And when a man is trying to change
But only causes further pain
You realize that all along
Something in us going wrong

You stop dancing.

When looking at the lyrics to Helpless Dancer which is considered to reflect Band member Roger Daltery from reading the lyrics one notices the underlying meaning of the track social prejudices, social difference and the power certain people and certain groups have within society. This may endorse The Who as a group with a social consciousness not only this but one could also argue that this song also reflects the feeling of being marginalised by society not only by falling into certain social groups such as being homosexual or of different race but also reflects how Jimmy and certain youth cultures feel when they are marginalised from society.

When looking at scenes within the film for representations of youth culture whilst looking at the introduction of the film one notices how the film opens with an extreme long shot of a silhouette of Jimmy walking away from a horizon. Such a shot conveys a sense of isolation and loneliness towards the character Jimmy. As a result of one could consider that such a shot represents youth within youth cultures as lonely even though they belong to such groups; it may show how often people within those groups feel marginalised from society and people as a whole that they need to form these groups to feel whole and when they are away from these groups they are brought back to the feeling of isolation. 

During the shot we hear a number non diagetic voices played faintly throughout with words such as bell boy repeated. This could be interpreted as Jimmy's internal monologue or voices being played in head repeatedly and thus may represent Jimmy and youth's within youth cultures as lost and confused evidenced by the range of voices or thoughts being played in his head. It appears that this shows how youths in youth cultures don't exactly know what they want or what they want to feel rather it's just easier to join a group and have said dictate who you are rather than exploring that for yourself.

Next we get a match cut from a shot of the sun to the light of Jimmy's scooter. Notice how the cut is a flash connoting a flashback to the past. When the shot cuts we suddenly hear the rock song "Real Me" by The Who. During the song one particular lyric which poses some interest is the line "I went back to the doctor To get another shrink. I have to tell him about my weekend, But he never betrays what he thinks. Can you see the real me doctor?".  Such a line illustrates how youth within youth cultures as mentioned previously may feel confused about who they are may also cry out for help as evidenced by the particular line "Can you see the real me doctor?" It's also most as if such a line is trying to explain how youth turn to and cry out to those older to them or people they feel are smarter and more experiences such as idols to determine who they are. This can be evidenced the fact that the role the lyric is crying out to tends to be a position people aspire to be, similar to how youth cultures have idols which influence their style and who they are such as the Teddy boys and American movie stars. Furthermore, the line "I have to tell him about my weekend" is a reference the bank holiday weekend in Brighton in which the Mods fought the rockers and foreshadows the conflict Jimmy will get involved with later on in the film. Such a reference to those who understand its meaning would represent youth cultures in this context as violent linking them back to the riots that involved such groups in the 60's.

When looking at the shot in particular the shot is a long shot of Jimmy riding his scooter at night by himself. This with the rock music playing in the background illustrates Jimmy at this moment as a character with confidence empowered by his inclusion with the Mods and the Mod lifestyle. This conveys the idea of how belonging to something like a youth culture can empower someone and give them confidence. This is further evidenced by the fact that Jimmy is riding alone at night; belonging to the Mods gives him a sense of independence. Additionally since Jimmy is riding at night alone this conveys how free spirited him and youth cultures can be, enjoying the nightlife without the need of parents or any older figures in their lives.
When thinking about the composition of the shot notice how Jimmy is the only person on the road with the cars all in the background. This may emphasis the feeling one receives from being part of a youth culture or group; the feeling of power in the sense that the world belongs to you; you are at the centre of it all. This illustrates the idea that those who are within youth cultures may achieve a feeling of acceptance but also a feeling of empowerment in the sense of feeling that the "world is your oyster".

Furthermore what's quite significant about Jimmy riding a scooter other than the fact that it was part of the Mod lifestyle are the connotations riding such a vehicle conveys.  Jimmy's scooter bears connotations of youth and a free spirit one could suggest bearing some reference to the idea of bikers and how they are free from conformity and from responsibility however this would suit the Rockers more. This may show carefree youth cultures can be and how they lack any feeling of responsibility and live to enjoy life.

During this sequence whilst the music is playing we also hear Jimmy call out to someone, possibly saying "Charlie hey" which further illustrates Jimmy's confidence which is derived from belonging to a youth culture. This also in turn further emphases the representation of those within youth cultures being "men about town"; out looking for fun and enjoying themselves with no worries.

Next it the extract cuts to a close up of Jimmy's face with a confident facial expression once again conveying the idea that belonging to a youth culture may give individuals a sense of empowerment. Furthermore, during this shot we hear the line "can you see the real me" such a shot used with said line may connote that this Mod Jimmy, the one we are seeing now is the real Jimmy, a Jimmy that is only in existence because of his involvement with the Mod or this could be the idea that the character himself would like to believe. This could represent youth cultures as a vehicle to express ones inner or the person who they want to be or think they want to be however one could opt for a more cynical argue and claim that this represent those who belong to youth culture as sort of deluded believing that belonging to a groups allows for the "real you" to come out yet those who tend to belong to such group conform in terms of fashion and lifestyle to belong to a group and thus individuality is lost.

As the extract continues we hear during the song of the sequence "I went back to my mother I said, "I'm crazy ma, help me." She said, "I know how it feels son, 'Cos it runs in the family."  The significance of this line shows the normality of youth culture in our world. It shows how everyone experiences the feeling of being different, feeling weird or "crazy" and then finding something to belong to almost fill in such a void. This can be evidenced by the fact that the line mentions "I know how it feels" thus indicating how the mother or older person has experienced a similar feeling and the use of the word family which can be interpreted in two ways.  One way meaning that everyone in Jimmy's family has experienced this feeling and has sought out comfort by belonging to something or possibly the word family could actually represent the youth culture Jimmy actually belongs to and the term Ma could be someone of higher status within the group who also leads and takes care of the group.  This could mean that the lyric could also represent the idea that those with youth culture groups are lost and confused evidenced by the term "crazy" and how it "runs in the family".

Around 1:56 of the extract we are introduced to the rockers via a long shot of the rockers on their bikes. In the shot one notices the use of low key lighting and thus we as an audience connote quite see said rockers faces all we can see are their headlights. This as a result conveys the youth group the rockers as very intimidating and in some way threatening as we cannot see them since they are concealed by complete darkness. Furthermore, when considering the composition of the shot the bikes the Rockers are riding are placed so close together that it becomes hard to differentiate each individual person. This show represents youth cultures as more of one unit; since we cannot see the rockers it's as if there humanity is taken away in the sense they are more like small pieces which make up a giant machine or gang. This shot also conveys how intimidating youth cultures can be by depicting the Rockers in this shot as a sort of miniature army, with each bike lined up perfectly with each other and driving around in unison.

This representation of youth cultures being threatening as during a tracking shot around 2:06 we see the group of Rockers ride behind Jimmy. From the previous shot of the rockers we as an audience start to feel for his safety as rather than call out to Jimmy this group creeps up on him without him thus causing a sense of suspense. Moreover during this sequence we still cannot see the rockers identity and the sort of small army effect as mentioned previously is still retained. Those who are familiar with the conflicts between the Mods and Rocker would expect some sort of violent confrontation between Jimmy and Rockers at this moment, therefore for those who understand this. This section of the extract may represent the rockers as a potential danger and also as a result represents youth culture as sort of violent gangs by almost foreboding some sort of conflict via the use of camera composition to allow audiences to see this miniature army or gang creep up on the protagonist.

Then at 2:08 during our extract we see a shot of Jimmy finally realising that there are a group of rockers behind him. Notice how Jimmy's once confident facial expression has been replaced with one of concern. From this we gain an understanding of the threat the Rockers may pose for the protagonist as they have manage to take him out of his comfort zone. This further emphasises the idea of the Rockers as violent gang or possible something very intimidating and thus represents youth culture in some way as something to be feared.

Whilst looking at the costume of both youth groups, Jimmy's costume contrasts very differently with that of the Rockers. As seen in the extract one notices how Jimmy is wearing more smart clothing such as a suit and tie with a large coat onto whereas from what we can see it appears the Rockers are wearing very biker-esc clothing, by wearing black leather jackets, motorcycle helmets and clothing with feathers attached to it. If it wasn't for the fact that audiences know that Jimmy belongs to the youth culture, in fact Jimmy looks more like a young man who has a professional job on a night out. One wouldn't assume that Jimmy belongs to a typical "gang" therefore this may show that youth culture have some sort of diversity to them; that it would be wrong to assume that all youth cultures look like a stereotypical gang or bear the connotations of a typical gang. On the other hand, the Rockers costume bears more connotations of a more "thug" like look wearing fashion styles which excludes them from the rest of society in contrast to Jimmy's style which can be commonly found in everyday life.

When then see a mid shot of Jimmy shouting at the Rockers "f*ck off", clearly illustration how Jimmy has lost his calm yet confident mood from the arrival of the rockers thus conveying to audiences how antagonistic the rockers are. Not only has this but we also see a representation of youth culture conflict between two different groups; from such a shot we get to see how two different youth cultures antagonise each other verbally and also gives us an idea of the relationship between the two cultures.

Eventually the Rockers leave Jimmy and his once confident mood is reinstated and then we soon see an establishing shot of Jimmy at the club car park. One notices how the car park is full of Mod scooters thus conveying the idea that the Mod lifestyle is carefree and all about fun. Such a shot suggests that the Mods and youth culture can be about having a good time with people around you.

In conclusion the Youth culture has been represented in these two extracts in a number of ways such as conveying the idea as a community or miniature army, a culture, as something violent or perhaps as something that is common in our lives. Theses extracts also convey people within youth cultures as sort of confused about themselves or who they are and possibly represent the reason why people join these groups; to fill in such a void.