The document provides an analysis of how teenagers are represented in The Amazing Spiderman and The Hunger Games. It analyzes the characters of Katniss Everdeen and Peter Parker. Katniss is portrayed as independent and caring for her family, while Peter Parker is depicted as a stereotypical bullied teenager. When Peter becomes Spiderman, his personality becomes more confident and inspiring. The document compares their personalities and concludes they both appeal to different audiences through their portrayals of stereotypes.
1. KelseyHipwellF8
How are Teenagers Represented in “The Amazing
Spiderman” & “ The Hunger Games”?
Katniss Everdeen:
In “The Hunger Games”at many points,Katnissisnotrepresentedasyourstereotypical teenage girl,
as the protagonist.She ispresentedasvery independentandmature;doingeverythingshe canby
herself andcaringforeveryone whenneeded,yetshe stillkeepsherowngroundwhenchallenged
by someone orsomethinginthe reaping. Asthe districtsare usuallysupposedtobe poor,Katniss
doesnotdresslike yourtypical teenage girl, ortypical protagonist, asshe doesn’tcare what she
wears,if she looksgood;as she isnot overlysexualizedtostandoutfrom everybodyelse. Yet,she
seemstostand outabove everybodyelse,asthe districtlives infearandworry;howevershe just
livesforeveryday.Ithinkthat inthe reaping;Katnissisnotverystereotypical atall,andveryunique
above everyone else.There isnomainpropin mostof “The Hunger Games”,exceptfromthe
mockingjaypin,which issomethingshe findsandgivestohersisterasgoodluck.This impliesthat
Katnissisa kind,lovingfigure tohersister;andthatshe cares for herfamilymore thanherself.Yet,
laterintothe filminthe arena,she is displayedasacapable and confidentcharacter;somethingthat
everybodywantstobe – to inspire people.Thisisshownwhenshe isstuckina tree againstfour
othertributes;andshe isable to use her confidence andindependence tobe able togetout of the
situationandcarry on withthe fight.ThisalsoaidsinshowingthatKatnissisnot a stereotypical
teenage girl,andiseverypersonalitypeoplewanttobe;due to her beingbrave,independentand
strongin whatshe does.
Peter Parker:
PeterParkerisrepresentedasastereotypical teenager,beingtauntedandbulliedbythese other
‘Jocks’of the highschool;as he isawkwardand a nerd.Thisreinforcesthe stereotype of teenagers
hangingaroundingroups,usuallywiththe same interestsaseachother.Inthisscene,PeterParkers
costume inverygenericandalsoverysimilartoeverybodyelseinthe scene.Thisispossiblydue to
the thingsthat happeninthe scene,astheypossiblywantedtomake the scene asstereotypicalas
possible,tofitinwiththe style of the highschool scene asa whole. The mainpropinthe whole ‘high
school scene’wasthe skateboardthatPeterParkerhason hispersonfor a sectionof the scene.
AfterPeterParkerhasfinishedtalkingtoagirl beside the lockeraboutphotographs,he rideshis
skateboarddownthe hall until he isstoppedbya teacherandhe getsoff it.Later, he holdshis
skateboardinthe air so the teacherknowshe isnot ridingit,butuntil he turnsthe cornerto another
hall,he getson hisskateboardandridesitdownanotherhall.Thisskateboardisa keypropin whole
the scene,as ithelpsshowPeterParker’s‘rebelliousteenager’side.Thisalsohelpsreinforce the
stereotypical teenager’sattitudeandactionsineverydaylife. PeterParkerappealstoa male teenage
audience,asmanymale teenagersactlike this;makingPeterParkeravariationof the stereotype.
2. KelseyHipwellF8
Peter Parker (Spiderman):
WhenPeterParkerisin character as Spiderman,hispersonalitychangesalotcomparedtowhenhe
ishis nerdyself.Whenhe is‘Spiderman’,hispersonalityisalot wittier;whichis shownwhenhe is
fightingas he constantlymakes“one liner” andpunswhilstfightingthe Lizard.The fightingscenein
school,showsthe difference betweenPeterParkerandSpiderman,aswhenhe isaunique person
whodoesn’tfitinwiththe crowd,and has an outstandingpersonalityanda personalitythatshines
throughoutthe scene,suchas: whenhe turnsintoSpiderman,itisalmostlike he gainspowerswhen
he is dressedashim/ he doesn’thave powerswhen he isn’tincostume.Itisalmostlike he hasmore
confidence whenpeople cannotsee hisface;like the costume makeshimintoadifferentperson.
AnotherpointisthatSpidermanseemstohave PeterParker’srebelliousside,ashe still seemsto
keepthataspectof hisattitude;asa superheroandnot,whichcouldalsogive connotationsof Peter
Parkerwantingto be a more rebelliouspersonwhenoutof costume.Also,Spiderman’spersonality
issupposedtobe inspiringtopeople,asalot of people wishtheywere more confidentintheirlives;
whichisshownby PeterParkerbeingbullied,andthenSpidermanfightingagiantLizard,twotimes
the size of him.Thisis alsoa big change on the stereotype of PeterParker,ashe is nothinglike what
the mediastereotypes.
Comparison:
There isnot too muchdifferentbetweenthe twocharacters,exceptfromthe factthat whenbothof
the characters are themselves,theyare quite alotdifferent.However,agoodcomparisonistheir
personalities;SpidermanandKatniss are a lotalike,astheybothhave veryindependentastheydo
not needcompanyoranybodyelse tohelpthemgetthroughtheirtroublesinbattle.Anotherpoint
isthat theyare bothconfident inthemselves,theybothdonotdependonanybodyelse except from
themselvesandneitherof them caresabouttheirappearance toothers.However,PeterParkerand
Katnissare a lotdifferent,asIwrote earlier;Spiderman iswhatPeterParkerwantstobe,soit is
almostlike Peteristhe opposite of Katniss,except fromtheyare bothnotgreat withotherpeople.
But, to conclude,there are alot similarwiththe twocharacters,yet,a lotdifferenttoo. Yet,there
similaritiesalso are whatsplitthemapart,astheyboth appeal todifferentaudiences;astheyare a
spinof the stereotype towardsteenagers,sotheywill bothappealwhatmale teenagerswanttobe,
whereasHungerGamesappealstowhatfemaleswanttobe. Also,althoughtheyare different
situations,theybothseemveryselfless;somethingthatmostpeople wanttobe.
3. KelseyHipwellF8
Film Analysis
The Amazing Spiderman:
In the school PeterParkerscene,arange of camera anglesare usedto give betteranglesonthe
situationwithinthe scene. One editingtechnique thatisusedis Continuityediting,thisisused
towardsthe start of the scene to try andmake you jump;as whenPeterisputtingaposterup on a
bulletinboard,he getshitwithabasketball –whichisusedto try and catch youoff guard and bring
youcloserto the scene.A lot of mediumshotsare used throughoutthe scene tohelpyoutake in the
surroundings,yetalsobe involvedinthisscene.Alongwiththis,shotreverse shotsare usedtoo,to
make conversationsbetween charactersmore fluid.However,alongshotis usedwhenPeteris
walkingdownthe hallway,tohelpthe audience take inthe situationandatmosphere insidethe
school.Notlongafter,Peterstartsto talkto a girl;forthisconversation,overthe shouldershotsare
usedto keepthe conversationfluid,alongwith Continuityediting,tomake sure thatthe scene keeps
a constant interestof the audience. Whenafightisgoingon outside of the school,alotof cuts are
made to keepthe actionof the fightgoing,alongwithshotssuchas the ‘eagle view’shot,togive
differentanglesof the fightandalsodifferentperspectivesof itto addmore depthto scene;once
again,to keepthe audience entertainedandfocused.
The Hunger Games:
In the reaping scene, Katniss is shown with many different angles and perspectives. A lot of
different distance shots are used, such as a long shot, to show the amount of people at the
reaping, and it also shows the ages of the people within the reaping. There is not a lot of
continuity editing within this scene, as the editing is put together so that there are more
silences, to give a more serious approach to the scene; whilst there are brightly coloured
‘clown’ looking leaders picking people for the reaping. Another point is the contrast in
colours in the scene, as Effie is brighter than everybody else in the scene, yet the district
civilians are dull and dark; showing their lack of importance. However, there are many close
ups that are used, which the director could have used to show the deep emotion in the
scene; to keep the audience gripped for the rest of the movie, and to keep a connection
between the audience and the characters – Katniss in particular.