Task 9 21 Jump Street

1. The first shot of the opening sequence is some students walking of a school bus.
We know this because the bus is a yellow bus (which is associated with schools)
with 16-19 teenagers walking off with backpacks on their backs. This sets the scene
of the opening sequence because we know that the main character is still at school
and this could start to explain the narrative to the audience from the first shot of the
film.
With the camera angle starting high above the students and
slowly getting lower suggest that the main character is on the bus
but the audience will have to wait until the camera is level and we
can see who the main character is.

2. When the camera angle gets to a level point with a character
in a white t-shirt and a backpack the audience know that he
is the main character. With the character standing in the
middle of the screen and the camera focused on him is
shows that he is the main character of the film
The clothes the
main character is
wearing is what a
stereotypical
teenager would
wear (t-shirt, jeans
and backpack) to
school. This is
representing his
social group
because he is
wearing an outfit
that is typically
worn by people of
his age group (16-
19)

3. The camera is
continuing to
follow the main
character which
suggests that
something is
building up for
the character.
In this shot the main character is trying to interact with other students at the school.
This shows that he wants to make friends and make his time at school better. This
social group can be very negative towards other and make them feel low and with no
self confidence. we as the audience feel sympathy and helpless for him because he
hasn’t done anything wrong and we cant’ do anything to help him

4. From this shot we can see that he has been ignored by other people who
he wants to interact with. This makes the audience feel more sympathetic
towards him because he is facing social issues at school but the source of
the problem isn’t him because he is trying to make the effort, it the other
students who are not accepting of him

5. Another character is introduced to the film. This character is in a different social group as the main
character because the female character is wearing a lot of makeup and doesn’t seem to comfortable
talking to him at school. She is considered as a ‘popular’ person at school who is very quick to make
judgements on other social groups because hers is considered to be the ‘best’. This shows the clashes of
the two different social groups and unfairness that students have towards each other
The use of an over the shoulder shot allows both characters to be in the shot. This lets the
audience acknowledge that both character are having a conversation. This shot also shows
the poster behind the female character saying ‘PROM’ suggests that the main character is
going to ask the female character to the school prom and the camera is looking at her so the
audience can see her reaction

6. Another new character is introduced to the film. This character looks like a well respected
person in the school because of the sports jacket that he is wearing, which shows that he is
sporty and a stereotype in schools is that sporty people are ‘popular’. He is also seen as an
influential character because his friend behind him is wearing the same sports jacket which
shows that he wants to be respected and ‘popular’ like his friend who is seen as a ‘ring
leader’

7. In this final shot we see the results of the social differences between the main character and the other
students at the school, This camera angle shows that other students are not worried about the main
character's emotional state but carry on with their normal school day, this is a prime example of the
differences in social groups in schools. This shot shows the unfairness surrounding the main character
at school and could be a sign that he could get help from outside of school.