In the first episode of Skins, Tony's character and sexuality are represented through camera work, editing, sound, and costumes. The extract begins with an extreme close-up of Tony's eyes, then zooms out to show his neat bedroom, suggesting he did not sleep and subverting stereotypes of teenage boys. Sounds of church bells indicate it is Sunday morning. Later, sheets on his bed with naked figures show he is comfortable with his sexuality. His sister is shown sneaking in late at night, representing her wild side. Costumes and a scene with his neighbor further demonstrate Tony is interested in women and embraces stereotypes of teenage boys. Throughout, techniques are used to provide insights into the characters and their personalities.

1. Emily Saunders Miss Grant
Examine how sexualityis representedin‘Skins’season1, episode 1,through the discussionof
camera angles, editing,soundand mise-en-scene
In season1, episode 1of ‘Skins’sexualityisrepresentedinseveral differentways.Inthe firstsection
of the extract,we are introducedtoTony.The extractbeginswithanextreme close-upshotof
Tony’seyes,wide open,before the cameraslowlybeginstozoomout.Asthisis happening,the use
of diegeticsoundenablesustohear the church bellsringingin the background. The use of diegetic
soundof church bellswithinthisscene representstothe audience thatitisa Sundaymorning,asin
Britain,the soundof church bellsoftenmeanschurchformostpeople ona Sundaymorning.Asthis
isthe onlysoundinthe background,itis clearTonyis aware of it,and resemblestothe audience the
time of day itis, andmakesthe audience questionwhyhe isawake soearlyon a Sundaymorning.
Stereotypically,teenage boysare representedasbeinglazyanduseless,andare knownforgoingto
bedlate at night,and wakinguplate.Therefore,withinthisscene Tonyispresentedas beingthe
opposite of astereotypical teenagerashe isawake early. However,this assumptionissoonchanged
whenthe camerazooms outand showshisbedsheetsandbedroomperfectlyneatandtidy,which
givesthe audience the impressionthathe hasn’tbeenasleepall nightand makesthemquestion
whathe has beendoingorwhere he hasbeen.Fromthisscene,the audience canassume thatTony
isn’ta stereotypical heterosexual teenageboyashisroom isneatand tidy.Stereotypically,teenage
boysare representedtohave messyroomsandare notneat andtidyat all.Therefore,Tonyis
fightingagainstthe stereotypical visionthatwe assume ina youngteenage boy.We couldassume
the opposite of himfromthe firstimpressionsthatwe have gained.However, againthisis
immediatelybacktrackedwhenthe camerazoomsout,andwe get a glimpse of Tony’sbedsheets,of
a male and female naked.Thisimmediatelygivesthe audience the impressionthatthatTonyis a
heterosexual teenage boywhoappearstobe comfortable withhissexualityfromthe connotations
attachedto hisbedsheets.Here thishelpstorepresent,andaverage teenageboywhoasthey
typicallygetupto mischievousthingswhentheirparentsaren’taware.Fromthisscene,we can
easilysee thatTonyiscomfortable withhissexualityandisconfidentwithwhohe is.The naked
male and female peopleonhisbedsheetsmake thisveryclearimmediatelytothe audience thathis
character isstraightand Tony isveryclearwhat hissexualityis. Throughthese firstfew minutes,the
audience have alreadygainedinformationaboutthe type of teenagerthatTonyis andgivesthe
audience anideaof the sort of character he isstraightaway.
In the nextpart of the extract,the use of diegeticsoundisusedtorepresentthe soundof Tony’s
alarm goingoff. The alarmis usedas an actioncode as it leadshimtoabruptlygetout of bedand
move onto his morningroutine.Thisagainraisesthoughtstothe audience astowhyhe has setan
alarm ona Sunday,andwhyhe was previouslyawake beforehisalarm – againmakingthe audience
believethathe hadbeenawake all night. The use of non-diegeticsoundquickly interruptsthe sound
of the alarm,as he starts hismorningroutine.He beginsbydoingaworkoutinhis bedroomwhich
givesthe impressionof astereotypical teenage boyastheyare usuallyrepresentedaswantingtobe
‘fit’andare more strong andmasculine characters.Stereotypically,teenageboyswanttobe seenas
more masculine andmore ‘manly’asitis part of theirteenage yearsandgenerallywhattheyare
mostinterestedin,inordertoimpressotherteenage boysandgirls.The non-diegeticsoundinthis
scene isveryupbeatmusicand isthe type of musicthat isoftenlistenedtobythe younger
generation,whichrepresentsthathe isan ‘average’teenager,andthe use of soundinthisscene
helpstorepresentthistothe audience.
The use of mise-en-scene withinthisextractalsohelpsthe audience tounderstandthe type of
character that Tonyis as itgivesdetailsof differentaspectssuchasthe costume he iswearing. The
use of costume inthisextractgivesusthe impressionthathe isan average teenage boyas he wears

2. Emily Saunders Miss Grant
a towel wrappedaroundhiswaist,he isthenseenlookinginthe mirrorathisbodyand lifting
weightswhilstsmirking.Thisgivesthe impressiontothe audience thathe is confident,somewhat
cocky and comfortable withinhisbody,andlike mostteenage boysisinterestedinhispersonal
appearance. Thisisfurtherexemplifiedbythe hairstyle of the time,whichshowshe isinterestedin
being‘relevant’andappearances,whichshowsthe audiencethathe isa ‘stereotypical teenager’. As
well asthis,the use of diegeticsoundisnow used toportray to the audience hisinterestinrap music
he is listeningtointhe background,whichagainhelpsthe audience tounderstandhispersonality
more and givesusmore of the impressionthathe isa straightaverage teenage boy. Thisisthen
backedup againwithdiegeticsoundwhenhisphonebeepsandhe smilesdownatit,givingthe
audience the impressionthathe ispopularorhas friendsanda possible romanticinterest.
However,thisis interruptedwhenhe looksouthiswindowtosee hisfemale neighbournakedinthe
windowopposite. Thishelpstorepresenthimasa straightteenage boyastheyare oftenobsessed
withthe opposite sex,whichisshownfromthe wayTonylooksathisneighbourthroughthe
window. Aswell asTonybeinginterested,she alsoappearstoenjoythe attention, bysmilingbackat
himthroughthe window,showingthatshe relisheshisattention.Fromseeingherinthe window,we
can see that she isa 40 plusyearold womanwhoclearlyenjoyshisattentionasshe smilesbackat
himand clearlydoesn’tmindhimwatchingherthroughthe window.Thiscouldsuggesttothe
audience thatshe isinterestedinyoungermenandenjoystheiraffection.Duringthisscene,Tonyis
seenwearingwhite boxerswhichcouldsignifyhispurityandinnocence towardsthis.However,this
ischallengedyetagainwhenhe smilesashe watchesherdressveryavidlythroughthe window,
representingtothe audience thathe ishighlyinterestedwithinwomen.Here the ideaof Laura
Mulvey’s‘Male Gaze’hasbeenusedasthis scene isrepresentingwhatTonythinksof the woman
across the road, andwhat she thinksof herself.The cameraisshownhere tolargelyfocusonher
bodyrather thanher face,and she isseentoreact to hisactionsaftershe seeshimlookingather.
Thisrepresentsthe factthat women are ‘objects’andthisisshownclearly here when mostof the
camera shotis of her body,withashort shotof herface.The use of a longcamera shothelpsto
portray thisas itshowsthe audience clearlythe ideaof the ‘Male Gaze’andclearlyshowstothe
audience thatTonyis lookingather body. In this scene, there are 4 differenteditswhichhelpto
create a connectionbetweenthe twocharactersof Tony and hisneighbour.The use of different
editsshowshowthe scene goesfromTonyto the neighbourandback to Tonyto make it clearto the
audience whathe islookingatand howtheywantthe womanto be presentedwithinthe scene.As
well asthisuse of editing,aclose-upcameraangle isusedonTonyto show hisfocusand intereston
hisneighbourandimpliestothe audience thathe isinterested,makingitverycleartothe audience
that he is a stereotypical maleteenager.
The nextscene showsTony’syoungersisterarrivinghome late inwhatlookstobe lastnight’s
clothes,representingthatshe hasonlyjustgot home and hasbeenoutall night.Thisisrepresented
to the audience fromthe makeupthatissmeareddownherface and hermessyhair.As she istrying
to catch Tony’sattentiontodistract hisparentssoshe can getinit isclear she has snuckout andher
parentshad noideashe has beenoutall night.Thisrepresentstothe audience thatshe iswild
withinregardstoher sexualityandthe wayshe getsherbrotherto sneakher intothe house
suggeststothe audience thatshe is quite secretive asshe triestosneakupthe stairsavoidingher
father. Here,a highangle camerashot hasbeenusedwhenshe isclimbingthe stairstorepresentto
the audience heryouthasit makesherseemsmallerandlesspowerful.Atthe same time the
camera appearsto be shakingas she iswalkingupthe stairs,thisrepresentsasense of urgencyin
gettingupthe stairs to avoidherparentsfromcatchingher.This helpsthe audience tounderstand
the type of wildcharactershe isfrom the use of hersecrecyand hermakeupandcostume of last
night’sclothingwhichrepresentsclearlytothe audience thatshe hasbeenoutall nightas she

3. Emily Saunders Miss Grant
sneaksupthe stairs avoidingherfather,the use of the cameraanglesrepresentsasense of urgency
ingettingupthe stairs,to avoidherparents,andshowsto audience thatshe wasn’tsupposedtobe
out.
Towardsthe endof the scene,Tonyis seenlettinghimself intothe house afterjumpingdownfrom
thisbathroom.Here again,he seeshisneighbourthathe earliersaw inthe window gettingdressed.
He looksat herand smilesaftershe standsthere staringathim.The use of mise-en-scenewithinthis
scene helpstorepresenttothe audience whattype of charactershe isfrom the use of herclothing.
In the scene,she iswearingalow-cut‘tacky’leopardprinttopwhichimpliestothe audience that
she isinterestedinyoungermen.Thissuggeststhatthe producersof the show wantedherto be
representedasa‘cougar’ as she is representedtothe opposite of whata ‘usual’stereotypical 40-
year-oldwomenwouldbe like. She isalsowearingatightbody-conskirtanda tight-fittingtop
outliningthe shape of herbody,thissuggeststothe audience thatshe iscomfortable withinher
bodyand enjoysthe affectionthatshe getsfrommen. Aswell asthis,Tonyisseentobe wearing
quite casual butclothingthatwas popularduringthattime,thisshowsto the audience thathe is
interestedinhispersonalappearance andcareswhathe lookslike.Thisrepresentshimasan
average teenagerthattakescare in whathe lookslike, andwhathe wears.