The short film "About a Girl" uses various representational elements to tell the story of a young teenage girl. Her age of around 15 is represented through minimal makeup and desire for independence. Her lower class is shown through the urban setting, financial struggles of her parents, her northern accent and language. Her gender leads to a strained relationship with her father and an absent mother. Her broken family situation leaves her with many problems and little support. The video diary style and cuts between scenes represent an attempt to portray her story in a more positive light despite her difficult realities.

1. Representation in ‘About a Girl’
‘About a Girl’ is a short film on YouTube which follows the story of a young girl. The
story is mainly told through the representation of her as a person through her
surroundings, her age, class, gender, situation and technical elements all are very
important in telling the story.
Age
From the film we can tell that the girl is a young teen, mainly indicated by the little
amount of makeup that she is wearing. We know that she is sexually active, and has a
desire to be a ‘grown up’ indicated in many ways for example her large hoop earrings
which can be a signifier for nightlife. Also the way that the young girl craves
independence shows her desire to be an adult. She has young parents who appear to be
in their 30’s so she is unlikely to be any older than around 15.
Class
The girl’s class is represented in many ways throughout the film, the main one being
the urban area that she lives in, which appears to be very high in unemployment. Her
parents appear to struggle with money and have financial difficulties, which is
represented through the scratch card, and reflects their desperate situation. Although in
contrast they appear to be able to afford alcohol and cigarettes. The girl’s accent tells us
that she is northern, and she uses slang and swearing regularly throughout, which leads
us to blame her parents for her upbringing.
Gender
The girl can be seen to have a bad relationship with her dad, who appears to enjoy male
company more than female due to the way he is represented as always being down the
pub or playing football with his male friends. The mum is shown to play very little part
in the girl’s life, which could represent that as being a woman from this area, she is seen
as being insignificant. The girl is regularly seen singing to Britney which could
represent the way that she has ambitions and hopes, yet she is struggling to reach these,
Britney can be seen as a woman who has achieved her dreams.
George Piggott

2. Situation
She has a broken family, which could represent the way that she has so many problems
in her life, and no one to really turn to and talk to, which explains why she hid her
pregnancy from her mother. The way the family are represented as poor shows how she
has little hope in life.
Technical Elements
The story is told like a video diary which represents the way that we are being told her
story. There are cuts to the reality of her life which show how she is trying to create a
make her story seems more positive. The lighting is very natural which adds a sense of
realism.
George Piggott