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Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne

Cinematography/Editing

  • Opens showing cans - rebellion

  • Low angle showing boy coming in by rope - rebellion, presenting him as strong

  • Shaky camera pans to boy - indicates chaos and emphasises punk nature

  • Handheld camera - chaos, rebellion

  • Low angle on Avril - strength, not stereotypical girl

  • High angle on girl - stereotypes, she is vulnerable and feminine - opposite of Avril, possible antagonist in the narrative

  • Close up shots on Avril - emphasises that she is the protagonist/main character (not common for girls)

  • Close up to show Avril’s facial expressions - protesting against society’s standards (e.g: scrunched face)

  • Low angle with Avril at the centre - further establishes her importance - possibly the ringleader of the rebellion

  • Halo - created to present Avril as a goddess/role model despite her rebellious nature

Sound

  • Diegetic - cans - indicates rebellion

  • Diegetic - rope - rebellion

  • Lyric - ‘he was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious’ - stereotypical narrative, attracts teen audiences

  • Helicopter and sirens become more prominent - closure, rebellion, drama

Audience

  • Punks - genre of song is pop-punk hybrid, rebellious themes throughout the music video, twist in narrative

  • Young people - heavily encourages rebellion throughout, has a theme of youth/generational gap, stereotypical romantic narrative at the start

  • Girls - see Avril as a role model as she is an atypical girl, shows that girls don’t have to be feminine to be popular etc

Mise en Scene

  • Dressed in scruffy, casual clothing (punk style), in typically masculine way with darker colours - rebellion, gender

  • Star graffitied - devil connotations, vandalism links to rebellion

  • Technology - current to the time - youth, generational gap (something elders won’t understand)

  • Tie loose - possible parody of the sexualisation of young women at the time (schoolgirl), Avril isn’t a stereotypical girl, rebellion, youth (new fashion)

  • Girl - wears light colours juxtaposing Avril/the other teens, possible antagonist, she’s feminine and a stereotypical girl

  • Instruments - attract fans of live performances, shows that she plays her own instruments (different from any mainstream pop artist as they just sing)

  • Bikes vs cars - Avril and friends ride bikes to show that they possibly come from less privileged backgrounds therefore are passionate about the state of society. Whereas the girl drives a car, implying privilege

  • Rock hand sign - rebellion, punk genre, devilish connotations

  • Police entering - rebellion

  • The fact that the police sirens/lights are not prominent emphasises Avril and friend’s dominance

  • Crowd - dominance, passion, youth, Avril’s popularity despite being an atypical girl

  • Smashed window - rebellion

Other

  • Avril jumps into frame - youth, energetic

  • Smashing guitar - prominent in rock

Themes

  • Rebellion

  • Gender

  • Youth

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Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne

Cinematography/Editing

  • Opens showing cans - rebellion

  • Low angle showing boy coming in by rope - rebellion, presenting him as strong

  • Shaky camera pans to boy - indicates chaos and emphasises punk nature

  • Handheld camera - chaos, rebellion

  • Low angle on Avril - strength, not stereotypical girl

  • High angle on girl - stereotypes, she is vulnerable and feminine - opposite of Avril, possible antagonist in the narrative

  • Close up shots on Avril - emphasises that she is the protagonist/main character (not common for girls)

  • Close up to show Avril’s facial expressions - protesting against society’s standards (e.g: scrunched face)

  • Low angle with Avril at the centre - further establishes her importance - possibly the ringleader of the rebellion

  • Halo - created to present Avril as a goddess/role model despite her rebellious nature

Sound

  • Diegetic - cans - indicates rebellion

  • Diegetic - rope - rebellion

  • Lyric - ‘he was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious’ - stereotypical narrative, attracts teen audiences

  • Helicopter and sirens become more prominent - closure, rebellion, drama

Audience

  • Punks - genre of song is pop-punk hybrid, rebellious themes throughout the music video, twist in narrative

  • Young people - heavily encourages rebellion throughout, has a theme of youth/generational gap, stereotypical romantic narrative at the start

  • Girls - see Avril as a role model as she is an atypical girl, shows that girls don’t have to be feminine to be popular etc

Mise en Scene

  • Dressed in scruffy, casual clothing (punk style), in typically masculine way with darker colours - rebellion, gender

  • Star graffitied - devil connotations, vandalism links to rebellion

  • Technology - current to the time - youth, generational gap (something elders won’t understand)

  • Tie loose - possible parody of the sexualisation of young women at the time (schoolgirl), Avril isn’t a stereotypical girl, rebellion, youth (new fashion)

  • Girl - wears light colours juxtaposing Avril/the other teens, possible antagonist, she’s feminine and a stereotypical girl

  • Instruments - attract fans of live performances, shows that she plays her own instruments (different from any mainstream pop artist as they just sing)

  • Bikes vs cars - Avril and friends ride bikes to show that they possibly come from less privileged backgrounds therefore are passionate about the state of society. Whereas the girl drives a car, implying privilege

  • Rock hand sign - rebellion, punk genre, devilish connotations

  • Police entering - rebellion

  • The fact that the police sirens/lights are not prominent emphasises Avril and friend’s dominance

  • Crowd - dominance, passion, youth, Avril’s popularity despite being an atypical girl

  • Smashed window - rebellion

Other

  • Avril jumps into frame - youth, energetic

  • Smashing guitar - prominent in rock

Themes

  • Rebellion

  • Gender

  • Youth

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