“How are youth represented in Skins?”

The Skins trailer is set in a house party; it is fairly small, probably an urban, terrace house, the rooms are not very big and everybody seems to be “crammed” in. There are no adults present, only rowdy teenagers, with no control. It is clear that they are under the influence of alcohol; there are bottles scattered around the house, many of the characters seem to be drunk or partially drunk. They are not only drinking alcohol socially though, they are also consuming it purely to become intoxicated – binge drinking, so they are drinking any type of alcohol they can have, without considering the consequences. Furthermore, as well as some of them probably being under the legal drinking age, there are drugs being taken too; reflecting a carefree society where little respect for the law is taken.
The teenagers clearly have few responsibilities; therefore they can relax and have no worries, except for possibly part time work and school work, as a result, they are easy going. These youths are clearly experimenting; consuming alcohol and drugs, sexually as well; people are having sex in what looks like the parents’ bed, on the wall in the bathroom, they are doing it anywhere and everywhere.
At the party, everyone seems to know everybody, they are all friends and couples, and also relaxed around one another, people are running around half naked, they are having water fights, riding around on bikes through the house; this helps to symbolize their closeness and friendship. However, there is also clear evidence of their disrespect for the house and its property, people are writing on the walls, having water fights and damaging objects such as vases. The Mise en scene used, such as sofa cushions being thrown around, illustrates helps to make the scene more realistic and lifelike, showing verisimilitude, so that the viewer can relate to it.
There is only digetic sound in the whole trailer, in fact the only sound from the whole scene is the loud music played in the party, there is no dialogue or sound effects, this has the effect making it appear more dream-like and unreal. In addition, the music is in harmony with the cinematography; when there are crescendos, the camera cuts less, taking longer shots, slowing down the scene. When the tempo picks up, there are more, faster crosscuts, in synchronisation with the song. The song is upbeat, fast and modern; this is used to represent the teenagers’ lives.
After the viewer watches the cast using drugs, there is a scene of strobe lighting; everything slows down, including the music, and as the lights flash on the characters, they appear delusive, reinforcing the idea of care-free lives, it portrays them as high and disillusioned.
Overall, in this Skins trailer, youth are presented as carefree, non law abiding teenagers, whom are exploring their senses with drugs, sex, alcohol and loud music. Moreover, they have little respect for their elders and their surroundings, and their main objective is to have fun, without any worries. They do not take their consequences into action, and as the montages showed, many of them cannot handle their overtaking of substances and alcohol, and are vomiting around the house.

Peter Trybus