Analyse the micro elements of film form in a scene from a film from the ‘Teen Film’ genre and discuss how these elements create meaning and conform to the genre conventions

Analyse the micro elements of film form in a scene from a film from the ‘Teen Film’ genre and discuss how these elements create meaning and conform to the genre conventions.

The scene: ‘Table Dance’ from the film ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’ conforms to the teen film genre through its micro elements of film form. For instance, its mise-en-scene relate to many other coming of age films. The setting is a party, which is very typical of a film from the genre, as it creates a certain meaning that many teens can relate to and it is a very stereotypical setting for young people. Other aspects of mise-en-scene help the film to conform to the genre conventions such as the era specific costume and hair and makeup. Similarly, the props also relate well to the teen film genre due to the scene taking place at a party the main prop is alcohol.  The character movement relates to the diagetic element of sound, as the character of Kat hears the dance music and proceeds to dance on the table. However, this particular scene doesn’t entirely conform to the non-diagetic element of most teen films as there isn’t an evident coming of age soundtrack that many other teen films include.

The ‘table dance’ scene also includes elements of cinematography that conform to the genre conventions. Such as: a wide shot to show the action going on in the scene, a medium shot to show the conversation between the two main characters, a pan so the audience can feel immersed in the action, as well as a high angled shot to highlight that Kat is the main focus of the scene. The reasoning for the teen film genre typically using these types of shots, instead of more advanced ones that may be used in a horror or action film, is because it is meant to be quite realistic that the audience are able to relate to their lives as many teen films represent the lives of teenagers during the specific era.

The editing used relates somewhat to the genre, as the scene uses cut on action where it cuts from Kat dancing to her sister’s reaction and also match on action where Kat hits her head and falls into Patrick’s arms. However, there are other transitions that are used in teen films that aren’t used in this scene. Such as: cross cutting, which is used to show phone conversations, which is quite common in the teen film genre as phones are a frequently occurring prop used in coming of age films.

Other reasons for ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’ conforms to the Teen film genre is its main issues such as the topic of first love, teen angst especially against Kat’s protective father and irritable younger sister, as well as Kat’s desire to leave her small town and move far away for college. All of these things are very apparent in many coming of age films, due to the idea that many teens have problems with identity and the idea that adolescence results in a rebellious, angst filled attitude. Therefore, in conclusion the ‘table dance’ scene in ‘ten things I hate about you’ conforms largely to the teen film genre through its micro elements of film.