Riverdale Essay

 In this extract from the popular teen drama “Riverdale” meaning is created through the use of the four technical elements (Camera, Sound, Editing and mes en scene). The characters shown are clear representations of established high school teen stereotypes. There is representation of Gender, Class and status and most importantly, age. These are presented in a way that is likely to evoke a dominant reading from audiences.

This scene follows a conversation between 4 characters and then another at the end. There is an establishing shot at the beginning to show the high-school setting, and the various cliques sitting together because it is lunch time. The camera shows through wide shots, the obvious ‘new girl’ walking as she goes to pick a table to sit at. From this point on the conversation is captured almost exclusively through close-up  over-the-shoulder shots. This creates an intimate feeling for the audience, drawing them into the story in a way that makes them feel as if they know the characters personally. This technique is also efficient for showing the way different characters feel about each other. Betty, for example, looks at Archie very attentively and longingly, and Archie is completely oblivious to this, indicating that she possibly has some unspoken feelings towards him. However, when Sherall comes over, Betty looks annoyed and rolls her eyes, showing that she doesn't like her. Showing the character’s facial expressions through close-ups effectively gives the audience a chance to understand the highschool politics at play, which always comes to play a key role in any teen drama.

The clip starts off with music playing in the background. It is acoustic and slow, and has a reflective atmosphere about it which makes it almost seem coming-of-age-esk. This is a perfect background for the shot of Veronica walking down the steps on her first day at a new school. The music however, turns out to be diegetic sound, as it is coming from Archie’s computer, and it stops when he shuts it. This scene is full of stereotypical characters but Archie (The Jock) is not the first person one would guess to be making such emotional music. This makes him stand out from the crowd and indicates to the audience that there is more to him than he lets other people know. Other than the music, the only other sounds are people talking and birds chirping in the background, which is a diegetic sound that increases verisimilitude.

The Mes en scene plays a key role in this clip. Each character is dressed to fit the stereotype they represent. Betty has blonde hair in a ponytail, a floral blouse with a pink cardigan. This immediately makes her look like a ‘good girl’, and her demeanor correlates as well. Veronica is in a dark dress with pearls, making her look much older than she is, which contrasts with Betty who almost looks like a child. Veronica’s dark hair and eyes also suggests that she is far more dominant and possibly slightly sinister. Despite the color of their outfits, they are both dressed in a way that is extremely feminine. Even Sherall is dressed in a flowy black top with red skirt and a red broach, with her red hair pulled nicely to the side. The representation of these women is that they are all presumably well off, and are either forced to, or want to wear slightly grown up clothing that makes them look more like women rather than teen girls. Sherall’s red hair and clothing suggests that she is confident, fiery and that although she has a warm demeanor, she is slightly dangerous. The boys on the other hand are far more diverse in their clothing. Archie is wearing a football jacket like a classic athlete and Kevin is more formal as he is wearing a sweatshirt with a collared shirt. All the characters, with Archie being the exception, are dressed to look far older than they are which shows that they are from a wealthy area and go to a reasonably high decile school. Archie, perhaps might be from a less wealthy family and that could be another reason why he subtly stands out. 

The editing is linear, in that it follows the 180 degree rule, it has very clear continuity, which creates verisimilitude. There are only plain cuts between shots to follow conversation, and everything is in chronological order. There is no fade to or from black at the beginning or end of the clip either.

In conclusion the students at this school are suggested to be at first glance amiable and normal teenagers, however the way they dress, act, and speak suggests that there is potential for a lot of drama. They are represented to be of high class and wealth, seemingly mature for their age, and submissive to gender stereotypes. It is likely that a teen audience would have a dominant reading of this extract, but a more adult audience would likely have a negotiated reading as the way the characters are presented is slightly unrealistic.