Analysis of 'Skins' character Mini

 Mini

Skins is a popular tv series inspired by the ideas of youths going off the
rails, each character gets a different episode focused on them. My inspiration on the show is a character called Mini, whose parents have split and she now lives with her mum and her boyfriend. I believe this is the trigger of her downfall; these consists of getting drunk and high on a regular basis, getting pregnant and lastly sleeping with alot of boys.
Mini's representation is skins is the idea of a popular pretty
contrasting on what you would expect from her lifestyle.

Typical traits of Mini:
 -blonde long hair
-blue eyes
-popular
-parents seperation
-drug and alcohol abuse
-smokes
-love for dub step music
-constant getting into trouble


I would like to use a character simular in both looks and personality with the character of Mini due to her brilliant representation of prettiness oposing expectations and the key idea of judging someone from your looks.
Her antics during the skins episodes are also inspiring in terms of going off the rails. The idea of there being a specific trigger to her antics I like a lot, so I am going to use this as inspiration for my music video.

Click here to watch an Minis skins episode

Analysis of 'Skins' Series 6-Episode 5

This mid shot shows Minnie's friends to be getting drunk on the cocktails supplied by Minnie's father. They do not enjoy the drinks yet continue to drink them showing their aim is just to get drunk rather than have a civilized drink. This shot is effective as it establishes their situation highlighting their out casting outfits/looks from the rest.

This close up over the should shot shows Minnie getting angry at her friends for showing up. This shows she is aware of their behavior and knows from their past times it wont go well, especially with free drinks supplied. This shot is effective as it shows Minnie's facial expression so we are aware of how shes feeling.

This long shot shows Minnie in 'sexual contact' with one of her                 Fathers colleagues showing her intermate self despite being pregnant with another persons baby. This perceives youth in a negative light as sleeping around tends to be negative trait and stability is key in a baby's life and it does not look like she can offer this. The dark lighting creates a negative atmosphere showing that it may not have the best outcome.

After this encounter we see Minnie get upset by the whole situation. Her friends 'gatecrashing' and her encounter with the her Dads colleagues causes her to become overwhelmed on top of being pregnant. Similarly this shot portrays darkness reflecting the situation.

Media's representation of Youth

Media in TV Dramas, Films and music videos tend to reflect youth in a negative way. This is due to the entertainment it provides and highlights issues that are a problem within society. However, this is inaccurate to say that youth are all like this and this representation gives youngsters a collective identity of negative.

Theorists say:
Gramsci- A political thinker and is interested in the way Hegemony takes place because of media, causing all of society to think one view of a huge group.
Acland: believed that this media representation of anti-social youth reinforces this hegemony
Hebdidge: In interested in youth subcultures and believes that youth are represented in having fun or trouble
Gerbner: believes the repetitive nature of television influences how people see the world, therefore the portrayal of youth reinforces ideas. This is referred to as the cultivation theory.

I felt that I would use these ideas and theorist within my music video reflecting the medias representation as I could help explain through media why youths sometimes deteriorate. The influence of drink and drugs in my music video will help explain her situation and why she is how she is. This highlights a current issue within society.