Historical Case Study Notes

Quadrophenia (1979) Dir. Frank Roddam

1. Discuss the representation and ideological values of Jimmy, Steph and Kevin. Use textual examples to back up points made.

Jimmy feels that being a mod is his main identity as he tries to convert every aspect of his life to it eg. Clothing, lifestyle, motorbike, drugs… He feels that to have a unique identity he has to become part of a group - which is quite ironic. Although he has a job and a family he neglects his ties with them to live his life the way he thinks is right. He looks up to Ace and admires him for how strong his identity is but Jimmy’s ideological beliefs are shattered when he sees that Ace is just a Bell Boy with a normal lifestyle, and he saves his mod identity for his spare time. Jimmy tries to be ‘the’ mod by dancing and attracting attention to himself in the club, he also feels that by having the most ‘blues’ and giving them around he is like a leader of the gang and not just a ‘somebody’ following the others around. However Steph seems to put him in his place by knocking him down a few notches whenever she ends up leading him on and going off with other boys. She makes Jimmy realise that he’s on his own with his beliefs as to her and everyone else ‘it was just a bit of a laugh’, he thought Brighton and what happened there was where he fitted in, he had the girl and the lifestyle, but Steph brought it home to him that it was unrealistic to live like that as she is just an average girl who seems to exploit all the boys within the mod groups to get in with them. She uses her sexuality to get her in with the ‘it’ crowd but her day to day life is in keeping with the rest of the world. Kevin’s beliefs are fairly similar to Jimmy’s, but he realised sooner than Jimmy that it was almost impossible to be totally unique as he joined the army to be individual but saw that there were thousands of people just like him so dropped out and decided to be a rocker as his part-time identity. Kevin seems to have the right sort of attitude towards the whole situation, he knows when to be himself and when it’s acceptable to put on a character/image.

2. What examples of mise en scene reinforce the idea of youth culture? Jimmy and his friends are always at parties, this is one way teenagers are portrayed as always partying. They also take drugs a lot, again associated with partying and having fun. They all ride around on their motorbikes in gangs and intimidate other people- this is often how adults see youngsters. They often have fights with the rockers and cause trouble in shops and bars, this is linked with how youths are always portrayed to be troublesome. When Jimmy and his friends break into the pharmacy they don’t see it as serious, they just think it’s a laugh. These example show how youths are portrayed as selfish, violent and uncontrollable- always trying to cause trouble or just thinking about themselves.

3. “Identity is complicated” – How can this quote be applied to the character of Jimmy? Jimmy is portrayed as having multiple personalities as he is expected to behave in certain ways depending on who he’s with and where he is. He tries to fit in as being a mod and the identity clashes with the other roles he is supposed to play eg. At home

his parents don’t understand him and don’t think he’s ‘normal’ and at work his boss isn’t happy when he misses work and comes in hung-over as it is unprofessional. The mod identity is taking over all aspects of his personality. Jimmy sees himself as a mod and that it’s a full lime lifestyle but everyone else sees it as a part time thing. The way he sees himself isn’t the way everyone else sees him and vice versa.

4. Can you draw any similarities between the youth representation of the past compared to youth representation today? Both then and now youths have always been portrayed as violent and obtrusive in their manners, values and lifestyle. They are considered to be an underclass and sometimes like the ‘filth’ of society. Older people always seem to think of youngsters as wild and that they have no self control, as if they are some sort of animals- another species. The media always make a point to exaggerate the antisocial behavior of youths, and often ignore the good things they do, making sure that they’re represented the way the media want e.g. Through headlines, certain words in articles, and certain pictures.

5. Discuss how Stan Cohen’s theory can be related to this film. Folk Devils relate to a group of people who create moral panic through there actions of social disruption, the media label them as deviant or dangerous. This causes others (who aren’t grouped in with that youth) to fear them due to their bad light in the press. Cohen based this term on the mods and rockers like the ones in Quadrophenia. Cohen talks about how the media sensationalizes events as a form of control culture so outsiders only see or hear about the situation from a certain angle or viewpoint.