The DVD cover therefore interlinks with the soundtracks within the film, being endorsed by The Who. Although, the Mods didn't listen to Rock, a prominent Mod first managed The Who therefore constructing a Rock Opera album from the original Quadrophenia. The score was written pre-film being recorded from 1962, 17 years earlier than the film release. The music follows the narrative of the film, linking with the title of the film 'Quadrophenia'. This concerns the four distinct personalities of Jimmy, with the song describing how he angrily deals with several individuals in order to identify the 'Real Me'. The film is set in 1964, with Jimmy being disillusioned by his parents and a job as a post-room boy at an advertising firm. A bank holiday weekend provides an excuse for the rivalry of the Mods and Rockers to go ahead, as they both descend upon the seaside of Brighton, leading to the arrest of Jimmy. Back in London Jimmy becomes increasingly depressed, being thrown out of his house by his mother, quitting his job and finding out that his crush is the girlfriend of his friend, Dave.
When analysing a short extract from the film, you are able to see how youth cultures are represented in Quadrophenia. In the initial soundtrack, the 'Real Me', a variety of youth culture representations can be depicted from the lyrics. Firstly, 'I said I'm crazy, ma, help me!' represents the youth as being damaged. Asking for help would suggest that something is wrong and crazy further suggests that the youth have been affected with insanity. This is a negative representation of youth as the use of the word 'crazy' may be used as an insult to describe someone. Next the lyrics identify the youth as victim. 'She said, I know how it feels son cos it runs in the family'. This implies that the youth have no escape from the negative stereotypical view possessed by others however, this allows the audience to feel sorry for adolescents. Finally, the lyrics also suggest that the youth are alienated from society. This is seen with the repetition of the line 'Can you see the real me'...preacher, doctor, mother. This presents connotations of no one listening to the youth, having to repeat the question numerous times to different associates therefore, referring to isolation of the youth. Furthermore, inimical representations are shown with the use of explicit language, adopted by Jimmy when communicating with both the Mods and Rockers. This could therefore represent the youth as ungrateful, showing a lack in the appreciation of their peers.
The Mise en Scene in the opening sequence of the film tells you a lot about youth representations. The composition poses Jimmy on his scooter, riding through a town late at night. The dark lighting instantly stereotypes youths negatively as night is generally associated to be the time when society deems bad things happen. A common link would be crime, which adolescents are typically endeavoured too. The only lighting immediate is seen to be the headlight of Jimmy's scooter. This could therefore represent the Mod lifestyle to be that of a religion, connoting light at the end of the tunnel. The Mod sub culture is furthermore, easily identified by the dress of Jimmy, seeing a young man perched upon a Vespa in a large military parka in contrast to the Rockers of whom wore heavily decorated leather jackets. Further into the sequence, low key lighting is utilised. This occurs when all the Mods are together within the dance hall. The lighting hereby represents safety with the increased number of Mods, also projecting a sense of togetherness. Additionally, the excessive amount of dancing carried out by the Mods is fuelled by their consumption of Amphetamine pills. Wanting to be part of the culture, Jimmy is seen to pay a lot of more money than he wanted to for the pills. Thus, this shows the lengths individuals would go to to 'fit' into society. However, drug taking could stereotype the youth antagonistically, providing evidence to a Broken Britain as the society was in a state of social decay, relaying on the consumption of speed to encourage social interaction.
The majority of the camera shots comprise of long shots and mid shots. In Long shots this allows the setting to be established, influencing contextual factors. For example, when Jimmy abruptly gets surrounded by the pack of Rockers, a long shot enables the audience to see, not only the body language of Jimmy, but also that of all the Rockers. Mid shots are furthermore, intricately used in order to show the changing facial expression and attitude of Jimmy as the Rockers approach. At this point, the youth culture are represented as anti-social, not willing to interact with the opposing gang. This could also influence other generations views of the youth, typically seeing the youth having identified with their 'gang' more than their family, suggesting a key socialising demographic. As Jimmy pulls into the dance hall location, a long shot provides a mass setting of Vespa bikes. This defines the Mods, showing how the group idealise around certain material goods in order to establish their subculture.Finally when considering the editing, only jump cuts are used. Using only the singular edit could suggest the singular identity of either a Mod or a Rocker. From the opening sequence the presumption of Jimmy changed from seeing him to be an unique individual to someone whom, fell into a mass group, following fashion and material trends. Hence, the youth culture could be identified as a stage of identity, feeling as though they have to clearly fall into the group of either a Mod or a Rocker.
To summarise, youth culture is generally portrayed in a negative light, presuming adolescents to be anti-social and violent.These assumptions are represented in 'Quadrophenia' however, this film was based on the May Bank holiday riots and therefore, sampling a bias event. Furthermore, 'Quadrophenia' illustrates the youth to have a loss of identity, showing Jimmy falling into the generic characteristics of the Mod lifestyle re-leaving the character of any individuality.
