Representation in 90210 – Annie/the Wilsons

This new series of 90210 focuses on the ups and downs of the Wilson family, who relocate from small-town USA (Kansas) and head to the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills. This further complicates the lives of the kids, the theatrical, innocent Annie and her adopted brother Dixon. They both struggle with their new lives in California. This emphasises the differences between lives of people in California compared to where they moved from, and soon all the Wilson's are struggling to adapt to life in 90210. The Wilson's must cope with the pressures of life in a new town; the beautiful people, the social backstabbing, the relationships and jealousies of 90210.

The main theme is Kansas vs. Hollywood, especially in the first episode.
The series focuses quite a lot on Annie’s journey through this transition and trying to fit in, but at the same time she’s got a strong sense of self that she came with, and she won’t let go of that.

Episode 1 – Summary:
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore
Harry Wilson, new principal of West Beverly Hills High School, returns from Kansas to his childhood home of Beverly Hills with his wife Debbie, their daughter Annie and adopted son Dixon, to care for Harry's mother, former television star Tabitha Wilson. On their first day at West Bev, Annie and Dixon encounter Ethan, the star lacrosse player she met a few summers ago; Naomi, the spoiled rich girl whose sole focus is her Sweet Sixteen party; Silver, the free-spirited girl who later gossips about Annie on her blog, and Navid, editor of Blaze News. When Naomi fails to complete an assignment, English teacher Ryan Matthews and guidance counselor Kelly Taylor, bring the problem to Harry, who quickly realises that keeping secrets about his past is going to be impossible.

In the first episode we are immediately shown the strong differences between the Wilson family and people in Beverley Hills. It’s a huge culture shock for them. From the first scene we are instantly shown that they are different. The first episode starts with short shots of different aspects of Beverley Hills including a main feature which is expensive cars. The music is lively; Coldplay – Viva La Vida, and reflects the exciting atmosphere and the new prospect of joining this city for the family. It then cuts to a shot over the Hollywood sign and hills, an area always associated with money and glamour and we then see a shot of a car driving. This red car is placed in centre of frame so the audience knows to concentrate on it, but we can also see that it is so different compared to the cars that we have just seen. This car, containing the Wilsons, is a faded red, old, dirty family car, immediately contrasting with the cars surrounding it.

In a few minutes into the first episode, it is a shot of Annie and Dixon Wilson by/in their pool. They are discussing their own worries about moving to a new place and having to start over. Dixon talks about his adoption story and Annie reveals her worries about having to make new friends “aren’t you a little freaked out starting over?” This conversation shows just how close this brother and sister are and we gradually begin to see more of this throughout the series. The actors were pleased about this as they said it was good that they weren’t stereotypical brother and sister, fighting all the time, and this showed the good side to close family life. It also emphasised just how different family life was back in Kansas compared to families here in Beverley Hills.

The next scene is where Annie and Dixon first arrive at school:
Costume:
Annie - ordinary girl from small town USA, can see this through her costume.
Plain pink and white stripy tank top – doesn’t look particularly expensive.
Denim skirt – again doesn’t look very expensive but does show that she does have confidence and is trying to make an effort. We find out that she was in fact the “pretty, cool, and popular” one back in Kansas where she was a big fish in a small pond. Here everyone’s like that and she tries her hardest to fit in.
Doesn’t stand out here, blends into the background.
Later Naomi says to Annie - “But you’re gonna need new clothes so we’ll go shopping after school.” Annie looks down at her clothes and seems quite puzzled about what’s wrong with them. This shows how she really doesn’t know how different life is here in Beverley Hills for teenage girls.
“She’s def cute, but – I mean her clothes...”
“She’s probably poor, her dads the principal.” - Annie becomes more fashionable and puts more effort in to what she wears as she becomes more accustomed to life in Beverly Hills.
Dixon – normal, plain red polo t-shirt, cargo trousers – emphasizes their ordinariness, came from a small town to Hollywood.
White, middle/upper class area, Dixon stands out.

Location:
Outside the school – we know this because camera zooms into the school name – West Beverley Hills High.
Busy – everyone gathering before school starts.
Rich area - not run down.
Modern building.
Clean, well looked after.
Greenery – trees and bushes all well groomed.
Bright, sunny – not dark and gloomy – reflects the atmosphere; everyone’s excited to see each other.
Middle/Upper class area

Props:
Expensive cars - show offs, rich, spoilt
Everyone is carrying bags – this shows that they are definitely at school as they are school bags.
The girls are typically carrying handbags – emphasizes they’re girlyness and shows they all have money as they buy expensive bags. The boys are all carrying rucksacks – a typical sign of attending school and more practical than the girls.

Music:
Upbeat music reflects mood and atmosphere in this area.
MGMT - Time to Pretend – first line of the song - I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life. This represents the age that they are at now; the teenagers believe they are at the best part of their life, despite the fact that they haven't had much experience - more physically than mentally.
The music then changes when its between Ethan and Annie to a more embarrassed and shocked tone to reflect their feelings.

Dialogue:
Dixon and Annie both have completely different reactions to everyone at Beverley Hills High.
Annie: “Oh my God, will you look at this place? It's like the Oscars and everyone is Scarlet Johansson.”
Dixon [checking out the girls]: “You say that like it's a bad thing.”
Annie is shocked and Dixon likes the idea of getting to know these girls.

Sound:
Background sound of girls greeting each other and talking excitedly.
Engines of cars revving.
Sounds of car doors opening and closing.
People saying hi.

Action:
Girls in the background greeting each other with a kiss on the cheek but in a really exaggerated way.
Annie then recognises her summer fling from two years prior; however she catches him in his car with another girl, cheating on his girlfriend Naomi. – Annie is shocked, this would have never happened back in Kansas.

Camerawork:
Camera pans the surroundings to give a clear idea to the audience of just how different it is. It then reaches a two shot of Annie and Dixon walking to school – both are shocked.
The camera tracks backwards so that it can follow them both.
The camera is at an angle slightly to the left so that the audience can still see everything around them, whilst also concentrating on Annie and Dixon.
There is then a medium close-up of Dixon as he reacts to everything. It then cuts back to the two shot.
When they stop walking (Annie notices Ethan), there is a medium shot of Ethan to establish who he is.
The camera then goes back to the two shot of Annie and Dixon, but Dixon decides to go into school. Annie waits so that she can go and talk to Ethan. The camera pans to follow Dixon and shows how he reacts to the girls around him. The audience concentrates on him, whilst also looking at the people around him.
It then cuts back to Annie and moves into a close-up so that the audience can see her expression clearly, especially when she realises Ethan is with a girl in his car.

Editing:
Frequent cuts at start of different shots around the area of Beverley Hills High School. Creates a montage effect. This emphasizes the exciting atmosphere and exaggerated action of everyone.
Then cuts to the two main characters Annie and Dixon so the audience concentrates on them. This emphasizes how ordinary they are, they look different, act differently and are walking to school, a complete contrast to the people around them. This prepares us for the problems that they will face trying to fit in. it cuts to a few different shots of the two characters so that we can see them clearly, and this is a use of invisible editing so that the scene flows and we concentrate on them. There are uses of shot-reverse-shots between Annie and Ethan when she notices him, and this mainly helps the audience see what Annie is reacting too (no dialogue is exchanged.)

The school is one big culture shock for Annie. She is 16 and desires to be popular and on top of things. This strong desire to be accepted tends to override her own internal desires because she's trying to impress and be accepted by others. Sje tries to gain her own place in the in-crowd, but will have to start from scratch in the social pressure cooker that is West Beverly Hills High. As an audience, we can see through Annie’s eyes into this world and can therefore empathise with her. Annie and the Wilsons represent the majority of us that don’t live this lifestyle and we can therefore relate with them. This representation of people outside of Hollywood emphasises the stark differences between lifestyles, however the show highlights that they do still share many of the same problems.

Characterisation in 90210 - Erin Silver

Erin, commonly called by her last name – Silver, (played by Jessica Stroup), is Kelly Taylor and David Silver’s half-sister. Originally a friend and confidant of Naomi and the rich, beautiful clique at West Beverly Hills High - her quirky nature eventually ostracised her from the popular crowd and she became something of a loner. Before the start of the first season, we learn that she has shared the information of her father's affair with her then-best-friend Naomi, who then made this public knowledge, causing Silver's mother to turn to drink. A true individualist, she has her own You Tube channel and has a distinctive sense of style and personality. She publishes her own blog called The Vicious Circle, which she uses to discuss intimate details (truth or fiction) about her peers at West Beverly High School and where she describes herself as a "wannabe socialite". She is very honest with everybody and speaks her mind and describes this YouTube series as "answers to life's inane questions answered by a 15 year-old in a bikini". She becomes best friends with Annie and develops a romantic interest in Dixon, which quickly blossoms into a relationship. She sees the beauty in things everywhere, is very artsy, yet she’s surrounded by a lot of fake things and people - a very fake environment. She deals with this by living in her own world, being very independent and tends to march to the beat of her own drum.

I have picked to analyse Silver because she’s so different to the other characters on 90210 and that’s why she blends so well with Annie. They have problems at first, but eventually, in Annie, Silver sees someone who has similar aspirations as her.

She is very independent and is her own person, not following the crowd. This is shown in many of her quotes:
Silver: “You'll learn to dig me, trust me”.
Silver: “You can call me Erin, but I won't respond”. - Insistence on calling her Silver, doesn’t want a ‘normal’ name, likes being different. Also doesn’t want to be associated with the name her mother gave her, they don’t have a good relationship – she’s an alcoholic, “my mom, she drinks. And when she's like this, she's a completely different person.”
Silver: “I just like being different. That's how I'm made.”

In The Lucky Strike episode we learn a lot about Silver’s character - Episode 3:

Costume:
Short patterned dress, dark pink/purple jumper, purple and grey stripy knee high socks over red/pink tights and flat grey shoes. Layered clothing, no fancy jewellery, simple thin scarf used as an accessory - quite an alternative style. Cross-over body bag, unusual amongst female students at Beverly Hills High – not typically feminine. Most girls carry handbags on their arms and would never choose a bag similar to Silver’s – again emphasises her differences.
Silver’s costume reflects her unique personality, and is considered to be quirky and eccentric.
Doesn’t care about the money of Hollywood and ‘typical’ Beverley Hills lifestyle and image - has her own mind set of the world around her.
Not the typical Beverly Hills high schooler.
She has her own personality and doesn't tend to succumb to the whims and wishes of others.
Her clothing also reflects her rebellious side which we see quite a lot of in the series.
Her clothes are not perfect and do not look expensive. This is a huge contrast to everyone at Beverly Hills, especially Naomi who puts a lot of effort into what she wears.

Body Language:
The closeness of the Wilson family is in direct contrast to her own. Problems with her alcoholic mother often cause her to leave home and seek out other places to live. This is reflected in her body language as she approaches the women’s shelter as a place to stay for the night. She seeks refuge here to get away from her mother and hide the fact that she is an alcoholic.
This all brings down Silver and she seems very depressed in this clip.
She’s walking with her hands in her pocket – connotes that she’s quite sad and miserable.
Looking down at the floor – signifies the fact that she is very down at the moment.
Her expression also shows that she’s unhappy.
Sighs when she looks up to the women’s shelter – feeling of another night alone isn’t very appealing, no family to turn to.
Walking slowly, dreads nights she has to spend alone.
The next morning when she is refused another night, she looks really disappointed and sighs showing just how much she hates home life. This makes the audience sympathise with her.

Dialogue:
The line before the clip of Silver is Harry and he says: “because it’s all about family,” – this just emphasises how alone and isolated Silver is with no family comforts around her.
The next morning at the women’s shelter, Silver asks: “can I stay again tonight? Just one more night, I promise.” The woman says no, and Silver replies with: “look you don’t know what it’s like there,” - showing just how desperate she is, she’d rather stay at a shelter than at home with her alcoholic mother. She has no one else to turn to and is alone.

Music:
The music reflects the mood.
Very solemn tone, sad.
Not very lively – just reflects her situation and how depressed she is.
No lyrics add to the sombre mood.

Camerawork – shots and movement:
Starts with an extreme long shot of Silver walking down the street towards the shelter, which is in frame so we are made aware that she is heading for here.
We get a clear understanding of the setting and the time as its dark so we know that it is at night.
This use of ELS emphasises just how lonely, alone and isolated she is. Cars pass by, but other than that there is no one around her.
The next shot is a close-up of her feet and then the camera tilts up to establish who she is and introduce her properly to make it clear. The camera then tracks and follows her, this adds to the realism as the audience feels like they are in the scene. We also know that she is going somewhere.
As she reaches the shelter, the camera then pans to follow her up the stairs but remains stationary – this emphasises the fact that she is going it alone, with no one to help/guide her.
The next morning, during her conversation with the woman in charge of the shelter, there is use of medium shots, MCU’s and over the shoulder shots. This helps the audience see Silver’s reactions to the woman’s replies and we get a clear sense of what she is feeling through her expressions.

Editing:
There aren’t many cuts as the scene isn’t very lively and exciting – this means the audience just concentrate on her, adding to the serious and sombre mood of the sequence.
During the conversation the next morning, there is use of shot reverse shot between Silver and the woman – this adds to the realism and places the audience in the action.

Costume, Hair & Make-Up in 90210 - Naomi and Adrianna

Naomi and Adrianna are best friends, but the first few episodes show a complete contrast in characteristics, especially in their costume, hair & make-up and the way they present themselves.

Naomi exudes confidence and this is shown especially through what she wears. The first time we see Naomi, she comes across as the spoiled, popular, rich girl.

Ryan Matthews (about Naomi): “C’mon man it’s a birthday party for a spoiled little princess”
Annie (to Naomi): “You sound like a spoiled brat.”

She appears to be selfish and shallow, and is described as "a hot, spoiled, rich girl" who dominates the social scene. While this appears to describe her in a nutshell at first, her character slowly shows a deeper emotional level that reveals why she is the way she is. Throughout the series her character develops and we learn the truth behind her facade.

Despite people’s perceptions, Naomi has an ‘I don’t care attitude’ as shown when we first see her. She’s late to class, strolls in, fails to apologise, is on her phone and has an attitude especially when the teacher introduces her to Annie. One of the main things that we notice about Naomi is her clothes. In this part of the first episode she is wearing a green corset top, a white jacket and tight, skinny black trousers. She’s also wearing white high heels, a white bag and lots of accessories to match. Her outfit looks expensive and all goes well together. Her hair and make-up is also perfectly done. This all shows that she cares a lot about what she looks like and likes to stand out. She is very fashionable and feminine, and as we gradually see more of her, we can see that she tends to show more skin than other characters.

In episode 3 (The Bubble), Naomi is wearing short black shorts, black boots, a black top and black leather jacket. She accessorises this with a red belt, red bangles and red earrings. She’s wearing black nail varnish and her hair and make-up is immaculate. Everything is colour coordinated and shows that she is a perfectionist. The colour red makes bold statements about her personality and represents her fiery side. This is especially important as she wears this outfit when she visits Gail – her father’s ‘other woman’ – and argues with her.

At dinner with her father, she is immaculately dressed, and gives an impression of maturity as she is there to meet her father’s girlfriend. However this is just an image, as she tries to cause trouble between them. She does however show that she is more image driven, cares about what people think and aims to impress, no matter who it is. We then see Naomi at a party, wearing a red dress, red belt and red lipstick. This shows her desire to always stand out and be the centre of attention. She is constantly aiming for perfection, definitely portrays someone who is very wealthy and likes to impress people. Her choice in fashion shows that she comes from a higher class background, and she seems to take this for granted. Also she never chooses something really simple; a lot of thought goes into what she wears.

When she discovered that her father was having an affair and her mother knew about it, she doesn’t look as glamorous but still makes an effort. She has to convince her mum to get out of bed, who’s been depressed for a week since her husband left to be with the other woman. Naomi wears a short, strapless purple/pink dress, with matching heels. This choice of softer colours shows that she too is vulnerable and emotionally effected by what her father has done, but is left to pick up the pieces. She is wearing a white jacket and is showing quite a lot of skin. Her hair is tied up – shows less effort after she caught her dad cheating.

At her extravagant Sweet 16 birthday party, Naomi is dressed in a silver, strapless dress with heels - to make her stand out. She is literally placed in the spotlight. All eyes are on her and she is the centre of attention.

Overall Naomi chooses quite distinctive colours showing her confidence and desire to stand out. The combination of black, white and red becomes a trend in the choice of costume for Naomi. They are all bold colours and ensure that she doesn’t blend into the background. Her image represents a wealthy, fashionable, spoilt stereotype but she defies these expectations and perceptions later in the series, showing that she is in fact very smart, someone who is worldly and mature, and there's sophistication to her. For example when she takes the blame for her best friend’s drugs and gets arrested. This shows that she does care for others, but puts on a front due to her broken family life.

Adrianna is Naomi Clark's best friend. One of West Beverly Hill's High's more troubled students, Adrianna is pressured by her mother to pursue and succeed in her acting career, but that has pushed her to edge. Also the social pressures already obvious at the school, plus the expectations of her best friend and 'it girl' Naomi, Adrianna soon feels as if she can't cope. As a result, she turns to drugs and bad behaviour, such as ruining Annie's theatrical ambitions, stirring up some romantic problems for the new arrivals at the school and stealing from her best friend.

In Episode 4 (Wide Awake and Dreaming), Adrianna is late to rehearsal for the school play. She’s wearing black jeans, a brown top, black cardigan and black boots. This choice of prominent dark colours reflect Adrianna’s mood. At the moment she is depressed, stressed and under pressure. To resolve her problems, she turned to drugs and now has a serious problem. Her teacher’s suspect that something is wrong, Adrianna – “look, I get it, I’ve been distracted lately, maybe I’ve missed a couple of rehearsals.” She is completely unaware and oblivious to the effect that it’s having, and doesn’t see it as a big deal.

She’s wearing no make-up (something uncommon for those in Beverley Hills), has dark circles around her red eyes and her hair is not done properly (especially compared to everyone else.) She’s wearing a simple necklace, simple silver hoops and a bangle to match her outfit. This shows that she is trying to make an effort and keep her image up, but is so run down that she is now showing strong signs of taking drugs, causing suspicion amongst everyone.

Later we see her collapsed, 5 minutes before the school play. She laughs/giggles uncontrollably, stumbles, and shouts “woo” etc. – all signs that she has taken drugs. She is oblivious to what has happened and denies it when people question her. Her costume simply reflects her mood and position at the moment, she is miserable and drained.

In class, she doesn’t listen to the teacher and concentrates on singing. She sits slouched in her chair, with her hood up and earphones in. Again she’s wearing all black and acts like she doesn’t care about anything or anyone, but we do begin to sympathise with her as it is here that we find out that she is the one who is paying for everything in her family with her acting money.

Immediately in costume, hair & make-up, we can see strong differences in her character and Naomi’s. Adrianna lives with her mother who relies on her to get an income from her acting to pay for their family and house. Her position, lack of money, mood, drug taking and longing for a sense of family is all reflected strongly in what she wears.

My Chosen TV Drama

I have chosen to concentrate on the American TV drama 90210 which has just recently started as a new series as part of a contemporary spin-off from the series originally aired in 1990 to 2000 in the United States.

90210 is a teen drama developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs. It is the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. This series features a similar premise: a family with two teenagers who recently moved from the Midwest to Beverly Hills. However it was made clear the series would be a spin-off with new characters, and not a re-make. They have also reintroduced some of the original cast members from the previous Beverly Hills, 90210.

The development of the plots found the writers trying to ground their script in reality, with real character stories and emotional stories. The writers wanted the audience to relate to the characters' problems, which they wanted to be truthful and emotional, but also comedic. They were interested in telling several stories simultaneously, featuring many characters. The parents of two of the main characters were found to be an important part of the series, and designed to be contemporary parents. They designed the script to include more prominent adult story lines and a strong point of view on parenting. They were also interested in focusing on how the family kept their moral center when moving to Beverly Hills and the way the parents dealt with their teenagers.

Plot:
The series revolves around the Wilson Family's (parents Debbie and Harry Wilson, their daughter Annie and adoptive son Dixon) transition from Kansas to California, similar to how the original series revolved around the Walsh family's recent move to California from Minnesota. In addition, many old plotlines have been resumed or recycled from the original series.
This time however, Harry is actually from Beverly Hills and comes back both to look after his mother Tabitha and to work as the principal at West Beverly Hills High School. All of them struggle to adjust to their new lives: Annie has a hard time balancing romances (starting with rich kid Ty) and friendships as well as popularity and identity; Dixon has issues with his adoption and African-American heritage; Harry and Debbie struggle with the revelation that Harry has a son with Tracy Clark, his former high school sweetheart.

Short explanation of Characters: