Teenage Affluenza Documentary Analysis

Teenager Affluenza Documentary Analysis

The overall message of this short documentary is serious, ironic and sarcastic, as it compares the life of a fifteen year old girl, Erin, potentially 'suffering' with teenage affluenza, to that of children and teenagers from Vietnam and their struggle to get enough food to live on each day and the constant dangers they face. There is use of a male narrator, who speaks about Erin's life and her "struggles", and a female narrator who discusses 

This mid-shot of Erin shows her with a bored, unimpressed expression whilst on her mobile phone. It is paired with the male narrator's dialogue, "at the heart of her tragic story", which represents a sarcastic viewpoint, as it is suggesting this is how she feels about her life even though, in reality, it is far from tragic. The narrator's tone of voice is very stereotypical of that of a serious documentary which attempts to spur emotions within its audience, which therefore adds to the sarcasm this documentary is portraying.

This over-the-shoulder clip of Erin looking down and depressed is paired with the narrative dialogue, "many teens like Erin are forced to live on less than $40 pocket money a week." Again, irony and sarcasm are used to get across the point that Erin and many other teenagers across the country feel they are hard done by and "forced" to live on, what seems to them, as very little money.

This wide-shot clip is of children from a third world country cycling along a dusty road. It is paired with the male narrator's dialogue, "to make matters worse, their family car is a late 1980s Toyota Corolla." This shows a stronger sense of irony and may begin to spur feelings of guilt within the audience, as they compare their lives with the lives of less fortunate children who are forced to live in dangerous conditions when Erin feels she is treated badly as her family car is an old model.

This cut-in shot of a child's feet from a third world country is paired with the dialogue from the female narrator saying, "Imagine what it is like for Kaison leading her blind mother home on a dirt road at night." This is the first time the female narrates showing the opposite side of the story and makes the audience think and consider how lucky they probably are.

I thought these two close-up clips were effectively chosen, as they show the juxtaposition between the two girl's lifestyles. The above image shows Kaison with a dirty face and a perplexed facial expression, as she eats the tiny amount of food her family can afford. This shows a huge variation to the clip of Erin a few seconds after, who is shown with headphones, as she is complaining about her iPod being only 1 gigabyte. These sudden cuts between Erin and Kaison's lives make the reality of the 'teenage affluenza' disease hit home more intensely to the audience, as they are forced to compare the tow girls' living situations.

A compilation of clips of third world children sharing their problems makes the audience think and compare these situations to their own."We are always wondering how our mother's going to get food for tomorrow."

This wide-shot clip of Erin looking bored, filing her nails, comes straight after the previous clip, paired with the dialogue, "Life is tough for teens like Erin. Each day is a struggle." It makes the point hit home that people in first world countries really have no idea what it means for life to be a 'struggle.' The use of sarcasm throughout the documentary makes the point even clearer and more hard-hitting.

This mid-shot clip shows a Youth Ambassador saying, "They need your help. They truly need your help." This makes the audience think, as it insinuates she is referring to Erin and other teenagers like her, however the video then shows clips of families in third world countries.

I thought this two-shot of a woman crying with her child was particularly effective, as it is paired with the male narrator talking about Erin. "It's her turn to stack the dishwasher." It makes it obvious to the audience that this woman clearly has much deeper troubles to face, but insinuates this may be how Erin feels even though her living situation is very comfortable compared to other's.

The final clip shows a black screen with the text 'do something.' This could be used to evoke emotions in the audience, encouraging them to make a difference, and not take what they have for granted.