White girl depicts the story of a Caucasian teenager who has moved to a predominantly Asian/Muslim area with her family to escape from her father. The drama shows her (at first) struggle to fit in with the Asian community which already seems unusual as dramas typically portray minorities in the UK trying to fit into “white” communities (minorities making up 8% of the UK), however she then begins to embrace the culture and is faced with obstacles such as her family who do not her to practice Islam almost as a way to “preserve British culture”. The drama shows themes of ageism, racial tension, domestic violence and financial struggle.
The opening scene portrays a teenage girl riding a pink bike on the grass. This scene represents the girl’s innocence and childhood as riding bikes is typically represented as a popular activity among young children. This is then supported by the fact that the girl’s bike is pink (a typical colour associated with girls) showing that she still has her childhood however her surroundings would sat otherwise: the patch of grass she is riding is surrounded by tall tower blocks which shows she has an urban life. However, this could show that her childhood (represented by the patch of grass) is slowly being taken away (the tower blocks representing adulthood and the urbanisation of natural representing her childhood being taken away).
Editing is also used to show the youth and innocence of the girl. For example, in the first sequence, when the girl is riding her bike, some of it is shot through a low angle making her surroundings look much bigger (mainly the tower blocks) showing their superiority. This is emphasised as the front wheel is included in the shot which shows that it is shown similarly through her point of view therefore creating the sense that she is vulnerable to these surroundings as she is looking up towards them showing her to be inferior.
Her interaction with other characters also shows that her childhood is almost at an end. This is suggested when she enters the chip shop. The man at the till states that she is too old for the bike, however, she shuns his comment which shows that despite previous methods showing her vulnerability, she still has some form of strength through clinging on to what is left of her childhood; in this case her bike (which represents her childhood).
Further on in the extract, age starts to become the determinant of who is in which position of the hierarchy (the oldest characters being at the top and the youngest at the bottom). This comes into action many times during the extract. For example, during the wedding, when the main character is praying, older characters (all family members) try to stop her however, in a twist, she does not respond to this “oppression” and retaliates by continuing to pray and not taking her scarf off (even after being removed from her physically (an element of the theme of domestic violence) by an older male family member seen who is portrayed as one of the antagonists of the extract). As well as exploring themes of racial or cultural tension (the girls British parents not wanting their child to practice Islam which is not usually associated with British culture) it also shows that once again the young girl has displayed her strength to older members despite being previously portrayed as a victim (when her scarf is forcefully removed from her). This is twist as the adults (who are seen as the more dominant individuals) have exercised their authority against a younger and a more inferior individual however their attempts have failed due to the younger individual’s persistence showing that the young girl has been underestimated and that she is stronger than she is perceived to be.
The younger character being defiant of her superiors also suggests that she is maturing into an adult. This is shown strongly though her bike (in which at the start of the extract she was already too big for). As seen, the bike (when belonging to her is pink), which is reflective of her youth and vulnerability, however, as she begins to mature throughout the extract, at the same time, her bike is spray-painted black, a more subtle and mature colour. This is a strong gesture that she has grown up and is becoming a stronger character, however she is not fully independent as she is still reliant on other older characters (such as the Asian family who temporally take care for her) suggesting that she is still retains some form of vulnerability which is linked back to the bike as it still shows some pink (as stated by the young girl).
In conclusion, age is represented through a range of techniques such as editing, interaction between characters and props showing that even though young individuals appear to be weak and vulnerable, they can show strengths and even prevail over challenges from older and superior individuals.
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