Sexuality

At first we are introduced to two male characters through a shot reverse shot sequence. The taller male character is very masculine. He has all the traits of the stereotypicall heterosexual male jock. Through mise en scene this is emphasised due to the fact he is wearing a football jersey which is key to understanding that he is straight as football is perceived to me a very masculine sport. Also he is muscular and tall which reinforces the straight masculine stereotype that the traditional hetero man is powerful and strong. On the other hand, when it cuts to the other male character we are greeted with this short, thin, almost female looking boy. This alone gives us an indication that he is not as masculine as the other character in the shot. When we start to hear the contrast in tone in their voices through the diegetic dialogue we can almost be certain that the shorter character acts a lot more feminine that of the other. through the way in which he positions himself and the flirty tone towards the other man we get the idea that he is gay and possibly hinting they are together. However this idea is quickly destroyed when he remarks that he "already has a date to prom". This could possibly cause a rejected reading from the viewer as the way ion which he says this is sarcastic and almost rude. However, it could also portray realistic aspects of a gay persons high school experience. .

Furthermore, when it cuts to the next scene we can see a Birdseye shot over a field of football players who are in training. The speed of the cut sequence indicates that there is urgency in what they are doing however , along with their fast and energetic movements and loud drum music used as a sound bridge between the two scenes, create this idea of male masculinity which reinforces the heterosexual stereotype of the straight guy and his friends. during this scene there is a lot of sport equipment which again link to the idea of male masculinity and love for sports and the heterosexual stereotype. The camera then pans down to the same two men that were seen in the first scene. This time the gay guy stands with his hand on his hip. This type of posture is commonly how we would expect a woman to stand which thus reinforces the idea of there being a strong link between femininity and the gay stereotype. The diegetic dialogue between the two characters reveals the straight guy being controlling and calm but the gay guy being bitchy and sassy when he makes remarks like "I'm like a rum chocolate soufflé, if I don't warm up I wont rise" which we can link to the idea that the media perceive gay people to be outrageous and funny and different to the 'normal heterosexual'. To this we can apply the idea of binary opposites which define that two characters are the complete opposite of each other, one being ultra masculine and straight and the other coming across as being very stereotypically feminine and gay. These two opposites almost form an unlikely bond which in a way breaks the stereotype that a gay person and a heterosexual person are different, yet there still is the underlying tone that the heterosexual character is embarrassed to be with the other character due to the way he is constantly looking anywhere but at the other character and is more aware of how he is coming across to his other heterosexual friends.

Later on in the clip it cuts to a scene where we see the two characters once again about to warm up in front of the football team. At first we see a slow motion sequence of the gay character which gives the impression that something big is about to happen as he stretches and turns on his stereo. However when he turns it on we quickly get the idea that the suspense was introduced to almost mock the gay character. it then cuts to a scene where he is dancing to diegetic music coming from the stereo a Beyoncé song which is perceived to be a gay icon. This music also reinforces the fact that there is a link between femininity and sexuality when it comes to gay men. The movements of his body emphasise his weakness amongst such a large group of jocks. A long shot has been used to establish the reaction of all of the football players who are laughing and mocking the gay guy. This emphasises the fact that he is totally out of place and doesn't belong here which again can be said to highlight the reality for a young gay teen in high school. This also reinforces the stereotype that the typical heterosexual male will dismiss homosexuality because if they agreed with it may possibly harm their heterosexualness and how they come across to other straight guys. All in all this creates a rejected reading of the Jocks because they mock the gay guy and appear to be mean, however some may agree with the jocks in ridiculing the gay character but this can depend on a number of factors.

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