A somewhat specialised shot in film is a top shot. This is when the camera is placed directly overhead the actor and may zoom out to give the idea of the subject being isolated. This shot is used in the beginning of “Teenage Dirtbag” as part of a cliché framing device used – Jason Biggs (Jason Biggs) is seen falling asleep on some stairs, indicating that the whole of the following video is a dream. A ripple effect is used on the video to indicate that that it is a dream. Throughout the video, both the visual and audio narratives complement each other to portray the message and plot. The dream sequence is split into two parts – the first represents reality and is a true representation of what we assume life is like for Biggs and the second is fantasy and what he would like his life to be like.
In the opening scene Biggs is the riding a bike to school. He is the only one riding a bike as it is cars that hold a higher status among students in high schools and are often portrayed as attracting girls; they are owned by a stereotypical jock. Biggs is apparently unaware that he stands out, even though he is wearing three layers of shirts and a Fargo hat whilst other students are wearing thinner, lighter clothes due to the hot weather. We can clearly see that he stands out when he arrives at the bike rack to lock up his bike and there is only one other bike there – a small pink bike that looks like it belongs to a small girl. As Biggs bends down to tie his laces, a car knocks over his bike. A low angle shot is used here to show that the car is bigger than the bike and therefore superior; it represents an allegorical link with the relationship between Jason Biggs and Noelle’s boyfriend. There is no complaint from Biggs; he simply looks on in mild shock as Noelle (Mena Suvari) steps out of the car. This shows he has no authority and respect from other students. At this point Wheatus start singing and introduce her as Noelle in the lyrics: “Her name is Noelle; I have a dream about her”.
The band are then shown singing in the gym – this associates them with the lyrics and they are therefore not isolated from the events in the video, but included in them when they sing “I got gym class in half an hour”. The gym is however empty at the beginning, further reinforcing the idea that the video could be autobiographical because Brendan Brown is alone with only his band. On the scoreboard the score shows that the home team is losing badly – this displays the theme of the song and perhaps gives the message that losers never win.
Point of view (POV) shots are used frequently in the “Teenage Dirtbag” video because we are seeing life through the eyes of the “loser”. We see through Biggs’ eyes that Suvari is moving gracefully. Effects have been added to the video to make her look almost angelic: a diffuse glow has been applied to make the whites appear brighter and it has been slowed down. Showing video in slow motion is a common technique used to make a shot look more romantic. Suvari also appears to be gliding forward rather than walking. She is not outwardly unpleasant to Biggs, but does not pay him any attention either. This is demonstrated with a wide shot of her walking past him and his bike on its side. The lyrics follow this: “She doesn’t know who I am, and she doesn’t give a damn about me”.
The video then cuts to a mid shot of Wheatus playing the chorus in a school corridor surrounded by a crowd who are jumping to the music. The addition of people matches the change in volume and intensity of the music and so compliments the soundtrack. This shot sets the scene for the next sequence. Biggs struggles to walk up a spiral staircase against the flow of oncoming people – he is the only one walking in the opposite direction. This shows that he is a social pariah and reinforces the theme that he is a loser. It also symbolises that everyone is against him and could be seen as a figurative link to the way he does not conform to the expectations and social rules of society (whether this is intentional or not). Members of the band are in this scene playing ordinary students. This is ironic because they are seen excluded in the opening scene and Brendan Brown is seen fitting in when he may once have been in the position of the loser. It is interesting to note a reference to the director here: a poster displaying the words “Jeff Gordon” is seen at this point.
While he is walking against the flow of people in a corridor, Biggs smiles at people making the loser sign at him (making an “L” shape with the thumb and forefinger and placing it on the forehead). He smiles at them, either oblivious to the fact that they are mocking him – which would further perpetuate the stereotype that losers are naive and may believe people like them – or that he is trying to shrug off attempts to put him down. A shot of the band reveals that the drummer is wearing a shirt that reads “fantasy”, reminding us that this sequence of events is a dream.
There is a low angle shot of Noelle’s boyfriend, making him appear bigger and more powerful and perhaps menacing with his small gang of friends. In the “Teenage Dirtbag” music video he is often seen with a group of people while Biggs is always seen on his own. Jeff Gordon uses a common film device here – we see a POV shot of Noelle looking apparently directly at Biggs, and he turns round to check if there is anyone behind him she is looking at. When he sees no one, he smiles back, assuming she is smiling at him. Noelle’s boyfriend then knocks Biggs down as he walks past. He does not make any effort to do this or go out of his way to push Biggs aside; Biggs falls over just as he walks past. This again shows that the image of a loser is weak. There is a low angle shot of Biggs lying on the floor which is comparable to the low angle shot of the bike and the car at the beginning of the video. However, this shot is different in that the camera tracks away from Biggs to show that he is isolated in a large group of people.
The next scene shows Biggs eating lunch at a table under a billboard which reads “Loser”. This could be considered a label for him, but one could argue that a literal label would be too obvious to portray any sort of message. It is also a reference to the film “Loser” which the music video is promoting. Biggs is reading a book, which is not considered cool because most people will be talking with their friends. The book represents his lack of friends. Noelle is shown standing with her boyfriend and his friends. This scene displays her dislike for his attitude and jock mentality, issues which are explored in much greater depth in the film “Loser”. One of her boyfriend’s friends throws some rubbish at Biggs and they all find this amusing, except Noelle who walks off in disgust.
This is a turning point in the video – it marks the division between reality and fantasy. The final scene is set at a prom for which Wheatus is the band. Biggs sits at the “loser table” with two other social recluses and no girls. He wears a bright unfashionable suit in contrast to everyone else at the prom who is wearing dark stylish suits. Biggs takes off and throws down his bow tie onto the table in frustration. What follows is a series of point of view shots. Biggs sees Suvari gliding towards him holding two Iron Maiden tickets. Ironically, Wheatus sing “This must be fake”, which we know it is. We learn from the lyrics of the song and also by the fact that in one shot Biggs is wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt that he likes the band. We also get the impression that it is not cool to like them, hence why it is used in reference to him being a loser. Brendan Brown ventriloquises in a falsetto voice over Mena Suvari who is mouthing the words, which gives the effect that she is singing.
She asks him to go to an Iron Maiden concert with Biggs and tells him that she is also a “dirtbag”. There is a close up shot of her putting the tickets on the table and then a series of mid shots of the two of them dancing. It obviously a fantasy at this point because it is highly unlikely that anyone would ask a loser to dance while having a popular boyfriend.
When the song has finished and Biggs and Suvari are still dancing, there is top shot of them with the disco ball in the foreground. This becomes detached from the ceiling and falls towards Biggs’ head. Just as it is about to hit him, he wakes from his dream and finds himself back on the staircase with his school bag. The common belief and message in films that “the loser gets the girl in the end” is shattered because Biggs is still a loser and his dream has not affected how Noelle feels about Paul Tanneck: he is still a loser.
