Youth - Collective Identity

1. Youth are often represented in accordance with popular notions of adolescence:
Adolescence - physically and emotionally maturing. Fish Tank portrays adolescence through Mia, 15 year old girl

School/Education:
Fish Tank, Mia rebels against mainstream education. It shows that Mia is isolated from her peer group by not attending education. A scene which shows how Mia is different from other peers in terms of education is when a Social Worker visits her home and offers Mia a place at a Referral Unit School.
Son of Rambow, Will Proudfoot and Lee Carter in education are at complete opposites of the spectrum. Will is a quiet religious kid that is very conservative in school, not saying he is hard working or academic he is a day dreamer. In contrast Lee is a loud mouth bully that is confident and rebellious to authority. An example of this is then Will is day dreaming and doodling, then sent from the class to sit outside while they watch an educational video because of religion. Lee is also sitting outside after being kicked out for playing with a tennis ball and lying. this shows the contrast in character in education.

Finding work:
Fish Tank, Mia is unemployed and attempts to find a job as a dancer as that is the one thing that the film shows makes her happy. When turning up for the audition she realizes it wasn't the type of dancing that she does and leaves after feeling embarrassed.

Finding love/friendship/acceptance:
Fish Tank, Mia finds love in her mothers boyfriend, of which her mother does not get as emotionally attached to her boyfriends, as Mia did with Connor. In terms of friendship Mia becomes friends with Liam, a traveller, and them leaving together at the end is romanticized, therefore hints that they friendship could turn into more.

Creating an Identity that isn't created by school/parents/authority:
Son of Rambow, Will creates a new identity for himself away from his religious regime and his mother's  authority by using his imagination to create this 'son of rambow' persona.

Experimentation; drugs, culture, crime:
Fish Tank, Mia uses alcohol as an escape, which makes the audience feel that she has taken and followed in her mother's footsteps.

Leaving home:
Fish Tank, Mia concludes after everything that has happened throughout her life that she needs to escape from what has happened and decides to leave with Liam, to start a fresh life in Wales.