Analysis Of Two Characters From 'Skins'

The two characters in which I chose to analyse was Tony, played by Nicholas Hoult and Sid, played by Mike Bailey. I will be discussing the ways these two characters have been presented, in terms of storylines, costume, body language, their settings and relationships with other characters.
We are first introduced to Sid in the opening scene; he is lying down, sleeping on the floor in a wreaked and dirty bedroom, the bedroom has been ruined and sabotaged and looks as though a house party has taken place the night before. A post it note has been teasingly placed on Sid’s forehead which reads ‘Virgin!’, not only does this note inform the audience about how Sid is a target among the other teenagers but it also informs us of his deep struggle to develop in puberty. Sid is also limitedly dressed in the scene, he is wearing no clothing but underwear and we can gather that maybe he wasn’t the one responsible.
We are then introduced to Tony as the non diegetic music from the soundtrack begins to build up. Tony is presented to the audience in a split second as a confident, up-ruling and rebellious type character. Tony and the other teenagers are also dressed in their underwear; this can connote how the teenagers are promiscuous, immoral and also how their lives are quite sexually orientated. We see Tony laughing as he fugitively runs out of the house in which he and other teenagers have selfishly ruined, he finds this amusing and humorous. The audience can immediately gather an immense contrast between Tony and Sid’s character representation.
In a separate scene involving another character Cassie, a man named Madison discusses why he feels angry and agitated. This storyline relates back to Sid as he discusses how he feels Sid has “cheated” him. The audience can gather that Madison may have Sid misunderstood and how Sid possibly didn’t mean to cause any trouble or stress by the situation that he was involved in as he is not that type of character. Again, this strengthens the fact how Sid has been presented, being a misunderstood, depressed and out casted character. The audience are then presented with a detailed view of Sid in a next scene. Sid has been displayed as a stereotypical geek; his hair is greasy, messy and untidy, his clothes are lifeless and drab and he is also wearing thick rimmed glasses. Sid then receives a tad of banter by the other teenagers in the cafeteria in which he then decides to sit alone away from them to eat his food. This strengthens the fact of Sid being a target among other teenagers and how he is acts as an outcast.
The audience are then introduced a second time to Tony, he is dressed in bright, striking and loud clothes. His electric pink t-shirt contrasts to the drab and lifeless colour of Sid’s. Tony’s choice of clothing connotes to the audience how he is a positive, self-assured and confident character. When Tony sits down and begins to speak to Sid, we can imagine that he will talk to him in an ordinary friendly type manner but instead Tony asks Sid “have you washed?” and tells him that he “smells”. Although Tony may be being honest and direct, it is still a nasty comment and seems to knock Sid’s confidence even more.
Tony is also presented to the audience as quite organized in both school and appearance. He brags about completing his English coursework and goes crazy when a drink is spilled down him onto his clean trousers. He retaliates and takes out his anger on a boy who mocks him, this displays Tony in a care-free, confident yet wild and destructive manner. Sid is also joined by another character in the cafeteria, Cassie. She talks to him about her problems and issues in which she is facing, Sid listens to her and he seems as though he is extremely interested in what what she has to say. He tells Cassie that he “cares” which shows the audience how Sid has feelings and is also quite emotionaly sensitive. The audience can gather a developing and genuine relationship between Sid and Cassie whether it will develop to be love or just friendship.
We next see Tony in the female staff toilets drying his trousers, the fact that he has entered the female toilets shows how his thoughts and life are extremely sexually orientated. He also doesn’t seem to feel anything wrong with what he has done and the fact that he has caught sight of one of his own teachers in the flesh, naked. This could also connote how he and other male teenagers are continuously thinking of women and the many other things which revolve around sex. Tony is also attempting to dry and clean his trousers, this also strengthens the outlook of Tony being an organized, clean and a well presented teenager. In contrast, we see Sid freaking out and worrying about Madison, his speech is mumbled and he is speaking at a very high and fast pace which presents Sid in a nervous, afraid and anxious manner. Sid is fiddling with his hands as he talks to one of his teachers, he is continuously moving them and twitching, this again shows how Sid is quite worried and frustrated.
The audience are then presented with Sid and Tony together in the same scene; they are sitting side by side in a classroom/lesson. There is a dramatic and vast dissimilarity between the body language of the two characters, Tony is extremely relaxed and acting quite happy-go-lucky, while Sid is uptight, tense and acting stressed out. The audience’s feeling for Sid deepens as we begin to feel even sorrier for him, Madison appears as a substitute teacher in their school and we can imagine the anxiety and worry which is going through Sid’s mind.