TV Drama- Hollyoaks: Max's Death

The representation of death in this clip is initially quite dramatic. This is shown by the use of slow motion as Tom’s toy drops to the ground and the dramatic music. Having said this, the scene shows realism when Max is hit by the car because it is shown exactly as it is; it is true to life. The shot is fast and quite disorientating and Nile’s reaction after the cars impact is what you would expect of a car crash. I think that death is also romanticised in this because it is represented as a heroic act. Max ran into the road to save Tom; a selfless act that shows that he is a caring person. His death is only a sad moment for the people around him; he still seems to be as optimistic as ever, saying things like “Today’s the best day of my life” and “I love you”. All of these factors give death quite a positive tone as they are suggesting to the audience that even in death you can be hopeful.

The scene is relatively fast paced and a sense of tension is created right from the start because of the diegetic sounds used. The music is dramatic and there is a light sound of a hospital monitor, foreshadowing near future events and warning the audience.

Steph is the only woman to appear in the scene. Her reaction to Max’s death is quite erratic and she seems to be in denial for a moment. She says “no, no” suggesting that she doesn’t want it to be true and doesn’t want to face reality. This is quite a contrast to Max’s behaviour because he seems to be accepting of death. This presents women as quite dependent and emotional but not in a bad way.

After Max’s death, the camera tracks up to a tree and then to an intense white sky. The vivid white sky, along with the angelic church music, suggests that Max has gone to heaven. This reiterates the optimism that he showed just before death and suggests to the audience that there is hope in death. This could be seen as prejudice because some people do not believe in heaven and are not religious. The suggestion of it could be seen as quite closed minded and not considerate of a wide audience.

As the show is a teen drama, it is essential for them to make the scene not too graphic and make light of an awful situation that is why death isn’t shown as dark and daunting thing.

Following this, there is a video clip taken on a camcorder of Max at his wedding; the use of a camcorder makes it more personal because it is showing a moment in time, recorded by a close friend. This is something that people can relate to because special occasions are often videoed. The scene ends with Max making a statement about love; I think this was used to capture a “true” image of his personality and again show how positive he was. The scene is a celebration of his life rather than a mourning of his death.