Comparing Alfie with An Education

How typical is Jenny of a British Teenager?

At the start of the film Jenny is quite ruled by her father and acts well behaved by getting good grades and playing the cello. However, as the film progresses she becomes much more rebellious and stops trying to please her father so much, this is typical of a lot of British Teenagers because a lot of teenagers try to rebel against their parents . Jenny also doesn't know what she wants out of life, even though she wants to go to Oxford and get an English degree, she then feels later on that life experiences are more important than an education. However, she then goes on to regret this. This is very typical of British Teenagers because a lot of the time, Teenagers go through school not caring so much about their education and once they leave they regret this and wish they had tried harder.

Draw similarities and comparisons between the Britain in An Education and the Britain in Alfie.

Both films take place within a few years of each other, however there are clear differences in the way Britain is portrayed. In 'An Education', we mostly see Britain from a school girl's perspective; the locations are school rooms and suburban roads. However in 'Alfie' we see Britain from the point of view of a man in his twenties, with no steady job. The locations include different apartments, back streets, cafes and bars. Both are set in London, one in the suburbs and one further into the city. This reflects the characters and the mood of the films as Jenny, in 'An Education', is fairly naive and innocent, whereas Alfie is 'experienced' and more knowledgeable about urban life.