AM I A BRAIN-DEAD TEEN?! 🧠 (a critical literacy task)

What makes this video convincing?

1. The editing (making it seem like a real doctor's office, the use of green screens, the news on television format
2. The interviews with the doctor - the use of medical talk
3. The behaviour being very real and relatable.

Who published this video?
I guess it is a group who is helping to motivate teenagers to do better in their life... or a comedy group.
Answer: It's a satirical fake news organisation whose videos are meant to look realistic but be funny, called "The Onion". 

How are teenagers portrayed in this clip?
The girl is portrayed as very stereotypical teenager, that is only capable of texting, lying in her bed, rolling her eyes, etc, etc. I personally believe it's a negative stereotype because that may be all that adults and elderly people think of teenagers.

Why has the director cast them this way?
I think the whole purpose of the video was to entertain audiences, making fun of a stereotype that teenagers are addicted to social media and... well, not much else. The director cast the characters into the video for realism (the doctor is a good example of this), and for humour. 

In whose interest is this text?
Parents, teenagers, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and other people who have 13-18 year-olds in their families. Teachers may also be interested in this.

Who is real in this text?
Despite not a single character portrayed in the video being real, it sure does happen to seem very real, and in our class discussion most of us agreed that the doctor's role seemed very realistic because of the language used, the doctor's office he was in, etc, etc. The first time I watched the video online, I actually believed it to be real up until the part when the teenager is euthanised... that's just a tad too inhumane for today's society, at least in New Zealand. 
We also talked about how easy it would be to manipulate audiences into thinking that a certain character is real... one point Mrs Handley brought up is that if she dressed a random person off the street in a Hornby High uniform, and got them to speak as if they actually attended the school, how real it would be to most people.

What social realities does this video portray?
The video explores the ideology that most teenagers are addicted to social media, and texting, often ignore their parents and roll their eyes at them, do not like school...  among other things. However, the creators of the video have added a witty twist to it (the idea that the teenager is brain-dead, only capable of rolling eyes and texting) for satirical purposes all while remaining very realistic at the same time. 

A/N: I am definitely looking to improve my critical literacy school as I've hardly really looked into it before.... feel free to leave your feedback in the comments, and I'll make sure to take them into consideration! Thanks :)