Friday, March 27, 2009

How important are locations to living with crime?

Both London to Brighton and Bullet Boy are British films that deal with the issue of living with crime. The settings and locations are key to how these films portray their criminology to the spectator, and the representations of the characters are often mirrored by the settings they are a part of.

The settings and locations within London to Brighton help to convey a scene of working class. The first scene initiates the spectator into the film with two prostitutes run into a broken down, graffitied public toilet. As the setting moves on to grotty streets and small, grotty flats, the spectator begins to understand that the characters are working class. This conveys the ideal that this may be why they are prostitutes, and indicates that the characters have become involved in this lifestyle of crime due to their working circumstance.

Similarly, the settings and locations of Bullet Boy play a major role in the plot. Not only does it establish the setting, but the view of the back streets of rural London immediately gives an indication of the class of the characters, and suggests that this is significant to the action. Equally, the setting of working class, back street London is suggested to be the main reason Ricky is involved in the drug and gun culture he is trapped within. When talking to Shea, Ricky admits that he wishes to leave, and live somewhere else. He claims himself that the setting of where he lives is why he has a criminal lifestyle, and explains that his only hope of reforming is if he moves somewhere else. Kelly, in London to Brighton, has the same idea. When she and Joanne kill a customer, they flee to Brighton, which has a much calmer, safer setting, as she believes that by embedding themselves in a different, safer city, they can escape the lifestyle of crime and its consequences.

A striking contrast is made with the setting of London to Brighton as the two female leads enter the house of the customer, who is a doctor. It is a vast house that is over-exposed in a washed out white. The walls, floor and ceiling are all bright, pure white. As the audience is aware that he is a doctor, his house has a clinical tone. White also represents purity and innocence, which is contrasted by Joanne herself, in deep scarlet lipstick and jumper. This shocking visual helps to convey her message of innocence. She is young and does not understand the intensity of what she has got herself into, and the clash of red on white represents the defilement of her and her innocence. The colour scheme of this location also portrays the doctor as a false hero. Traditionally, the hero would be dressed in white, and his white house and clothes suggest that he would be the ‘good guy’. In correlation to this, the ‘criminal’ prostitutes are dressed in red and black. This contrast in ideology actually suggests that the higher class characters such as Duncan and Stuart are actually more likely to be involved in more illegal and dangerous lifestyles than the working class characters. Derek and Kelly live within a criminal lifestyle due to their prostitution arrangement, whereas Duncan, even as a doctor, enjoys more deprave, immoral and illegal activities that are more dangerous and with severer consequences than the others. Stuart even lives a lifestyle reminiscent of a ‘king pin’ gang leader; rich, powerful, and criminal.

The idea of youth within Bullet Boy also suggests a reason for their criminal lifestyles. The youthful setting of a club toward the beginning of the film is the setting for the major clash between Wisdom, and the apposing gang. It also underlines Ricky’s unwillingness to rejoin this lifestyle. He is at the club to see his friends, have fun and dance with his girlfriend. However, after a Wisdoms encounter in the bathroom of the club, he summons Ricky away from his chosen pass time and convinces Ricky to accompany him as he threatens the opposing gang member, and kills his dog.

Both films convey the idea of entrapment within the lifestyles of the characters. Therefore, for each, there is a place of openness and serenity. In Bullet Boy, Curtis is often seen to be playing in a large open field. This represents the freedom he has in choosing how to live. He is the youngest character, and so is not immersed in a life of crime as Ricky is. Therefore, if he chooses, he can live free of crime as he grows older, just as he plays in the open field when he is younger. Similarly, the setting of a beach front portrays this ideal for Joanne in London to Brighton. She is only twelve, and so the freedom of how to live her life is still apparent, if she can only free herself from this situation. As she and Kelly sit on the beach front, Kelly is shown to be sat their smoking, not enjoying or really understanding the significance of their location. Joanne however, is playing with the stones and in the sea. Her youth and innocence understands and enjoys the freedom that the beach and the ocean represent for her. A similar message is also portrayed in another British film, Sweet Sixteen. As the main character reaches his sixteenth birthday, he stands on the beach front and looks out at the ocean. This visual however is used ironically, as by the end of the film he is trapped within his life of crime and its consequences. For Joanne however, this image still represents hope.

In conclusion, London to Brighton conveys many messages and values about living with crime to the spectator, through the convention of settings. Most of these are very similar with other British films such as Bullet Boy. These harrowing films capture, and inform the spectator of how different people have to live within criminal and immoral societies.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

London to Brighton

London to Brighton is a film by Paul Andrew Williams, and was released in 2006 in Briton. It is an example of British cinema and uses narrative elements to help to covey its messages and values, and represent living with crime in Briton.

The settings and locations within London to Brighton help to convey a scene of working class. The first scene initiates the spectator into the film with two prostitutes run into a broken down, graffitied public toilet. As the setting moves on to grotty streets and small, grotty flats, the spectator begins to understand that the characters are working class. This conveys the ideal that this may be why they are prostitutes, and indicates that the characters have become involved in this lifestyle of crime due to their working circumstance. A striking contrast is made with the setting as the two female leads enter the house of a doctor. It is a vast house that is over-exposed in a washed out white. The walls, floor and ceiling are all bright, pure white. As the audience is aware that he is a doctor, his house has a clinical tone. White also represents purity and innocence, which is contrasted by Joanne herself, in deep scarlet lipstick and jumper. This shocking visual helps to convey her message of innocence. She is young and does not understand the intensity of what she has got herself into, and the clash of red on white represents the defilement of her and her innocence.

In terms of narrative structure, London to Brighton is set in the female’s point of view. The story follows Kelly and Joanne as they live out the consequences of what they are involved in. This allows the spectator to live as one of them, become involved in their characters and understand what they are going through. However, it is also clear that within this text, the male characters have the authority. Derek, for example, is Kelly’s pimp, and not only sways her into this scenario, but ropes Joanne in with a series of confusing and unflattering questions. Duncan’s depravity is clear from the moment his name is mentioned, but his full lust for power is only revealed at the end as Joanne reveals his action of tying her down and trying to cut her. Stuart, of course, is at the top of the pyramid of power, and his gang-leader bravado and stony glare do not wield throughout the film, as he manipulates all the characters into his idea of a just punishment. The value that is being portrayed is one that women are nothing but helpless victims. Kelly, although the adult in charge and supposedly in control of the situation, is merely used as an object by Derek, and a pawn by Stuart. The male dominance suggests that women are helpless, and can only be coerced by men into doing whatever they like; innocent and nieve.

The main value that the film conveys is the idea of motherhood. Although the characters have only just met, Kelly feels immediately responsible for Joanne, who lost her own mother recently. The two bandy together in an ‘us-against-them’ unity that brings out the value of motherhood through the indication that, as a woman, Kelly cannot resist her maternal instincts, and Joanne, as a young girl, seeks only a female role modal. This also relates to the representation of women within Sweet Sixteen and Bullet boy. Although London to Brighton is the only one of these to follow a female point of view, their presence within the narrative is a common theme. Within the other two films, the only female characters are mothers/sisters/girlfriends; side characters that are only shown in how the male characters affect them.

Within Bullet Boy and London to Brighton, it is also a common ideology that everyone smokes, and conducts in licentious sex. The first thing Ricky does when he leaves prison in Bullet boy is light up a cigarette. Similarly, the first thing Joanne says to Kelly is her asking for a cigarette. This is not a common visual in contempory films, as the health risks have become a wide spread fear among society. However, this does convey the idea that criminals and possibly even the working class as a majority do smoke. In the same way, one of the first things Ricky does when he leaves prison is to have sex with his girlfriend. London to Brighton’s main theme is sex, with the characterisation of prostitutes, pimps, and paedophiles. The norm of sex, smoking, drinking etc that is being portrayed through these films gives the spectator the message that these are common values within these societies; meaning Briton, and the working class.

In conclusion, London to Brighton conveys many messages and values to the spectator. Most of these are very similar with other British films such as Bullet Boy and Sweet Sixteen. These harrowing films capture, and inform the spectator of how different people have to live within criminal and immoral societies.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Analysis of Bullet Boy with reference to Sweet Sixteen

Bullet Boy is a British film by Saul Dibb that was released in 2004. Its use of narrative features help to portray a harrowing tale about race, class, gangs and gun crime. The film follows the life of Ricky after he has got out of prison, and his effect on the lives of those around him. It draws on many of the same aspects of another British film Sweet Sixteen.

The settings and locations of Bullet Boy play a major role in the plot. Not only does it establish the setting, but the view of the back streets of rural London immediately gives an indication of the class of the characters, and suggests that this is significant to the action. This mirrors the setting in Scotland in Sweet Sixteen. This too was shot in a lower class rural area.

The establishing sequence of Bullet Boy allows us to see a contrasting parallel action of setting, beginning with Curtis trapped within a darkened boot of a car. He is small and confined in this space with very little lighting. Immediately this image is contrasted by the view of Ricky, also trapped, but within a small room that has been washed out in white and is shown in a bright, almost over exposed light. This method of editing using parallel action in contrast is used throughout the film, and allows us to see the connection between the characters. In reference to setting for example, when Ricky is released from prison his mother throws him a ‘welcome back’ party. This scene shows a civilised diner party with many adults in a warm red lighted house. In parallel however, Ricky is seen to be out clubbing with his friends. This setting contains very dark lighting, and the characters of young, wild clubbers. The effect of this is that the spectator can begin to understand how Ricky is pulling away from his family, and that he chooses his friends as the most important people in his life.

The characterisation in Bullet Boy is also highly influential to the plot. The roles and functions of each character work subtly to influence the other characters and the situations within the film. For example, the character of wisdom is what Propp described as the false hero/anti hero. Whilst not a villain, Wisdom does influence the protagonist Ricky in a negative way throughout the film narrative, and leads him astray. An example of this is shown when Ricky has only just got out of prison, and just wishes to reunite with all his friends and girlfriend. However, Wisdom convinces him to leave them behind and accompany him as he attempts to win back his reputation. This results in him killing a man’s dog, and Ricky’s reaction tells the spectator that he did not want anything to do with this. The character of Wisdom is also the one who convinced Ricky to keep the gun, which is what led on to all the issues within the film.

Similarly, within Sweet Sixteen, the character of Pinball mirrors the character of wisdom. For example, towards the beginning of the film, Pinball attempts to make Liam take a knife, just as wisdom attempted to make Ricky take a gun. Also, when most of the trouble the two fifteen year olds had got into seemed to die down, Pinball created even more trouble by stealing the gang boss’s car and crashing it into his club. Liam’s reaction to this, and to having to deal with it allows the spectator to see that he is essentially good natured, and creates sympathy for him, rather like that which the audience feel in reference to Ricky.

In terms of ideology, Bullet Boy has a strong sense of unity and brotherhood. For example, at the beginning of the film, when Ricky asks his little brother Curtis whether he has been keeping an eye on his girlfriend, Curtis asks what was in it for him. To this, Ricky simply says, ‘You’re my brother. You should just do these things for me.’ Consistently throughout the film, the word ‘Brethren’ is also stated. Although a slang word for friend, it does represent the closeness between them, as they are constantly comparing their bond of friendship to the bond of brothers. This especially applies to when they simply use this term to explain why they do things. For example, when Shea asks Ricky why he would violate his probation terms, Ricky reasons, ‘because he’s my Brethren.’ This allows the spectator to understand why Ricky is always in trouble, as he is just looking out for his unstable friend out of loyalty. This creates spectators sympathy for Ricky, and also links to the wider issue of class.

By the setting we are able to see that both Bullet Boy and Sweet Sixteen take place in lower class, rural areas. This representation of lower class characters allows the spectator to understand this sense of unity more. For example, in Sweet Sixteen, there is also a strong sense of unity, especially between Liam and his sister. The spectator can see that this is at least party due to their class as Chantelle says, ‘You and Calum are all I’ve got.’ This idea of dependency upon each other shows the spectator, within both narratives, that they do not have much else in their lives.

In conclusion, both Bullet Boy and Sweet Sixteen are both harrowing and dramatic British films. With a fast sense of spinning out of control in Sweet Sixteen, and the continuing theme of entrapment within unwanted lives and situations in Bullet Boy, both films display their narratives through many different film features to the spectator.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Sound in Eternal Sunshine

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a complicated film by Michel Gondry follows the meeting of Joel and Clementine, only to reveal that they had a two year relationship beforehand, which was then erased through a mental medical procedure, leaving them both with no memory of each other. The film begins following Joel just after his operation, and his sense of confusion is mirrored by the audience, as they also have no idea who he is or what he has done/will do. Sound is a useful device to enthral the audience, confuse them, and give them action codes and tantalising hints to the plot to come.

Firstly, as Joel is waking up, no music is playing. He is clearly still in a sense of foggy dreaming and so the first sound we hear is the first sound to really rouse him; the slamming of a car door. We then hear the car begin to drive away. This alerts the audience to the fact that the person who has just driven away, may in fact have been with him the night before, or not supposed to be there at all (such as a thief), or even just a casual noise outside. Immediately it creates curiosity within the spectator, and a drive to continue watching.

Slow, sad piano music is then introduced as the prolonged diagetic sound of rustling bed sheets alerts the spectator to his unwillingness to remove himself from the comfort of his bed. Then, a simple, major tune begins over the top of the slow melancholy music, contrasting with itself and giving the scene a bitter-sweet tone with this contrapuntal, happy music.