in my opinion this is the best film we have studied so far. I would give it a 9/10 i loved the use of editing like the swimming toilet scene and i also liked the needle drops as they put the film together and made it enjoyable and interesting. it also showed how vile heroine is as a drug and how people will do literally anything to get some. the most memorable scene for me would be the one where rent on is hallucinating as the editing in that was really good

a really good use of sound by director Danny Boyle is in one of the final scenes where we see mark stealing the money, the added music creates a lot of tension because of it getting more and more intense due to more elements coming into the song, such as the kickdrum coming in as hes about to steal the bag.

a good example of editing is when the scene freezes at the bar, to give mark the chance to explain the real story of what happened, and then cuts back to that frozen shot to continue it.

an example of mise en scene in trainspotting is the scene where mark is put into his childhood room after almost dying. we arent told that this is his room but the mise en scene tells us that it is through the use of wallpaper and posters.

an example of cinematography in trainspotting is the use of the worms eye shot, such as in the scene where renton overdoses, and you see characters looking down upon him. this is effective, because it shows how powerless he is in this situation, as well as to his addiction.

8/10

memoribal scene: the black taxi scene

Young People:

Trainspotting represents young people as unconcerned with life and taking any opportunity to get drunk or high on drugs. An example would be Diane, who is only 15 years old, being present in a nightclub, where she will gladly take drinks from men that approach her, although will then show her disinterest in the men themselves. Another example, although he is older than Diane, is Renton, who makes the decision to take heroin the same day he evades a prison sentence and promises to go to rehab.

Older People:

While there aren’t many older people in Trainspotting, Renton’s parents are represented as being sympathetic towards their son that drugs have impacted his life negatively, while also realising the difficult task of keeping him in his room off of any medication in order to stop him from relapsing, as cruel as it may be perceived from Renton’s perspective.

Working Class People:

Trainspotting does not try to glamourize the working class, instead it shows that despite now having a steady income, Renton still lives on the bare minimum. However, compared to the drug-centric life he lived beforehand, he says he feels ‘almost content’ with this new life.

Scottish People:

Scottish people are represented as being bitter and ashamed at the fact that they are from Scotland, with Renton referring to them as ‘the lowest of the low’ and ‘the scum of the earth’. He also expresses his annoyance with the fact they ‘can’t even find a good culture to be colonized by’, in reference to the English.

Addicts:

Addicts in Trainspotting are shown to feel sorry for themselves and each other that they can’t give up drugs, but make no attempt to stop each other. The character of Tommy doesn’t take heroin until his girlfriend leaves him, but by the end of the film he becomes addicted, leading to a positive HIV test (despite Renton being more at risk to it but testing negative) and his eventual fatal stroke.

Men:

Men are represented as being very much influenced by their heterosexual and masculine identities. For example, Begbie is horrified when he discovers a potential love interest is transgender, and is overly aggressive towards other men, taking any opportunity to start a fight.

Women:

Most women in Trainspotting are mainly used as love interests to the main characters, and aren’t really focused on past the first act of the film. However, Diane recurs throughout the film and is arguably a countertype of women in film, establishing power over Renton with the fact she can report him to the police at any time for sleeping with her.

Young people –

Represented as callous and misguided young people in ‘trainspotting’ are shown to demonstrate this in numerous scenes throughout the duration of the film. For an example of showing callousness, Spud and Renton steal belongings off the elderly all in attempts to feed their drug addictions. This is further backed up with Renton’s narration stating the further acts they did: “we stole drugs. We stole prescriptions or bought them, forged them, photocopied them”.

Another example of young peoples emotionless representation can be seen with Renton’s lack of empathy for his friend, Tommy, who’s girlfriend broke up with him over a missing sex tape, even though it was Renton who stole it.

Older people –

Shown to be docile and remote from the lives of the main characters, when they are in scenes they appear to be oblivious to the effect of drugs has on their children’s minds such as the scene above with Renton’s parents not noticing. Another example of older people being represented as docile and weak can be seen with the first day of Edinburgh festival scene were the gang beat up an old American tourist in the toilets.

Working class people –

The working class are represented as cons, picking up money from anyone or anything they can get, as quoted from the film “after all this was boom town where any fool could make cash and plenty did”. This comes from the part of the film where Renton moves to London (aka ‘boom town’) after getting off heroine. It is here were he also states “for the first time in my adult life, i was almost content” this implies that being apart of the working class frees him from the need drugs as work has supplemented that.

Scottish people –

Depicted as unhappy and incapable to change that, Scottish people are represented as a depressed people due to colonisation from the English. This is shown in the scene above where Mark states to tommy “Its shite being Scottish! We’re the lowest of the low. The scum of the fucking Earth! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some hate the English. I don’t. They’re just wankers. We, on the other hand, are colonized by wankers. Can’t even find a decent culture to be colonized by. We’re ruled by effete assholes. It’s a shite state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and all the fresh air in the world won’t make any fucking difference!” – this overall reflects the characters ideas behind their constant states of misery and turn to heroin to escape it all.

Addicts –

With the films main idea to depict Scotlands drug culture in the 1980’s, it accurately shows this by not glamourising the usage of drugs but instead showing the horrible effects it has on people, this is beastly shown with the character tommy’s story arch. After losing his girlfriend he turns to drugs, it is here where he he becomes severely addicted and ends up eventually passing away due to excessive drug use.

Men –

Depicted as violent and sex-crazed, throughout the film they are also represented as womanisers and bullies, by picking fights and making advances on girls at clubs. Mostly representing violence, the character ‘Begbie’ is a good example as he threatens his peers and starts altercations in almost every seen.

Women –

Represented almost as play toys for the men in the film, women are shown in a very stereotypical fashion by being only shown with a man in a relationship. The only counter-type about gender would be with Diane who holds power over Renton as she is capable to report him into the police for sleeping with her since she is only 15.

Sound –

Sound is used by director, Danny Boyle to add emotion to the narrative, for example in this scene, the song ‘Born slippy’ by underworld is quietly put over Renton’s anxious actions of stealing his mates money. This song, which Boyle found whilst looking through a record store also is meant to encompass who Renton is as a person. I feel as if this 90’s club type music accurately captures that as his personality feels like that lively energy you would accompany with a rave or nightclub.

Another scene which sound is used well can be seen in this scene just after the one above. A J-cut of Begbie’s shouting can be heard before it cuts to the next shot of him wrecking the hotel room.

Editing –

Editing is used heavily in Danny Boyles ‘Trainspotting’ to help pace the story, this can be demonstrated in the court scene where an Eyeline match is used to convey to the audience that the Judge is speaking directly to Renton, with the scene then cutting to his eyes looking at him conveying who he is speaking to.

Mise-en-scene –

The arrangement of props such as heroine needles and booze bottles in a rundown-looking apartment, chosen and placed about by the set designer creates an immersive shot composition for the films theme of drug and alcohol abuse.

Cinematography –

Danny Boyles use of cinematography is used to emphasise the impact of the content within a scene, this can be seen with when Renton turns to look at Begbie, a rack focus is used to demonstrate the shift of his attention.

Another example can seen with close up shots of Renton whenever he either taking or going through the effects of heroin.

Sound:

Danny Boyle uses sound in Trainspotting during the nightclub scene, in which the audience see both the club itself where the men are sat, in comparison to the bathroom of the club where the women are speaking to each other. In the club, the music is so loud that it takes over as the primary audio source from the dialogue, leading to the use of subtitles. The bathroom, on the other hand, prioritises dialogue over music, as they are separated from the room where the music is at its loudest. This creates a contrast between the two settings for the audience.

Editing:

Boyle uses cuts in the scene where Renton overdoses and sinks into a carpet to switch between POV shots of what Mark can see while on heroin (with both sides of the sunken carpet taking up parts of the frame) and shots of what is actually happening.

Mise-en-scene:

In one of the final scenes of the film, the composition of this shot tells the audience that the offscreen damage to the room has been done by Begbie in addition to the further damage he does in this scene. The fact he is alone in the room further proves he is the one responsible.

Cinematography:

A worm’s eye view shot is used when London is first presented to the audience in the film, to reinforce its grandiose and high-class appearance in comparison to what is seen of Scotland.

Micro-elements

The scene in which Mark cuts from playing football to him taking drugs utilises editing to connect and compare the seemingly ‘ordinary’ life of a young adult with that of a drug addict. As Mark falls after being hit by a football, the camera cuts to Mark falling after injecting himself with heroin; this sets the tone of the movie by depicting Marks dangerous relationship to drugs and how we, as the audience, are forced to connect the recreational action of playing football, to Marks use of drugs in a similarly recreational sense.

This scene leading up to the major drug deal involving the four main characters uses cinematography to evoke thought and feeling with the audience. This scene in particular is striking as it can easily be recognised as a copy of the Beatles, Abbey road cover. The Beatles are considered a iconic piece of British history in which we should be proud of, in the other hand, by replicating a parody of this album cover, the movie essentially comments on the aspects of Britain that aren’t so prideful, but are just as prominent: drugs.

The scene is which Mark struggles with quitting heroin is a pivitol scene in the movie. This scene contains sound that is contrapuntive to the contents of the scene. As the audiences see mark in pain, experiencing withdrawal from the drugs he abuses, they hear the intense techno music that appeared earlier in the club. This is done to convey the chaotic and racing state of Marks brain and how fast-paced and intense his heartbeat is.

To create a sinister tone leading up to the drug deal in the movie, the director uses mise-en-scene (in particular lighting) to amplify the tense nature of the scene itself. As we see the growing shadows on the wall, we establish a frightening and anxiety-inducing realisation of the danger they have put themselves in. By painting the actors as a eery, shadowy figure, we disconnect from the characters themselves, this is done to illustrate the seriousness of the scene.

Representation task

Trainspotting represents young people as irresponsible, although we are introduced to the character of Diane at a night club, it is later revealed she is still a school girl and doesn’t care about her illegal relations with Mark.

The representation of older people through Marks parents is important in trying to understand how the film views older people. Marks parents are classifies as typical Scottish parents, disapproving of all the ‘shite’ Mark shoots up into his veins, but actually show their true colours as selfish when Mark escaped prison time and Spud doesn’t.

Trainspotting represents the working class as people who are deceitful and untrustworthy, this is evident in Marks career as a salesperson, he takes advantage of wealthier people in order to earn more money in the long run. This could comment on how the working class are forced to play dirty just to survive.

The way in which Trainspotting chooses to represent Scottish people is key in understanding how drug culture plays a large part in Marks life. In this scene they are encouraged to walk through the incredible sights of Scotland, but instead are more interested in drinking and wallowing in the fact that they are Scottish. This could elude to the fact that some believe being Scottish is undesirable.

Trainspotting represents addicts as people who lie to themselves, this is evident in the countless times Mark promises to get clean, but eventually fails again and again, until an opportunity arises where he steals his friends money and starts a new life for himself. In the scene where Mark is locked in his room, forced to stay off drugs, he seemingly goes crazy, hallucinating his fried spud and a baby on the ceiling, this shows how the film wants to discourage those to try class A drugs and show the bad side of taking them and becoming addicted.

The way in which Trainspotting chooses to represent men, lies within this scene between mark and sick boy. troubled with boredom they resort to inflicting pain on others, including a dog. This could elude to the fact that men are considered more reckless and irresponsible.

The way women are represented in Trainspotting could be considered stereotypical, Lizzy is played as a highly emotional character with little personality. This could hint towards how the main characters (or stereotypically a lot of young men) view women as objects.

Young people:

In the movie, young people are presented as more than irresponsible people who don’t care about life. As the main character Renton attempts to get off drugs as well as spud trying to get a job to earn more money. However they are still portrayed as ignorant as Rentons methods for getting clean are still harmful like taking other types of drugs. Therefore breaking the serteotype a little bit but still needs guidance.

Older people:

Older people are presented more traditionally in this film being more responsible and mature. Example Rentons parents know what is best for him and takes the correct action to get him off drugs.

Women:

The character of Diane breaks the stereotype of women being over ruled by men in the film. This can be seen by how she has the upper hand over Renton by threating to call the police having a higher sense of power than women are traditionally portrayed to have by having control over him.

Men:

Men in this movie are mostly stereotypical as almost all of the male characters have many masculine qualities. As seen through the the character Begbie who is overly aggressive constantly picking fights over small arguments.

Addicts:

In the movie. Addicts are shown to be seen sympathetically showing how getting over an addiction can be extremely challenging and how quickly their life can fall apart through their struggle. Example when sick boys baby dies. He is shown to be very upset over it showing how drugs have negatively impacted his life but still struggles to quit giving a wider view on how addicts really feel.

Scottish people:

In Trainspotting. The people of Scotland are portrayed as lower class compared to the rest of the world. This is seen by how the main chapter Renton sees England as a place for better opportunities as he moves there for a better job and at the end of the film. This is also seen in his rant about how much he hates being Scottish being less well off because of it.

Editing- The director uses a lot of montages to convey the rapid nature of scenes. We see this with a lot of camera cuts and short scenes. The more emotional scenes use long takes for example when the baby dies.

Sound- The music used in trainspotting is usually played really loud to convey the chaos and draws the attention of the viewer and sometimes it is hard to hear the characters. For example when they show the montage of the guys having sex with the girls from the club.

Mis en Scene- The Mise en scene of the movie uses a lot of old and beat up looking props to reflect the time and the setting of a poor area in scotland. The lighting is mostly reflective of the scene so for example when the characters are depressed it has dark and gritty lighting.

cinemetography-