CRITICAL SCORE: 6/10 My first initial thought of the movie was that the acting and story line were very good and interesting. However, personally I thought it was too graphic (the needles).
Memorable Scene: The most memorable scene for me would be when Renton was hallucinating and seen the baby crawling on the ceiling. I thought it was strange yet clever the different ways the director made them be under the influence of drugs. I also thought the editing was unique and that’s why it was memorable.
Trainspotting Micro Elements:
Sound:
This is taken at the beginning of the film as it introduces the different characters. Music is played that is upbeat and quick which sets the mood/tone of how the film will be like. There is also narration over the top saying the characters names which clearly shows to the audience who is who.
Mise-en-scene:
In this scene there is very minimal mise-en-scene in the scene. The basic furniture around him, with dull colours helps the audience focus on Renton. Also the high angle camera view helps show he is the main focus as the audience is looking down on him.
Editing:
In this scene Renton is under the influence of heroine and is under a trans. When the baby is crawling on the ceiling there is obvious editing as they have to edit the baby the other way round to which it was originally filmed.
Cinematography:
In this scene the cinematography creates a chaotic shot. As this is an eye-level shot it makes us feel like we are sitting across the table from Renton and Spud. Also the eye-level shot helps us the people in the background and where they are (a bar).
Consider the ways in which the following groups are represented in the film :
Young People: young people are the dominant age in the film. Renton and his friends are all young adults aged 20-25. I think they are viewed negatively as they are seen taking drugs and having bad behaviour.
•older people (parents/authority figures): In this film the older generation are the parents of the main men. They show they have authority over the younger generation as they are sensible and clearly show more respect and concern over their sons taking drugs.
•working class people: In this film working class people are highly stereotyped into merging with low class people. As most main characters are part of the working class this means that they are seen taking drugs and having no self respect and no morals.
•Scottish people: In the film the main characters are Scottish. However, not a lot of attention is drawn to this and doesn’t remain a key feature of the film. This just makes them seem like regular people and you are seeing their storey.
•Addicts: In this film there main supplier of heroine is ‘Mother Superior’ who is heavily addicted to heroine. They can be viewed as bad people because when under the influence of drugs they turn into different people that hallucinate and become naïve. In the film you can see them see things that aren’t actually there giving the audience a negative insight to drugs.
•Men: Men are the dominant gender in this film. All main characters are men.
•Women: There are not a lot of main women in this film apart from the girlfriends of Renton and his friends. You see a women getting injected with heroine and she screaming and getting told it’s ‘better then sex’. This can give the impression to the audience that women are dependent on men and are scared of taking risks.
Throughout the film, young people are portrayed as easy going without being too concerned about rules and the law. This is particularly shown when Woody’s gang invite Shaun to hang out with them, dress up and go to an abandoned place. They are represented as having their own belief system without just following what the older generations say, such as when Woody didn’t agree with Combo’s racist and nationalist beliefs so he left.
Older people:
Older people in the film are presented to have strong beliefs, many of them are nationalists and hold discriminatory views towards ethnic minorities in order to create what they believe to be a better England, seen in this scene where a speech is being given about trying to make England better, and what the audience (majority being white, poorly educated older men) can do to achieve this.
Class:
Many of the characters in the film are lower class, and poverty is prominent throughout the film. The characters are often wearing out-dated and ill fitting clothing. In this scene Lol followed by many other women are walking to work in a large factory, the setting is quite dingy and rundown highlighting the lack of money in the area, and it’s drawbacks are prominently shown in the different settings, and costumes.
English people:
The majority of characters in the film are English and it creates a large proportion of the plot, however their nationalities are represented very differently. For example Combo uses the meaning of being English to manipulate and convince others to join his discriminatory gang. Whereas characters like Woody and Lol are comfortable in their nationality and are less focused on it, which makes them appear more content compared to Combo. In this sceneCombo is giving Shaun an English flag to show their proudness of their ethnicity, however they’re proudness can be perceived as almost too much leading them to appear almost insecure about it.
Asian/Black people:
People of other ethnicities and minorities are commonly discriminated against in the film by Combo and his gang. There is a very small amount of non-english representation yet it its crucial to the plot. Such as this scene where foreign shopkeeper is being robbed, verbally abused and threatened by Combo and his gang. This representation highlights the social divisions in England at the time and again draws back on the political conflict in the film.
Men/Masculinity:
Masculinity is very important in the film as many of the male characters want to appear strong and have high masculinity, which could explain Combo’s violent outbursts. The role of a father is critical in the film as it explains Shauns behaviour without the film, after loosing his father in the war he spends the rest of the film trying to make his dad proud which eventually leads him to join Combo’s gang, as well as him becoming a father figure for Shaun after Woody.
Women:
There is little feminism in the film as the female character’s are only really shown in reference to their partner, and when they are on screen. In this scene Lol is walking away after Combo has confessed his love for her and she rejects him as she is with Woody. Shaun’s mother is presented as strong after being widowed and raising Shaun alone, but other than that the other female characters provide nothing else to the storyline aside from being a wife or girlfriend.
Place
The mise en scene is well used in the film to create a strong image of a run-down lower-class northern town in England. Montages of real clips of England are used that show drugs, abandoned places, fights, social housing and graffiti add a sense of desolation and a town that is far from its best. The setting explains why gangs form as there is little to do and highlights the boredom felt by many young people at the time.
In Trainspotting, addicts are portrayed desperate for drugs and they are all very strong addictions, they are very clear and a prominent addition to their characters, seen in the graphic scenes of heroin use and overdose. In this scene Renton has lost his drugs down the toilet and so he has dived in afterwards. This highlights Renton’s dependence on drugs and his willingness to do anything to have them. The tranquil music in this scene adds to the representation of addicts and how the drugs bring a relaxation to them to create a clearer, more hyper realistic view to the audience of addiction.
Scottish people:
In the film, many of the Scottish people are presented to often dislike being Scottish, they are rarely proud of their culture. In this scene Tommy drags the rest of the friend group on a walk in the Scottish highlands, a common stereotype of the county and known for its beautiful scenery. However, Renton and the friends are unimpressed and say it’s “shite being Scottish” before leaving to return to the city and go back on heroin. In addition, this scene also highlights the characters priority of drugs and how they come above everything else, even their culture and country.
Women:
There is little female representation in transporting, they are only on screen when it is related to their partner, or having a one night stand. Women are presented to be empowered and sexually active such as when Renton and Dianne meet at a club and their one night stand becomes a casual, on/off relationship. Dianne’s representation can be quite shocking for the audience as she is portrayed to be almost promiscuous despite being a schoolgirl.
Young people:
Age is prominently represented as many of the characters are young adults, but the most clear representation of age is Allison’s and Sick boy’s baby that passes away due to the neglect caused by drugs leading to Sick boy’s addiction swiftly increasing. Age and authority do not co ordinate in the film often as the younger characters are mostly free-willed apart from when Renton is locked in his room by his parents after his overdose.
All aspects of film form including narrative contribute to the representations of cultures and societies (gender, ethnicity and age) including the ideological nature of those representations.
Ideology: set of ideas, beliefs of someone holds (group of individuals having them same ideas).
PERFORMANCE:
age ethnicity, costume, facial expression, body language.
Stereotype: A fixed general image or set of characteristics that a lot of people believe represent a particular type of person or thing.
Countertype: A representation that actively seeks to subvert and challenge negative stereotypes usually of a person, group or place. e.g black president in America rather then white.
Terminator 1: Sarah Connor is seen a stereotyped American waitress. she’s in pink which is viewed as a very ‘feminine colour’. she is around 20, in a scene she is seen being late for work this can provide us with information letting us know she is a hopeless 20 year old who’s always in a rush.
Terminator 2: Sarah Connor is seen as a countertype now. She is seen to have a muscular build which is the opposite to the first film where you seen her in a feminine pink dress. she is also seen wearing black which is seen as a ‘masculine colour’. in this photo she is seen holding a gun and she seems very comfortable around it, indicating to viewers she’s been training and is preparing for war/battle.
Why do you think the director change her character in the second film?
It wasn’t the director who chose her character to be more of a countertype it was Sarah herself. She said she wants the charter to be crazy. She still fights how she did in the first film.
TRAINSPOTTING REPRESENTATION
1.WHO IS DOING THE REPRESENTATION? (DIRECTOR’S VIEWPOINT)
The director is doing the representation. They are creating what will be viewed by audience/viewer.
2.WHO IS BEING REPRESENTED ? (Identify specific social groups)
The working class, all character are to be seen in the lower or working class status.
3.WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS ARE OMITTED FROM THE REPRESENTATIONS?
Social groups that are getting omitted is children. Apart from the baby that is the only child you see. People aged 20-25 are the Minority age.
4.WHAT MESSAGES ABOUT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS ARE BEING CONVEYED?
The messages that are being conveyed is that this particular group of people are bad. It indicates to us that they are taking drugs everyday, have a lose of humanity.
5.WHICH CHARACTERS OR SOCIAL GROUPS HAVE POWER WITHIN THE REPRESENTATIONS?
The social group with the most power is the 20-25 year olds as that is how old majority of the characters are. One child is seen and you rarely see anyone older then around 50-60.
6.DO THE CHARACTERS ADHERE TO OR CHALLENGE STEREOTYPES?
These group of people adhere to the stereotypes of working/lower class people. It shows that these people throw their life’s and away and over take the use of drugs.
7.ARE THE CHARACTERS TYPICAL OF FILMS IN THAT GENRE?
As the genre is black comedy I would say it relates to it. The characters being open to drugs but also being comic really relates to the genre.
8.WHAT DO REPRESENTATIONS TELL AUDIENCES ABOUT SOCIETY AT THE TIME THE FILM WAS MADE AND/OR SET?
The representations tell the audience that this society at the time was over drug users. It shows us that in Edinburgh used to be a run down place which was a bit sketchy. It enables us to see that most people were in the working class.
Mise-en-scene: At 03:53, we’re shown Shaun in his bed, within the frame there is an alarm clock, paint which had flaked off of the walls, and most importantly, a framed picture of his dad who served in the army. This is significant throughout the rest of the film as Shaun’s actions are being motivated by his fathers death in the war, wanting to make his death worth something (something, meaning the country and its pride, which Combo and his gang feel strongly about).
Editing: At 25:01, after Shaun gets his skinhead makeover, finally being a part of Woody’s gang, we are shown slow motion shots of the male members of the gang as well as the female members, their shots dissolving together to showcase the parallels. This highlights the sense of unity within the group, regardless of gender.
Cinematography: At 43:38, Combo’s true intentions come into the light – highlighted by the low angle he’s shot at, suggesting power and intimidation – as he gives Woody’s gang a speech about England’s loss of pride (nationalism), and how he wants to change that and make England great again, imposing white supremacist propaganda. This eventually peer pressures a couple of members to join him, specifically Shaun, and this is only the surface of Combo’s power-hungry personality.
Sound: All throughout the film we’re given a range of popular music from that time period, mostly during the first half because Shaun’s social circle spirals as he is exposed to negative influences. An example of this would be when Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’ cover is heard briefly in the first half, a popular song in the 80s, and then shifting to an atmospheric/melancholic score, composed by Ludovico Einaudi. This encapsulates Shaun’s situation, going from dull and mediocre to distressing and traumatic.
all aspects of film form including narrative contribution to the representations of cultures and societies’ (gender, ethnicity, and age ) including the ideological nature of those representations
ideology – a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.
performance
age
ethnicity
body language
costume
facial expressions
stereotype
a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing e.g. all black people are criminals
countertype
an opposite of the stereotypes that are already in place. it opposes stereotypes e.g. a black president instead of a white president
Sarah Conner example
Sarah was a stereotypical American waitress in he first terminator movie. She is shown to be weak and incapable of doing her job since she spills the coffee on the man and when she arrives late she isn’t phased or bothered by it.
in the follow up movie, she breaks away from the female stereotypes and becomes a countertype. During this time and becomes a heroin, she is shown holding a gun and she looks to be skilled with it, she’s also has muscles and is no longer the weak woman she was in the first movie.
Trainspotting Representation
1 who is doing the representation?
Renton and his group
2 who is being represented?
Renton and his friends represent a clique friend group who have issues and do drugs. drug addicts are being represented and so are people with mental issues
3 what social groups are omitted from the representation
people who are of colour and diverse women
4 what message about particular social groups are being conveyed
The message was that drugs are a life changing choice and once you get caught up in social groups with people who drugs you are bound to fail e.g. tommy ends up dead due to his friends co orison into heroin
5 which characters or social groups have power within the representation
Mother superior had the most power since he provided them with drugs. The parents in the movie also had power since they were the adults and created rules.
6 do the characters adhere to or challenge stereotypes
I believe that they do challenge societies stereotypes of drug addicts since they are white men in a white base country. The character of Renton also came from a functioning family with two parents which goes against the ‘people who do drugs came from a broken home’.
7 are the characters typical of films in that genre
The genre of Trainspotting is a dark comedy and I believe that the characters do fit the the genre since they are young adult men.
8 what do representations tell audiences about society at the time the movie was made
It shows us how society viewed different groups of people e.g. woman weren’t seen often in the movie other than Diane who was only displayed as a woman used for Renton’s benefits. There was also little to no people of colour in the movie which showed how they weren’t expected to be in movies at the time and where an afterthought.
Young people in This Is England are presented in various ways. The main character Shaun is presented as a lonely child who is picked on by crueller children, who make up a lot of the films other representations of young people (like the fedora wearing one who makes fun of Shaun for his dead dad). The skinhead gang is also presenting young people, as Woody and others are only in their early-mid twenties, which implies Woody had a similar experience to Shaun as evidenced by his friendship with Combo. This representation of younger people are kinder than the school children we are shown first (aside from Pukey) and are also presented as being relatively content with their lives as they are right now.
Older People
In a lot of the movie, older people are presented quite negatively. There aren’t a lot of much older people in most of the movie until the introduction of Combo and Banjo, who are “first generation” skinheads, and the other older people in the movie are introduced because of them. The older people are the nationalists in the film, giving speeches about how Britain should be for the British, etc. and overall serve as an antagonistic force, targeting younger people like Shaun and Pukey to persuade them over to their prejudiced way of thinking.
But not all older people are presented this way. Shaun’s mother is presented as a kind and caring character in the movie, always trying her best to look after Shaun even if Shaun doesn’t appreciate her efforts. Even when Shaun gets his head shaved and gets new clothes, she isn’t incredibly angry. She does become quite upset but she meets with the skinheads and thanks them for making Shaun feel happy, showing she does have his best interests at heart.
Class
The majority of the films characters come from the lower class, suggesting reasoning as to why they decided to become skinheads. The skinheads hang around in run down buildings and find fun in wrecking them, and they don’t normally complain about their life situations. The only one who does is Combo, who blames immigrants for his poverty. The highest class member of the group we are shown is Smell, who’s family is shown to own a relatively nice house with nice furnishing and such. Higher classes are only really shown in the nationalist speaker Combo takes Shaun to go see, who rants on about topics similar to Combo, despite it being implied that the speaker is in a comfortable position in life. The lower classes are usually presented as people looking to make the best out of what they have, while the upper classes are shown complaining about things that don’t even affect them in the slightest.
English People
The English people make up a lot of the main cast of This Is England, but unlike Trainspotting their English identity forms the basis of the plot of this film. Characters like Woody and Lol aren’t really impacted by their English identity, and characters like those are normally presented as the most comfortable. However, the idea of an English identity is used by Combo (and the nationalist speaker) to convince people to join their gang. Combo twists the idea of patriotism to convince Shaun to join his gang, and very nearly persuades Milky to join by telling him his English identity is more important than his Jamaican identity.
Asian/Black people
There isn’t a lot of representation of Asian people, but it is very important regardless. The most apparent presentation is the shopkeeper, who is seen at the beginning and near the end of the film. He is presented as a man who is just trying to make a living, but is given trouble by Shaun in the beginning due to him being am annoying child, and later by Combo, Shaun and the rest of the gang, when his store is hit by them for a racially motivated reason and slurs are hurled at him during the robbery. This scene is quite hard to watch, as it shows this shopkeeper who didn’t do anything wrong being threatened by a machete while his store is robbed. The gang also steals a ball off of a group of Indian children, during which they also make racist remarks. These characters are shown as receiving a lot of trouble for doing basically nothing, and the audience should feel pity for them
Most of the black representation comes from Milky, the only black member of the skinhead gang. Milky is English with Jamaican heritage, and is treated the same as any other English character until Combo is introduced. Combo uses the fact that Milky is black to fuel a lot of his argument in the scene where he attempts to break up the gang, by using the fact that no one stood up for him when Combo made a very racist joke at the party to say that English people don’t stick up for each other anymore. This argument falls apart at the end when Combo is just very racist towards Milky and beats him, showing that he doesn’t care about any of that and really is racist. Milky is initially presented as a normal Englishman before Combo weaponizes his race to back his nationalist beliefs.
Men
The men in This Is England make up a lot of the cast. Their presentations vary, from Shaun’s wannabe masculinity where he idolises men he views as strong (Initially Woody then Combo, though this idealisation of older men in his life probably stems from how highly he views his father), to Woody wanting to enjoy life and protectiveness of his friends, and Combo’s ideas of masculinity tying in with his nationalist ideas. A lot of male characterisation features strength in some way, but they often display extreme emotions as well.
Women
Like Trainspotting, women are usually wives or girlfriends. The most prominent female character, Lol, is Woody’s girlfriend, but is given a lot of her own character and story. Smell as well is only in the story to act as Shaun’s girlfriend and serves no other purpose in the story, so why she is included I have no idea. Shaun’s mother is given strength in her widowed status, having to look after Shaun by herself, giving the audience respect for her. The women in This Is England, while still designated to set roles, are given their own aspects of strength and character.
Place
The films English setting is, in my opinion, the films biggest strength. The film presents a familiar, small town English setting, and shows the audience the mundane nature of the town streets, the brick buildings and flat grassy areas. The film shows how boring and stagnant life for a young person would be in this town, and so gives reasoning as to why Shaun joins the skinhead gang, and why the skinheads find fun in wrecking abandoned houses and have house parties: because the audience can tell from the town that it is set in that there is nothing better to do. The setting of This Is England is presented as common and familiar to an English audience, and as dull and boring to the characters, though through the films cinematography it can form some shots that are very nice to look at.
In this movie the soundtrack is a very crucial thing, a example of this is the use of the smiths song please, please, please, let me get what i want in the final scene, i think the use of a sad song for this scene makes the viewers feel something for shauns character however it also indicates a new beginning for shaun and shows that things are going to go uphill for him as he is letting go of the racist beliefs he was taught.
cinematography-
The use of cinematography in this film is represented well in this image, this long shot of combos white supremacist group with combo placed in the middle shows how combo has such control on everyones a d their beliefs and how he is the most powerful of the group.
Editing-
The use of editing and montage in this film helps establish to the audience not only the timeframe in which the movie is set but also the conflict in england at the time, and that people in england, like combo are focusing on the wrong problem.
Mise en scene-
In this film the elements of mise en scene are crucial to help viewers understand the context of production, the use of costume in this film establishes to audience that it is set in the 80s with the characters wearing high top doc martin boots and tight jeans with suspenders, the style of clothing also helps the viewers understand that majority of the characters are skinheads. The setting establishes that shaun is brought up in a working class area living in a large estate with small houses and run down corner shops.
•Young people: In this film the main protagonist is Shaun who is seen to be around 12 years old. He is the youngest main character in this film and all the others in the skin-head group are around 13-20. Within how Shaun is represented as a young person is negative and positive. It can be negative because his characteristics change and he becomes severely racists due to Combos actions however you see his character development as you see him having a sense of realisation that everything Combo said wasn’t true and his actions were bad.
•Older people (parents/authority figures/ politicians): There are two different types of older people viewed in this film, Shaun’s mum and Combo. Shaun’s mum is a loving mother grieving over her husband who had past away who wants nothing but the best for Shaun as he’s the only person she seems to have left. However then you have Combo the “original skin-head”, when he appears in the film everything changes. The mood shifts and the characteristics of some characters change. Combo is a very negative character who’s personality evolves around politics. He gains authority over Shaun however, he makes Shaun realise he is a bad person.
•Class (working class and other classes): Most people in this film are part of the working class no one is seen to be part of the high class status.
•English people: All characters are English and all are seen as equal however as Milky is still English but black Combo look down on him and discriminates him. I think there is a positive and negative view on English people as they can been see to be caring and gentle but Combo really changes up everyone’s characterises and makes the audiences view change to negative.
•Asian/Black people: Throughout the film I think black people where seen as equal to everyone else however, when Combo appears in the film everything seems to change. In the scene where Milky and Combo are having a conversation about Milky’s family you can see the jealousy and the anger on Combos face. Combo talks about the way unity was created when black people taught him the way of music. But I think throughout the film you could tell Milky always got looked down on by Combo.
•Men / masculinity: Most characters are men who are very opinionated. they all are part of the skin-head group. I think Combo is very stereotyped as he is your usual masculine male.
•Women: The main women in this film is Shaun’s mum and Lol. Shaun’s mum can be seen as a vulnerable character as she is still grieving over her husbands death. Lol is Woodys girlfriend and seem to have gotten manipulated by Combo. Both these women are head strong and don’t put up with the wrong answers. Overall I don’t think women are taken over control as they are very independent.
•Place (the Midlands where it is set): The setting (Midlands) is set where the true story happened. It is quite a run down area full off houses and flats with one or two corner shops.
