Evaluation of our creative project (practice)

As our filming location was restricted to just the College building, we wanted to shape a narrative that would appear relevant to this location, and not be over the top or unbelievable. Also, as I have said before, when watching 'La Haine' another film based on power poverty and conflict, we noticed that the narrative and action was set out against a political context that affected the central characters. These were two key inspirational factors that we used to shape our film, which hopefully resulted in this: a political context that affects the protagonist, but at the same time, it is a context that is believable relaxant to the location and the characters. That is why we opted to use the news concerning rising tuition fees for universities in England as our political context. What's believable about it is that should these scheme be approved (I heard the news on Thursday night, bad times...), a number of students will be affected. They will simply feel that because of rising the cost of fees up to £9,000 a year, higher education will just seem 'too impossible' to reach from a financial aspect. This how we aim to show poverty - students are denied opportunity because of what something costs. However, when filming this, I felt that the dialogue was very compressed in the sense that the only thing the viewer will see is a rebellious, whiny student. Also, our script did not take as long to film as I thought it would, so some sections of dialogue were improvised on the day. While there is nothing wrong with improvisation, I was concerned that the viewer may find this section to be a bit too general, and not dealing with the context. That it will appear as nothing more than a 'for and against' argument about university, something that happened and will continue to happen if fees were raised or not.

However, something that I feel we have done well is made out political context clear. We begin the film by showing a computer monitor that contain a web-page of a news article about the raise in tuition fees. I feel that when seeing this, the audience will be less-likely to question why we have chosen to include our created characters as they have seen why they behave in the way that they do. By doping this, we are also hoping to show an element of power - the power of parliament and the strain that it will inflict amongst generations of young people to come. Unfortunately, the way that we wanted to present conflict became less powerful due to the fact that when writing the script, I had included too many lines for the person playing the Teacher character to learn in a short space of time before filming. The dialogue was quite forceful (see below), I had written this when thinking of (again, no named mentioned) teachers who are strongly encouraging of getting student to apply to university.

"That’s ridiculous! You have to go to University, because what else are going to do? Nothing, that’s what! Without education, you’ll be nothing! This college will have nothing to show for your generation if you all said that you ‘can’t afford’ to go to university, so there are no excuses! Get a move on!"

We wanted this dialogue and this character to reflect conflict. He presents a contrasting view on going to university, appearing to care little for the student's excuses for not wanting to go. All he is concerned about is having impressive work to show from students who had studied at the college - like trophies on a shelf. What I fear is that, as this dialogue became compressed, the conflict that we were trying to present will appear less powerful to the viewer.

Before writing this script extract, I have had experience with scriptwriting. However, this was not for film, but for theatre, so when writing this, I found that I had to restrain myself from writing stage directions and find a way to represent the aspects of power, poverty and conflict as if they were written for the screen, and not the stage. This was a challenge, but I challenged that I liked as it has given me preparation for when I write my screenplay for the real creative project. I will think back to this experience when creating this and try to apply a similar writing style to what I have done now. Also, I have learnt that when writing scripts, I need to consider how much time there is before filming must happen. This is so that when working with others, they can learn dialogue effectively and give better performances. This will decrease the chance of having last-minute hitches on the day of filming, meaning that we can use time much more efficiently.

Comments on 'Gommorah'

From the beginning of the film until the end of it, we are made aware countless times that power, poverty and conflict are a prominent theme across four individual stories. Money is constantly mentioned, such as an opening scene where an elderly man complaining about the amount of bills that he has to pay, stating that 2,000 Euros isn't enough, and a scene near the end of the film where a mobster describes people's debts as being like crops - they just keep on growing. A choice to join a rival gang destroys the friendships between two young boys, and the initiation phase of joining a gang, by wearing a bullet-proof vest and being forced to take gunshots, being left with horrific bruises. There is no other sound at this point - just the gunshots, and because of this our attention is brought to it. It is moments like this that show us how emotionally moving and shocking gunfire can be to the individual - the tension on their faces, like the close-up of the the man who was just threatened by two mobsters, is chilling to see. The use of tracking shots imposes the feeling that their are significant features about some of the characters, and by surround scenes after gunshots with nothing but silence, we are aware of the shock that these events cause.

Unfortunately, all of these powerful shots, I find, appear to drive towards no sense of overall narrative. With emphasise split between four separate groups of characters, and sadly, it seems as if the timing between characters are broken down in to fragments that just don't explain enough about each group. For example, we will have a 2-3 minute focus on one group of characters, surrounded by emotionally provoking imagery, and after that, the emphasis changes. Because of this, we as viewers fail to get any sort of emotional attachment to the characters - I can't even name any of the characters. It is as if we see them, 30-45 minutes later, we see them again, 30-45 minutes later, they are dead. Contextually, 'Gomorrah' sounds as if it would contain much more attaching moments. The author of the book where the film gets it name, Roberto Savino, has been held under police protection since its release in 2006 because of the amount of Cammorra mobsters who want him dead for publishing notes of their activities around Naples, Italy. This factor made me build excitement towards the film, thinking that detailed and frightening events would portrayed on-screen. While many of the scenes are frightening and disturbing, such as the closing shot of two dead bodies being carried away in a large digger (it shows that they are not humans, but just more litter to be cleared up from the floor), they are no detailed. As I have mentioned above, it seems that individual plots are cut far too short, and resumed far too late so we lose attachment.

However, the cinematography is used powerfully, it is just shame that this power appears to drive towards no narrative. For example, after a scene where a car has crashed, the front rolls right up towards the camera screen, creating a close-up. At this moment, I felt the intensity that the shot was aiming to create. the Tracking shots used, particularly of the boy sporting an England vest near the beginning, create the impression that the figure are important - our attention is drawn to them, yet we learn little, if anything, about the characters afterwards, as the emphasis on them then changes. A large amount of party music is used during a shoot-out, creating a shocking contrast in terms of what kind of event that the music is suggesting. Sadly, once more though, it then seems as if no developments are made from these points.

The contextual research that I conducted prior to watching 'Gomorrah' made me desperately want to like this film. Unfortunately, with no attachment to any characters whatsoever caused by cutting story extracts way too quickly, the film fails to contain a definite narrative. As I have stated, some very startling and powerful scenes are mused in the film, thanks to the incredible use of cinematography, but seems as if they don't drive any narrative either - they are just there. Powerful images, it seems, without a story.

Background research on 'Gomorrah'

• The story is based on a book by Italian writer/journalist Roberto Saviano, which was released in 2006.
• The book, entitled 'Gomorrah' details organized crime caused by the Camorra, a criminal organization based in Naples, Italy.
• Since it's release, Saviano has received numerous death threats from mobsters and Godfathers of the Casalesi clan.
  
• Saviano has had to be escorted by police ever since and is currently in hiding.

• In 2008, however, Saviano announced that he wanted to leave Italy. "I want a life. I want a home. I want to fall in love. I want to [be able to] drink a beer in public, go to a bookshop and choose a book after browsing the back cover," Saviano said. "I want to go for a walk, enjoy the sun, walk in the rain and see my mother without fear - and without frightening her. I'm only 28 years old for fuck's sake."
• The book has sold over 1million copies in Italy.

• In 2006, the number of those killed in Naples and the surrounding areas was 72, of which 50 were Camorra-linked .

• In 2006, a known mafioso was shot dead in full view of the public by the Cathedral in Scampia as he was coming out of bar. In the summer a Canadian tourist was shot in the leg by a stray bullet during a Mafia shootout, and an American tourist who gave chase to two muggers was set on by local people who sympathised with the criminals rather than the victim. Hotels have taken to handing guests plastic watches so they can leave their expensive items in the hotel safe.

Sources
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/16/italy-mafia
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article621615.ece
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929425/

Film plans and explaination of aims

Film Plan

A blank screen. 3 Seconds later, the sound of a computer mouse clicks, digetic sound. With this, a name of one of the actors appears in a small, white font, to the lower left-hand side of the screen. 2-3 seconds. It then fades. 2-3 seconds later, another click, digetic, and another actor name appears on-screen for 2-3 seconds in the same font as before. It then fades .2-3 seconds later, another click, and another name (in the same font) and then it fades. 2-3 seconds later, the screen gradually fades in, revealing a computer monitor, which occupies the entire screen. On the screen is a webpage, displaying news about rising university tuition fees. After 10 seconds, the webpage then scrolls downwards, revealing more of the article, as if someone was using the mouse. The screen remains fixed for 5 seconds.

Camera then zooms out. It reveals a teenage boy/girl, age 16-17, who is sat down on a chair in front of this computer screen. We can see the back of their head. They are wearing large, visible headphones, connected an mp3 player of some sort. This process should take 5-6 seconds. Digetic sound is introduced at this point, the sound of music from his headphones. 2-3 seconds later, a hand appears from the right-hand side of the screen, and it forcefully slaps the back of the teenager’s head. Close-up shot of the teenager, from the table that the computer monitor is on. Is it pointing slightly upwards, revealing that the person who hit them was a teacher (in his mid sixties). Dialogue is introduced at this point. The teenager removes their headphones and the digetic music stops.

Teenager: (placing their hands on the back of his head to show that they are hurt) OW!

Teacher: (appearing cross) Oi! You’re meant to be doing you’re UCAS application!

Teenager: (turning to face him) What? Why?

Teacher: Because I told you to! The application deadline is soon, and you haven’t even told me your university choices yet!

Teenager: That’s cause I’m not goin!

Teacher: (appearing surprised, but still angry) What?!

Teenager: University. I’m not goin!

Teacher: Why not!

Teenager: I can’t afford it!

Teacher: That’s ridiculous! You have to go to University, because what else are going to do? Nothing,

(At this point, the camera changes to a medium shot of another teenager, also sat down in front of a computer monitor, who shifts their eyes so that they look to their left, for half a second, and then looks back to the computer monitor. 1-2 seconds, the camera shifts backs to the close-up shot of the first teenager, in the same angle as before.)

that’s what! Without education, you’ll be nothing! This college will have nothing to show for your generation if you all said that you ‘can’t afford’ to go to university, so there are no excuses! Get a move on! (He walks away to his right, so that he is off-screen)

Teenager: (placing his/her hands over their face. He/she sighs.) Fucks sake!

(He/she spins his/her wheelie chair around so that they are facing a table that was behind them. They then lower their face and slam it against the table. Camera changes to a long shot, with the teenager positioned slightly to the left of the screen. After 2-3 seconds, the other teenager who was seen at the other computer earlier appears on-screen, also in a wheelie chair, positions themself next to the first teenager. At this point, the camera slowly begins to zoom in, and does so for the rest of the scene.)

2^nd Teenager: Hey, calm down. Do you really not wanna go to uni?

Teenager: (raising their head from off of the table, lowering their hands as well) No. I said I can’t afford it.

2^nd Teenager: I heard. Well, you don’t have to listen to him. (Indicating the teacher, nudging thier head subtly to their right) Have you talked to your parents?

Teenager: They said they’d kick me out of the house if I don’t apply. But I don’t even wanna go to uni!

2^nd Teenager: (after a 2 second delay) How come?

Teenager: They just want me to be independent don’t they? Fuck’s sake! I don’t have to go to uni to be independent! I can just work in Asda or something. I can earn my own money. Is that not independent enough?

2^nd Teenager: And you wanna do that for the rest of your life?

Teenager: Better that than pay nine grand a year for uni, isn’t it? So I’m not in huge debt for the rest of my life! They’ll still kick me out though. I don’t have a choice really. They tell me to do UCAS there, they tell me to do UCAS here. (Slamming their fists against the table, the camera should now be an extreme close-up shot of Teenager) Fucks sake!

The screen fades to black.

Explanation of aims

When thinking about the other films that we had watched, we noticed that they were often set against a political context (more notably 'La Haine') which was able to drive the narrative. As the aim of this project is to show power, poverty and conflict, but limited to filming around the college grounds, we thought that we could use a political theme that was relevant to the education setting, and display elements of power, poverty and conflict through this. Fortunately and unfortunately, there happened to be a big news story of this nature at present - the rise in tuition fees proposed by the government. As this rise sadly looks more and more likely to happen, we believed that we could present power - the hard, cruel fist of parliament. With the rise in fees, many students in future generations will sadly feel that the cost of university is out of their reach, and will reject to the idea. We were able to use this idea to create a teenage character, who does not want to complete his UCAS application because he 'can't afford' university - with this, we aim to show poverty. Students, for financial reasons, are denied education.

From personal experience, we've noticed that (no names mentioned) many teachers urge student to apply to university, weather it is in their interests to or not, and regardless of if they know what they want to study or not. This gave us an opportunity to present conflict. Using this viewpoint, we created a verbal argument between the teenager, who insists that he cannot afford to go to university, and the teacher, who insists that he must apply, because otherwise the college cannot claim merit for his future achievement. While watching 'City of God' and 'A Prophet' we noticed that their is a sense of facing an ugly compromise (Steak being forced to shoot one of the runts in 'City of God' to be accepted in Lil' Ze's gang, and Malik being forced to kill Reyab by Cesaer, who claims that if he doesn't, he will be killed himself in 'A Prophet'). Using this as inspiration, we formed the idea that our teenage character could also be faced with a grim compromise - if he doesn't apply to university, his parents will kick him out of the home. He doesn't want to apply to university, but he doesn't have a choice - much like Malik in 'A Prophet'. He is faced with a grim compromise - whatever he chooses to do, there will be a price to pay.

Presentation Planning

PowerPoint slide. To include:

• Title question
• Posters from each of my focus films
• Picture of Meadows

Spoken text: To include a brief biography of Meadows, detailing his up-bringing and his introduction to film work. State my question and then state each of the films I will be looking at.

Spoken text or PowerPoint Slide. To include sub-questions:

• Does Meadow's use his own cultural knowledge and experiences to shape his films?
• How Does he use social and political contexts to drive the narrative in these films?
• How are these contexts show within the characters?

PowerPoint Slide. To include:

• Theatrical poster of 'This is England'
• Next to this, state release date, cast and crew, production company ect.

Spoken text: Provide a brief outline of the plot an characters. Include information on the social and political context of the 1980's and how they are explored in the film, using catalogue entries to help. Include how Meadow's created the film based on his own childhood experiences, as detailed in my catalogue entries.

Visual clip: Extract from 'This Is England' of Shaun being shaped to fit skinhead subculture, as prompted by Woody.

Visual clip: Extract from 'This is England' of Combo expressing nationalist viewpoints.

Spoken text: Summary of film and these clips. How they influence the characters and narrative of the film. Include press responses, using catalogue entries to help.

PowerPoint slide. To include:

• Theatrical poster of 'Somers Town'
• Next to this, state release date, cast and crew, production details ect.

Spoken text: Brief outline of the plot and characters of the film. Include notes the social and political context of the King's Cross/St. Pancras redevelopment, using catalogue entries to help. Explain how this was Meadow's first film to be shot outside of the Midlands and what the actors thought of the shooting process and how effective it was.

Visual clip: Mariusz at work on 'St.Pancras/King's Cross station as this implicates a key cultural theme having an effect on characters.

Visual clip: Argument in the flat between Marek and Mariusz, as this displays elements of kitchen sink drama.

Spoken text: Closing summary of clips and film in general. include Meadow's reflections, using catalogue entries to help.

PowerPoint slide. To include:

• Theatrical poster of 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands'
• Next to this, state release date, cast and crew, production companies ect.

Spoken text: Brief outline of the plot and characters. Explain the controversies surrounding the social accuracy of the Midlands, using catalogue entries to help with this. Explain Meadow's thoughts on this, using his own experience of the Midlands, using catalogue entries to help.

Visual clip: Scene from 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands' where Dek, Shirley, Carol and Charlie discuss the arrival of Jimmy, as it shows the close community formed between the array of different accents.

Visual clip: Scene from 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands' where Dek is seen referring to his car 'baby' or Dek working in the garage, as this indicates the reference to the high number of motoring manufactures that are located in the Midlands.

Spoken text: Summary including press feedback and Meadow's comments, using catalogue entries to help.

PowerPoint slide. To include:

• Theatrical posters of all three films.
• A reflective comment on each of these films, using my catalouge entries to help me we with this.
  

Spoken text: Summary of presentation, explaining how I have answered my focus question and the sub-questions. Use a separate paragraph/section covering these questions for each film. End with a 'Thank you'-style sentence.

How social and political themes are explored in the films of Shane Meadows

In 'This is England' Meadows uses his of knowledge and childhood experiences of England in the 1980's, using radio and TV clips of the key events and highlighting youth sub-cultures of the decade as a driving force for the narrative. He even stated that some of the characters in the film have been created based on people he knew in the 80's.

'Somers Town' is a social study of the Somers Town area of London, and presents elements of a kitchen-sink drama by showing conflict within families. The re-development of King's Cross/St. Pancras station provides work for many who have come overseas, such as Marek's farther, and this is presented within the film. The London setting also presents a wide variety of nationalities - English, Polish and French. It also presents a different view on the youth of today - Tommo acts hard, which can be expected from someone of his age. What you wouldn't expect, however, is for him to be friendly with A polish child. But he is.

The social accuracy of 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands' is questionable. This is because, in the East Midlands setting, Meadows has pitted together a Scot, a Welsh, a Cockney and Scouse, and presents a close community between these accents. How they came to form this, however, is debatable. However, Meadows defends this using his own knowledge of Nottingham and the Midlands, stating that a wide variety of people can be found here.

A comparison of the treatment of power, poverty and conflict in ‘A Prophet’ and ‘City of God’

The story of ‘City of God’ is told entirely from the perspective of Rocket, a young boy who dreams of becoming a photographer. His voice is the narrative that gives the audience an explanation as to who the people around him are and what is happening in society. ‘A Prophet’, however, isn’t told from anyone’s perspective and simply follows the progression of the character Malik as he starts a six-year prison sentence. He enters prison alone, not knowing anyone but is contracted by Ceaser, the Corsican kingpin who rules what happens in the prison. Ceaser tells Malik that he must kill Reyab, an Arabic prison inmate, or be killed himself by Ceaser’s forces. We see Malik develop from a prisoner forced to work with the Corsicans and regretfully kill Reyab so that he can be ‘protected’, to an independent criminal mastermind, committing crimes on his own terms. This form of development can also be found in ‘City of God’ within the character of Lil’ Ze, who we first see as an innocent young boy having his first taste of murder and eventually becoming the leader of the gang who control the streets and provokes fear in everyone around him. The key thing to note however, is that Malik didn’t want to kill Reyab - He had no other choice, it was either kill or be killed, whereas Lil’ Ze’ enjoyed his early killings in the brothel and had the option of weather he wanted to do it or not.

A big similarly between the two films is that both settings (a Brecourt prison in ‘A Prophet’, the slums of Rio De Janerio in ‘City of God’) have a powerful, fear-provoking force that hangs over them and keeps watch -Caesar and the Corsicans in ‘A Prophet’ who instantly trap Malik into doing something that he doesn’t want to do, and Lil’ Ze and his drug-running gang who take part in the gang warfare that fills the streets in ‘City of God’. Also, at the end of each film, we see both of these forces crumble and fall apart - in ‘City of God’ this occurs when Lil’ Ze is shot dead by the Runts, whereas in ‘A Prophet’ we see Caesar’s power gradually slip away throughout the film as Malik becomes more independent and less reliable on him, which causes Caesar much frustration - he is desperate to have power. His demise is truly signified during a scene where he attempts to walk over the Malik, but is knocked to the ground by the Muslims who Malik has independently allied with. Caesar’s fearful reign ends, but the Muslim’s begins, which creates a cycle of terror. Something similar occurs in ‘City of God’ - even though Lil’ Ze is now dead, it is The Runts who take over the streets and again we are imposed with a question - will the terror ever end?

There are also some differences in the narrative in both films. In ‘A Prophet’ the story focuses entirely on Malik’s time in prison, giving little information on any other characters and their backgrounds. ‘City of God’ is very contrasting because even though the narrative is told entirely through Rocket’s eyes, throughout the film he pauses the story in order to tell another small story of other characters, such as Lil’ Ze and Knockout Ned, sharing how their story and background is relevant to the leading story. The story moves through the decades of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s and constantly reversers time to tell another story, such as when Lil’ Ze discovers his love of killing, whereas ‘A Prophet’ pushes through Malik’s time spent in prison, time is never shifted backwards.

The films share a very noticeable theme - corruption. The characters are surrounded by ugly compromises; they have to do things that they don’t want to do in order to live. In ‘A Prophet’ Malik is faced with an awful decision as soon as he enters prison - Cesar tells him that if he wants to be protected, he must kill an Arabic prisoner named Reyab, or be killed himself by the Corsicans. There is a similar scene in ‘City of God’ where Lil’ Ze forces Steak to shoot one of the two Runts that they have captured in order to join their ranks. It appears that both Malik and Steak don’t really have much of a choice - they have to do something that they’ll regret for the rest of their life in order to get what they want. For Malik, this is survival, but for Steak, it is to be considered part of the Gang by Lil’ Ze. Both films also display a huge social divide - in the prison of ‘A Prophet’ the tension between the Muslims, Corsicans and Arabics is clear because the Muslims talk to no one but themselves while the Corsicans think of Malik as nothing other than a ‘dirty Arab’, which is also a sign of racial tension. In ‘City of God’, however, the social divide is indicated by the gang warfare that patrols the streets, and Lil’ Ze wants all other gangs wiped out so that he can be the best. Lil’ Ze wants nothing but power. The same applies for Caesar in ‘A Prophet’, who becomes infuriated when he sees his power slipping away in front of him. This is most evident when he attacks Malik, forcing a spoon into his eye because he is angry that Malik no longer fears him.

There is another similar narrative feature - the events in both of the films are set over a progressive timeline. In ‘A Prophet’ this is the six years that Malik spends in prison, whereas in ‘City of God’ the story is spread across three decades. Also, throughout both films, titles appear on screen to identify characters and objectives - in ‘City of God’ these are accompanied with a freeze frame and Rocket’s voice-over giving a brief explanation of who they are/what is happening, whereas in ‘A Prophet’ the narrative is not interrupted at these points.

Comments on 'A Prophet'

This was a film that I enjoyed very much. I found it interesting how the development of Marik is presented throughout his time in prison. He entered as a mindless, police-beating violent man, but he learns a lot of discipline during his sentence, taking literature and science classes, which help him to slow down and take more consideration for his surroundings. He takes these classes as he states that he cannot read - perhaps this tells us something about his background and up-bringing - was he uneducated? could his family not finance his education?

Prison is presented as a dangerous place and Cesar, the leading mobster, is aware of how frightening it can be for newbies such as Marik. He offers him protecting, but this come at a price - Marik must kill Reyab, an Arabic prisoner, or be killed by Cesar's cronies. Straight away Marik is stuck between a rock and and hard place - he can save himself, but it comes as a very ugly compromise. In terms of conflict, a divide is clearly created in the prison - Arabics are refereed to as 'dirt Arabs' and the Muslims talk to no one but themselves. Racial trust is also an issue - when Marik is running an errand, he knock on a house, and the people inside argue about weather they should let him enter, stating 'He's an Arab - do we let him in?'.

Cesar, who takes Marik under his wing, is desperate to maintain his power over the people in the prison. He changes from being the man who Marik feared and worked for, possibly just to stay alive, to the man hating the fact that he has nothing.

'City of God' comments on power, poverty and confilct

What is the film saying about the society it depicts? is there a moral message?
The narrative of the film, told heavily through the eyes of 'Rocket', right from his days as a child to becoming a young adult, show the City of God (Rio De Jenerio) to be a city crawling with gang warfare and danger. From the 'Tender Trio' to the takeover by Lil 'Ze, and finally the Runts, the business of a city patrolled by drug lords and gunfire hangs over the city throughout the film. However, at one pint during the film, someone suggests that to part of a gang, you need 'more than a gun', you need to have 'ideas' to be accepted as part of a gang, which indicates that showing off your killing skills isn't enough to be accepted - you have to be able to find a reason as well. Tough initiations to be a part of a gang, indicating that not just 'anyone' can join in.

Does it have a documentary style or does the cinematography reference another film from another genre?
The story of the film is told heavily on the experiences of 'Rocket' who we first see as a young boy and finally a young adult. It is as if he is reflecting on his time spent around the city. As such, the narrative is often interrupted by Rocket whenever a new character appears on screen. Rocket briefly introduces them, but first says that their story is not yet ready to be told. In this fashion, he is inter-linking a range of different sub-plots. In a sense, the film could probably be narrated as if it were a documentary, as Rocket is giving us an explanation of how the heavy drug trade is operated and by giving us an in-sight to the gang warfare actions.

Was there any controversy when it was released?
At the time of release, the film gained the attention of nay of Brazil's key figures. The then president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, was urged to watch the film, in order to 'understand the extent of the urban tragedy in Brazil'. Arnaldo Jabor, an intellectual from Brazil, commented that 'City of God' is "not only a film" but an "important fact. A crucial statement" and "a hole" in the national consiecne of Brazil. Director Walter Salles commented that there are over 40,000 violent deaths in Brazil that take place each year, and the deaths in urban areas are often caused by drug gang confrontations, dealers and the police. The director had planned 'City of God' to explain how Brazil ended up in this state.

The Director explores how the drug trade developed in the city throughout the years, from the families seeking refuge in the slums of Rio De Janerio in the 1960's to changes caused in the 70's/80's by the arrival of the first large-scale drug dealers, creating their own forms of justice. Cocaine became the drug of choice and dealers were able to recruit young children into dealing, widening their control over the slums. the arrival of even more machine guns increased the national death toll.

How are social and polotical themes explored in the films of Shane Meadows

My focus films are 'This is England', 'Somers Town' and 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands'. 'This is England' will be my main focus film as the characters are directly affected by the political and social climates of the time period (Summer 1983) e.g. the Falklands War, the National Front rise, skinhead and nu-wave sub-cultures ect. 'Somers Town' was chosen as it is a study of the social environment of the Somers Town are of London, and with the new developments in transport in recent years, St.Pancras/King's Cross station is going under heavy re-development. A Polish character, Mariuz find work in this field. The appearance of English, French and Polish characters also shows a wide range of characteristics in the London setting. My final film, 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands' is a mirror to the spaghetti western films, but is set in Nottingham, East Midlands (the wild west of Great Britain). There are a strong array of accents in the key characters (Scouse, Scottish, Welsh and Cockney) and this is subject to question weather Meadows is being relevant to his Midlands setting.

Meadows is clearly aware of all of the social environments he creates, basing the settings on his own experience of the areas and times he films in. 'This Is England' shows political accuracy and how this effects individuals. 'Somers Town' shows the wide range of nataionalites that can be found in London.

More catalouge enteries

Item 14: ‘Sight and Sound’ - September 2008

Review of the film ('Somers Town') around the release period. Very useful as this pinpoints some of the main social and cultural issues that are being addressed in the film, such as the heavy re-development in transport between King’ Cross and Euston stations and how Mariusz is employed under this. Details references to the 1960’s in the character of Marek - ‘slow, mumblemouthed with a camera (very 60’s)’ and 1950’s kitchen sinkism, which will help me to further my research topics.

Item 10: ‘Dedicated followers of fascism’

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/apr/13/2)

Article from the Guardian newspaper website where journalist Sarfraz Manzoor reflects on his views of the skinhead sub-culture of the 1980’s and how this affected him. This is very useful as it shows what emotions ‘This Is England’ can provoke in its audiences - Manzoor discusses his fear of Skinheads because of there association with the National Front and how ‘This Is England’ caused him to ponder his thoughts on his childhood.

Item 13: ‘Sight and Sound’ - July 2002

Article entitled ‘Cannes 2002, Rich and Strange’ where there are a large number of reviews from the Cannes film festival 2002, where ‘Once Upon A Time in the Midlands’ is hailed as ‘Serio-comic studies of East Midlands manners and mores’. A bit of a brief comment, but it is useful to see how different reviewers capture and view the cultural elements of the Midlands from this experience.

Item 9: Kitchen-sink drama

(http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/classic/kitchen-sink.htm)

Webpage offering an outlook on what makes a kitchen-sink drama. I researched this topic after reading the ‘Sight and Sound’ review of ‘Somers Town’ from September 2008. This was useful as I learned that kitchen-sink drama often presents conflict and social deprivation - two key themes of the characters in ‘Somers Town’, and I can now consider this when next viewing the film.

Comparing city settings

How is the city a defining presence in 'La Haine' and 'London to Brighton'?

In both of these films, the audience are given a sense of time to when the events are taking place. However, this is indicated more frequently in 'La Haine' as every so often, the screen turns black and nothing but the time is displayed in a clear white font. Whereas 'London to Brighton' this type of thing only occurs once at the very start of the film, where we are told that is '3:07AM'. However, both films are set over a 24 hour period and the events follow on from what has happened in the past - in 'La Haine' this involves the rioting on the streets from the night before, which left Abdel, a friend of Saïd, Hubert and Vinz, badly injured and in hospital in a critical condition. in 'London to Brighton', the events instantly follow on from what is later revealed to be Duncan Allen, a twisted man who has a taste for young girls, is left bleeding to death and soon dies. The difference, however, is that Hubert, Saïd and Vinz embark on their journey simply to pass time, but in 'London to Brighton' Joanne and Kelly embark on theirs as a means of escaping from danger - the danger of being caught be Derek and taken to Stuart.

In both films, the city presents an over-hanging element of desperation with drones upon the characters. In 'London to Brighton' this is shown by Kelley's plans on getting money so that she can get Joanne to safety - through prostitution with the nearest curb-crawler that she can find. In in 'La Haine' the desperation is just as rough and brutal as Vinz dreams of shooting a police man dead so that he prove to everyone else that he is ready for a high, fearful gangsta status. We are also made aware that both cities in which the films are set are of a grim, vile nature - 'La Haine' with it's police brutality that dominates the Paris suburbs which could break out any second upon the local youths, and 'London to Brighton' with the a high amount of prostitution and curb-crawlers on the London streets, and Stuart Allen even describes it as a 'shithole' being full of 'scum'. Nevertheless, some of the key landmarks from both cities make appearances in the films (the Eiffel tower in 'La Haine' and Waterloo station and Piccadilly Circus in 'London to Brighton) showing that while both cities have iconic landscapes that people will forever associate with them, it is possible to zoom in on the smaller, cozier areas inside a large a space, this being the Suburban estate and parks in 'La Haine' and the number of small restaurants and apartments of 'London to Brighton'.

Something else that is established in both films is the large range of characters that can be found in big cities, and how unlikely relationships can be formed. In 'La Haine' this occurs between Saïd, who is Arabic, Vinz, who is of Jewish descent and Hubert, an Afro-French character - three very different cultural backgrounds who form a sibling-like relationship because they are bounded by a common enemy - the police. Because of this, they look out for each other, as if they are 'brothers'. A sibling-like relationship is also formed between Kelly, a prostitute in her 20's, and Joanne, a 12-year-old runaway, who is discovered by Kelly when she is begging outside Waterloo station. Instantly she is warm-heated towards her, initially so that she can be used with Duncan Allen's sexual desires, but later on in the film it is the escape to Brighton that brings them closer together, with Kelly often making sure that she will okay and entertained while she earns money through prostitution. It is her mission to get her to safety and away from Stuart and Derek, much like the characters of 'La Haine' must lookout for each other against the police brutality.

Comments on ' The 400 Blows'

This film aimed to show power and poverty within an urban Paris environment. I enjoyed the open sequence of the Eiffel Tower and other Paris landscapes as I thought it was going to be an introduction to contrast in people that can be seen walking on the streets. Tracking shots were also used frequently in the classroom and house setting - this represented the fact that there would be something significant about the young child. Cinematography-wise, the film deserves mass praise, making use of digetic and non-digetic sound and fading to black between scenes, creating a sense of 'same old, same old' on young Antonie's life.

We can clearly see that Antonie has a poor, lower-class family. This is indicated by there small-spaced house, his constant re-wearing of clothes and scruffy hair and the fact that all income went towards a treat for the family every once in a while. We know that his parents neglect him and cannot stand his actions anymore, to the point where they discuss sending him to an oprhanage. Society also has no care towards him - he walks through the Paris streets in broad daylight, with thousands of people around him,completely un-subtle, and no one bothers to even ask why he is carrying a heavy typewriter.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be a lack of a definite plot to this film and I thought many scenes within the film's 99 minutes appeared to have no sense of direction, making the film seem to last much longer in duration and decreased my enjoyment of it. The cinematography captured the deprived, urban setting very well, and this was shown very well in Antonie's character as well. with parents that didn't mention his own name once when talking about him and concluding that he cannot be dealt with by them. I felt that these needed a plot direction in order to make the film bearable.

Catalogue enteries

Item 5: Under My Skin (http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/apr/21/culture.features)

Interview from the guardian newspaper website with Shane Meadows, reflecting on growing in the 1980’s. Very useful as Meadows mentions how much of ‘This Is England’ is based on his own childhood and he describes the formation of the skin-head subculture, why it was targeted by the Nation Front movement and how he created some of his characters to show this.

Item 7: BBC Radio 4 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/backrow/backrow_20020907.shtml)

Audio interview with Shane Meadows Around the release of the film. Useful as Meadows briefly mentions the wide range of people that can be found in the Midlands.

An analysis of conflict in 'La Haine'

Representation
Diversity is widely explored in the small suburb setting as the film's three central characters all have different backgrounds and ethnic origins. Vinz, who wants to have leading power in the group, is Jewish. Saïd, who is like a little brother who needs to be taken care of, is Arabic. Hubert, a peaceful boxer in control of his emotions, is black. Because of this, a form of a unity is created against the racist and violent police forces - the characters know that on the estate, they have to close together to survive. The media also does them no favors, with television reports portraying young people as violent and aggressive characters. During a scene where a television reporter asks to interview the main characters and their gang, they become angry at the media's assumptions that they are violent, and act up out of spite.

Narrative
The film opens with archive footage of riot scenes. We are instantly introduced to the setting of the film - the aftermath of a riot in the French suburbs. We are also kept aware of the time of day quite frequently. Throughout the film, the screen changes every so often, displaying nothing but the time in a large font. This also alerts us that the events in the film all take place in one day. Another interesting factor is the news report that occurs as the riot scenes come to an end. More of the narrative and background to the story is is revealed here. A young man named Abdel is in hospital in a critical condition following beatings from a police officer. It is this character that maps out the events for the central characters, as he is a close friend of theirs.

Cinematography
A bird's eye view of the entire estate is given when the DJ plays his music from his apartment. For this shot, a camera was attached to a remote control helicopter, which looks down on the entire estate, showing everything that the characters have to live with. Because of this, the camera is shaky, but the director commented that this was a good thing as it creates a more realistic outlook. Also, the use of wide-angle lenses creates a very a dramatic effect, especially when the bouncers are shot by Vinz's friends. Although he has his back turned to the action, we can still see his re-action to the violence. The use of focus is another important feature. Throughout this film, focus is shifted from one character to another by the use of sound, rather than action (the final scene when the car pulls up and Hubert is walking away). The affect in display here is to make us think that the dialogue is more important, compared to what happens around the characters.

Research question

My small scale research question will be the following:
How are social, historical and political themes explored in the films of Shane Meadows?

My sources will included:
- DVD copies of my chosen films - 'This Is England', 'Somers Town' and 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands'
- Press reviews of each film
- Shane Meadow's personal website
- Cast and crew interviews
- Research on the setting, location and time of each film.

Thoughts on 'La Haine'

I think that 'La Haine' was a very powerful film because the opening scenes allowed me see the context of which it is set in. The opening footage of rioting and police brutality gives us the picture that there is a town or suburb currently in a distressing situation, and the following introduction of the main characters enables us to see what life is like in those conditions.

The cinematography captured the setting of the run-down suburbs and the youth culture with believable efforts. The constant tracking and panning shots really helped me to grip on to the importance of each main character - It was very hard to lose focus of them. The combination of digetic and non-digetic sound was also another interesting factor. This was because during the scene when Vince was in his room, I thought it the music was non-digetic, but when he turned the stereo off, the music also stopped, meaning that it was really digetic.

Small Scale Research project - option #2

Technology - How has 3D technology developed in the cinema?
- 3D cinema first began in the 1950's - 'Bwana Devil' (1952), 'The House of Wax' (1953).
- Known as the 'Golden Age' of 3D films.
- Second wave during the 1980's, with films such as 'Jaws 3-D' (1983) and 'Friday the 13th Part III' (1982).
- Originally dismissed in the 50's due to viewers suffering from headaches, nausea and being put off by poor image quality, as well as the cost and complexity of the equipment used to make 3D films.
- Increasing in popularity in the 00's due to improved technology and to decrease piracy (It is harder to record 3D films in the cinema because of how they are filmed).
- More and more films are being released in 3D ('Alice in Wonderland', 'Piranha 3D'), and older films are being re-developed and screened in 3D e.g. 'Toy Story', 'Titanic' (Coming in 2012).
- 00's becoming the 2nd 'Golden Age'.

Small Scale Research project - option #1

Social, Historical and Political context/Auteur - How are social, historical and political themes explored in the films of Shane Meadows?

'This Is England'
- Set in the Summer of 1983.
- Skinhead, Mod and new romantic sub-cultures for the youth: Displayed by Woody, Milky, Smell ect.
- Thatcher's Britain: Rise in unemployment, mentioned by Combo
- Meadows based the events on his childhood and upbringing.
- Nationalist movement: National Front, English Nationalism: Expressed by Combo.
- Reagge/Ska and other 80's aritist included in soundtrack, referencing the skinhead cultures and music released at the time.
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/soundtrack Complete soundtrack listing.
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/apr/21/culture.features Director Shane Meadows reflecting on growing up in the 1980's.

'Somers Town'
- Based on the social activity in the Somers Town area of London.
- St. Pancras railway being re-developed, Marek's farther finds work with this.
- http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article4469780.ece Times Online feature, with Meadows sharing his concerns while filming and actors Perry Benson and Thomas Turgoose giving their thoughts on their characters and the location of Somers Town.
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/aug/22/drama.somerstown Review from The Gaurdian around the release of the film.


'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands'
- Western Romantic references made, along with traditional Western music, but in a British setting (East Midlands).
- Stereo-typical British features including the bingo hall for entertainment, a 'Bagbie-esque Scottish psycho' (Robert Carlyle) a cocky, insult firing Cockney (Kathy Burke) and Rhys Ifans working in a garage, referencing the high number of motoring jobs in the Midlands.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/08/21/once_upon_a_time_in_the_midlands_2002_review.shtml
Short interview with Meadows around the release of the film.
- "Given that Midlands is, like its predecessors, populated by losers, low-lives and semi-detached dreamers, one wonders whether Meadows isn't in danger of making the same film over and over again, a feeling not helped by the appearance of a knockabout fight scene recycled from an early short, ' Where's the Money Ronnie?' In fact, Midlands marks a clear shift onwards from the claustrophobic 'TwentyFourSeven' and the dark-hued 'Romeo Brass' into more colourful, comedic territory."
Extract from an interview with meadows about the film, taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2002/aug/25/features.review

Planning for Small-Scale Research Project

Possible ideas:

Technology
- The development/timeline of 3D in the cinema
- All the latest films being released in 3D
-Older films being re-run in cinemas in 3D

Star/Performer
- Stars of the 'Appatow productions' and why they appear in multiple films
-Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill, Russel Brand ect.
- Why does Appatow work with those stars in particular?

Genre
- The development of books into films
-'Harry Potter' 'The Lord of the Rings' 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'
-How star appeal is used to attract an audience

Auteur
- The Meanings of films involved with Shane Meadows
-'This is England' 'Somers Town' 'Once Upon A Time in the Midlands'
-Cultural, historical and political contexts - Grim, Skinhead culture based on Meadows's personal life as a child. 'Somers Town' based the social environment of the Somers Town Area of London.

Thoughts on 'Hidden'

The establishing shot consisted of a street, surrounded by almost complete silence, with pedestrians crossing by occasionally. As a viewer, I found this to be quite nerve-wracking because I was unsure if anything was going to suddenly occur. I found the silence created suspense - Just when you thought everything was ordinary, something totally unexpected suddenly occurred. This did in fact happen, but in a format that I did not expect - through dialogue, which created the impression that people were watching something and it taken from the 1st person.

This thought also soon faded, when it was revealed that the shot was being taken through a video camera - however, this still did create the impression of a 1st person account.