analysing british social

8/7/2019 ANALYSING BRITISH SOCIAL

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ANALYSING BRITISH

SOCIAL REALISM- GENERICCONVENTIONS.

KIDULTHOOD.



Imdb: ³A day in the life of a group of troubled 15-year-olds growing up in west London.´

Director: Menhai Huda

Writer: Noel Clarke:

Noel Anthony Clarke (born 6 December 1975) is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He studied Media at the University of North London

before going on to take acting classes at London's Actors Centre. As Clarke is from

London himself, the film is written from his P.O.V of life in London as a youth making it

more realistic to watch.

Clarke began his writing career in 2005 when he wrote the screenplay for the film

Kidulthood which was released in 2006. He also directed and starred in the sequel,

Adulthood« which was released in 2008.

On directing his first film, Clarke described his experience, "Directing for the first time

was definitely a challenge and tiring at times. It was a steep learning curve and if you¶re

willing to do stuff and go with it, then it pays off.´

BACKGROUND INFO ABOUT FILM«



THEME 1: VIOELNCE/GANG CULTURE In the opening scene, we see a group of boys, hanging around at school appearing as if they are bound to

make trouble and are up to no good. This is shown by their clothing (hoodies with school uniform) which

reflects British social realism well as it¶s a common thing we all see with teenagers everyday at school. Also,

hoodies & un smart uniform is expected of people from a working class background which brings back the

British Social Realism point.

Also the dialogue/slang used by the kids is relative to working class British societies today, especially in

London and by using this, it appeals to a more niche audience (most likely people who live around London)

Violence is always shown through the mise-en-scene as in the first 2 mins, one of the main characters, Trevor

is seen modifying a gun which reflects British social realism because it shows gang culture upfront and how

violence/gun crime has become a growing problem and is happening casually.

This screen grab shows 3 boys wearing hoodies and from the way they stand

with authority, we denote that they're trouble & involved in violence/gang

culture which is the stereotypical image they are portraying.

Shows trevor, ayoung school boy

modifying a gun.

This appeals toBritish audience asgun crime has

become a recent issue with youths

therefore teenagersmay be able to relate

to this kind of lifestyle. Again, the hoody and the way he is looking down on her

shows he has higher authority & makes him look

intimidating. This relates to British Social Realism as it¶s a

form of bullying which again, happens a lot in Britain & kidsin the same situation will be able to relate to it.



One of the main unique appeals to relate to the British audience shown by the theme Violence/GangCulture was by the dialogue/slang they used. The way in which they talked related to a British audienceitself, but more specifically it was narrowed down to an appeal for Londoners.³Wahgwarn bitch. You seen Claire anywhere?´ ± rude way of talking to the girl and uses a slang term togreet her that appeals specifically to London slang.

Also, they are shown to be from a working class background and therefore stereotypically known to beable to relate to the issues of gang culture because its common in most run down/urban areas. Somemay relate because they are involved in, or know people involved in gangs, so it becomes realistic for that particular audience, whereas most films show the issues of gangs in an exaggerated or glamourized way, whereas Kidulthood shows the raw reality in a harsh way which takes it out of that mainstream audience.

Reception theory states that the audience can read a text in a number of different ways as it focuses on how the audience reads a text.It suggests that there are many personal influences on who the audience reads the text such as class,gender and ethnicity. For the opening scene of Kidulthood, we could say that different people read it differently. For example, a youth from Britain that see¶s Trevor modifying the gun may see it as a ³cool´

positive/influential thing to do« whereas a youth from another country may view this and see it as atotally negative representation & may not really be able to relate to it.

UNIQUE BRITISH APPEAL«



Kidulthood not only explores the theme of Sex, but looks at Underage sex. This is even shown in

the opening sequence where we see 2 school kids casually engaged in underage sexual activity behind a tree. This reflects British social realism and shows a unique appeal to London/Britain

because the careless ³teenage´ attitude shown reflects the British society today which is evident

in the rise of teenage pregnancy¶s which is another theme later explored in the film.

We can again relate this to working class as it¶s not typically something we'd see from upper

class school kids.

THEME 2: SEX

UNIQUE BRITISH APPEAL« ³Mooney¶s buff uknow´ ± London slang for saying he¶s

really good looking. By using specific slang, it has a

unique appeal for a british audience.



The 2 girls, Alisha & Becky have an addiction to cigarettes at the age of 15 ³nah, I'm givingup´ which is underage drug use. This reflects British social realism because workingclass/underclass often are known to take drugs/alcohol as an emotional release or escapefrom the troubles of their lives.

This has a unique appeal to a British audience because its upfront about the issue and is not glamourizing it or hiding it like a Hollywood film would typically do. British social realist films often deal with gritty/controversial themes casually which is why it only appeals to the minority/niche audience.

In terms of uses and gratifications drugs is probably informative as it educates the youngaudience on their own age groups addictions and the effects it can have. Some ways, youcan say its almost shown to be negative as its seen to look ³cool´ in the film, but it alsoshows the consequences of addiction later on in the film.

THEME 3: DRUGS/ADDICTION



The film uses the theme of bullying straight away as in the opening scene, we see 2 girls who are the ³Nerds´

being bullied by a larger group of girls (not physically yet, but gang is eyeing up 2 girls, letting us know they¶re intimidating). ³they¶re watching us, Did you finish the coursework for them!?´

This reflects British social realism because it shows bullying does happen in Britain, and by not showing it in

a pretty/glamourized way, its more IN YOUR FACE which is much like reality. The gang is a large group of girls,

picking on only 2 girls which shows they¶re only picking on them as they¶re weaker which is an accurate

perception & adds verisimilitude to scene.

Bullying being a major theme has a unique appeal to a British audience because bullying verbally/physically happens a lot in Britain.

In terms of uses and gratifications, this theme is seen as informative for the audience as it shows how bullying

Realistically happens in school by not showing it in the typical glamourized way where the worst they do is

³call you names´ but they actually go to the extent of physical bullying. This µin your face¶ style in my opinion

is much more effective, but as it is such a controversial theme, many people may not be able to relate or enjoy

to watch.

THEME 4: BULLYING



In the first 2 minutes of the film, we see the location of a school playground. Kids are

playing football in the background, others are just hanging about in their different

clicks, on their cell phones & just general chitchat. These are only shown briefly as

they¶re not important characters in the film. This reflects British social realism as it

shows an accurate view of a bunch of typical teenagers at school. And as the school

is set in a working class area, it is also shown through mise-en-scene by not

glamourizing the environment, and although its School, casual law breaking happenslike its normal.

UNIQUE BRITISH APPEAL« Everyone is dressed in the same school uniform which could be seen as uniquely

British as in America/Hollywood films, schools do not have uniforms therefore peoplein Britain can relate to this element of the film.

MISE-EN-SCENE



The main editing technique used is a cut as 1) It¶s simple 2)low budgets don¶t allow them to use

complicated editing and 3) As it¶s a social realist film, but using this almost kitchen sink likedrama adds verisimilitude & makes it more documentary like making it easier to relate to.

Another technique used quite a bit is a wipe, wiping the previous scene off the screen and

replacing it with the next which adds slight tension and upbeat to the scene, almost like were

chasing along with the hectic lives of the young kids at school.

When Sam is looking for his girlfriend (Claire), it cuts to a scene showing where Claire actually is,

and what she¶s up to with another boy. Cheating on other boys also relates to realism especially

amongst teenagers.

EDITING



Simple camera angles are used to make it more realistic (kitchen sink drama).

Basic shot types such as long shots (to show stance, often helping us to denote what kind of

character they are. E.g. the group of girls = intimidating stance & long shot shows posture)

Mid shots are common in the first two minutes and is probably most used shot just to show

general convo.

A close up is used when Trevor is modifying the gun, to emphasize his concentration and focus

showing the seriousness of the issue.

These basic camera shot types reflect British social realism as they portray characters/general life realistically. It also emphasizes the minimal things a working life has and but making it less

exciting to the eye, using simple shots shows the realistic way of life adding credibility.

CAMERA SHOTS & MOVETMENTS



³Are you girls coming to my party?´ this can be related to the hedonistic lifestyle of many working classBritish people, and having a party just because the parents are away. The party will have drink, drug, sex &alcohol which reflects British social realism as the party is symbolic of freedom & rebellious behaviour.

³Listen yeah, brush your teeth after you¶ve licked me out, and don¶t try and kiss me, you get me!?´ This way of talking is uniquely British as others may not understand what the characters are talking about. It is seen asconforming to the genre as the slang is up to date and relevant in British working society. I have related this tomy own knowledge & experience as I hear these phrases all the time, therefore it relates to the current era in

London.

Certain terms such as« May not be understood by other places and is uniquely British (specifically London)«³You gotta come to my party, it¶s gonna be heavy!´ ± heavy being a uniquely British slang term used for µReally good.¶

³Wahgwarn bitch´ ± greeting. Someone from another place outside of Britain may not understand thistherefore it only really relates to London although it comes from Patois Slang.

³He¶s really buff u know!´ ± Really good looking.

³Safe yeah´ ± Thanks

³Don¶t watch that´ ± Don¶t worry

In terms of uses and gratifications, the dialogue is most likely seen as entertaining because the audiencemembers can relate to it and also social relationships because they can discuss the films content with their friends.

DIALOGUE



Kidulthoods sub genre could be teenage street crime as it explores violence and gang cultureshowing the rivalry between different clicks.

The boys are wearing hoodies (stereotypical view on teenagers as being trouble makers) whichin this film, matching hoody to crime is an accurate perception.

The girls are seen to be promiscuous which is shown through underage sexual acitivities and theclothes they wear outside of school. They¶re dialogue too uses slang and appears to be quite³Ghetto.´

Kidulthood is mainly set in West London. Working class society has a lot of street crime by teenagers and this is reflected Very obviously in the film.

In terms of receptions theory, the audience will relate to the content of the film if they are familiar with London and everything that happens on the streets of London and will therefore interpret the film in the way the producer intended it to be interpreted making it target that correct nicheaudience.

Another sub genre could be teenage lifestyle because the characters are all teenagers, a key location is a school and themes such as bullying, violence, sex and drugs are all included whichis relevant to the typical stereotypes of working class/ underclass British teenagers.

SUB GENRES



This research has had a big impact on the development of my opening sequence. When looking

closely at editing & camerawork of Kidulthood, I learnt that the camera shots were very simplistic

and there wasn¶t a great deal of editing apart from cuts & sweeping from scene to scene. I have

also seen that using the sweep adds tension and almost a chase to the lives of the kids at school.

This has given me the idea to possibly use this technique in my opening sequence in order to

add maximum excitement.

Also it has influenced me to use similar themes of school life/teenage life as its something I can

relate to most meaning I have most insight of what it¶s Really like« So when other people my age

view it (target audience) they too will be able to relate to it.

The dialogue used in my opening sequence is also very important as again it helps audience

relate more but also by adding specific words, it not only will make it suit my target audience, but

will also fill in the criteria of my task of making it a British Social Realist piece.

Overall, Kidulthood has been a big influence toward my final idea for the opening sequence and

many aspects of it Such as dialogue has inspired me for my work!

WHAT IMPACT HAS THE RESEARCH HAD ON

THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOU IDEAS?

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