One of our task was to watch a British social realism and to analyse the representation through out the film. The film we watched was 'The Selfish Giant' this was written by Clio Barnard who got this idea from well known British writer/ author Oscar Wilde who was well known for his written work such as his fable's which inspired Clio Barnard to make 'The Selfish Giant'.
The film 'The Selfish Giant' is about a little boy named Arbar who suffers from ADHD(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and his best friend Swifty who is always there for him, these two boys get involved with the wrong type of work which leads them both to a surprise ending which will affect there lives for sure.
Regional Identity:
The film ' The Selfish Giant' was filmed in North England and you can tell by the shot above that its an industrial place and has a lot of greenery surrounding it, during the film you get different types of location within North England and you get to see that the places they live in are very rough and unwelcoming, this gives us as the audience an impression of working class and lower class, as these locations are not places you will see people who are well off.
This shot was an establishing shot this allowed the audience to see the location and the surrounding this was to show North England from there perspective so in the shot above you see the beautiful side of nature but if we looked closer at the shot you will see the industrial and working class side of North England.
Also the representation of the Northerners are rough through there appearances by what they do and what they wear, also there dialects are different from other people who live in different places in England.The costumes and props used such as giving 'Kitten'-( the bully) the scruffy look by giving him a stubble and scruffy hair and long coat this gives you the classic representation of a Northerner man, also the appearances hint towards the social class that they are.
The young boy on the left 'Swifty'(follower) is wearing an old long jacket that is seen through out the movie this is hinting towards the fact that he may not own a lot of clothing.
The mid body shot is showing us the facial expression and also is showing the location of a working class environment this is showing us the identity if them.
The fact that Kitten(the bully) had Arbar(the lost boy) and Swifty(the follower) do his dirty work so that he wouldn't get sent to prison , by getting kids to do his work they wouldn't get in trouble and they wouldn't have to go prison, this is denoting how desperate the kids are to get money.
Age:
0:10 Arbar is in school shows he is still young and a child
In this shot above you can see Arbar in school but before this Arbar was getting his treatment for his ADHD, in this shot Arbar acts like his age showing that he is still a child , he is messing around throwing a pencil at Swifty this allows the audience to see that even though they act older by doing jobs this shot shows that they are still kids. This mid shot above is showing us that Arbar cant concentrate and is looking for an excuse to not do the work, the mid body shot shows us that he is in school and we can also see the teacher in the shot above and not helping Arbar with his work.
What's denoted in the shot above is the fact that all the three boy working are still young and are working to get money for there families, throughout the movie you see the children playing the role of adults and you see the adults portrayed as weak and vulnerable therefore leaving the kids to be there own role model as there is no support from any of the adults in the movie.
The long shot in the screen grab above shows us the three young lads and the clothing they wear also show us that they are young as they are wearing a school uniform, the location in the background shows us that they are working in an industrial site, the long shot shows Kitten as the most powerful one as he is the only adult and because of that he creates his own rules and breaks them too.
Disability:
0:01:04 We first meet Arbar under his bed - ADHD shown first.
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)- caused by developmental differences in the brain that affects the parts controlling attention, concentration, impulsivity, activity levels and memory.
In this shot above you can see Arbar's disability ADHD he is under his bed hitting the bed and is very aggressive, Arbor's language through out the film is very vulgar and brutal, in the shot above he is saying ' I cant stand you, ya bastard' this is not what you would normally hear from a young boy around 11, because this was our first shot we saw this gives the audience a surprise in what to expect it also instantly makes the audience think that Arbar is aggressive and is not like and ordinary child, the shot they used was a close up of Arbar under his bead this is emphasising his disability and making the audience aware of it, the lighting used is natural lighting its dark this suits Arbar's mood which is angry and aggressive.
10:16 Arbar being treated for his ADHD
In this shot above you can see Arbar getting treated for his disability , this is denoting that he is trying to get help and better the adult that is giving him his medication is the only adult that can be seen as a role model who is willing to help Arbar.The lighting in this shot is natural and the colour pallet is blue which gives the shot a cold affect towards on what to feel, the shot used is a long shot allowing the audience to see the school and to see the guy giving him medication the shot above is showing Arbar himself would like help to get better but he does not show it, but by him taking his medication is a sign that he wants to be better.Social Class:
0:12:09 Arbar Teacher - two different social classes
In the shot above you can see two different social classes you see Arbar and his teacher they are both different social class Arbar is working class and lower class as he just about makes enough money whereas the Teacher is Middle class and makes enough money to work and to live off from, when Swity's family is lower class as they didn't have enough money to pat electricity and gas bill which is the basic poverty, also the clothing the teacher is wearing is very different from what Swifty and Arbar would wear, the lighting in this shot is natural yet the colour pallet is still blue which makes the audience feel cold, the camera language they used was a close up of the teacher and Arbar showing there relationship is not easy at all Arbar likes to annoy his teacher and get the attention he would try and do everything he can to stop himself from doing school work. The dialogue used from Arbar is not what you would hear form a child that is speaking towards a teacher.
Gender:
In this show we see Mrs Swift who is being a housewife taking care of the kids food and taking care of there every little needs, in this movie you see women being a house wife and not working and you see the male characters from young ages doing industrial work and heavy lifting work in factory and schools, the clothing Mrs Swift is wearing is old and chavy and the lighting is natural dull and in this scene all you hear is everyone talking over each other and you hear Price Drop raising his voice telling all the kids to get in and him telling Mrs Swift that she couldn't pay the bills, you mainly hear mumbling from the background.
In this shot you can see Kittens, worker who is a women is working at the desk but even though she is working in an industrial business she gets the low end of the job that requires her to use her brain as she deals with money this is also connoting that girls are more educated then men as she is doing all the head work. This shot shows natural lighting with the blue colour pallet and also the costume she is wearing shows us that she earns enough money to be bale to buy nice clothes that are different from Mrs Swift , in this scene all you hear is her talking to Arbar and you hear the male workers in the background, this shot is a close up of her working in the desk this allows the audience to see what she is doing.
Sexuality:
This shot is denoting Arbars brother making a homophobic comment towards Arbar and Swifty's relationship saying' This is the first night I've not seen you and your boyfriend fucking spooning'
this shot is denoting that his brother is mocking Arbar's disability and also he is mocking Arbar's and Swifty's friendship, this connotes that everyone around them takes homophobia lightly and and are not serious about Arbar's disability. In this shot you can see the blue colour palette and the natural lighting , this shot is don't in a high angle showing that Arbar's brother is more superior than Swifty yet Arbar's brother has a tag on his ankle and a tattoo also Swifty hinted out that his brother is a drug abuser.
Ethnicity:
0:10 One Asian and Arbar
In this shot you can denote that Arbar is white and the boy next to him is Asian, through out the film the ethnicity is mainly white British, in the shot above you can see that the only Asian is this boy.
the shot used here is a two shot you have two people in the shot and the lighting is natural and the colour pallet is blue , most British social realism use the blue colour pallet.
0:23:45 white British
Through out the film white British is the main ethnicity group that is seen in the whole movie the workers, students are all mainly white British, the language spoken again is very different as in the dialect from North England is different the way things are pronounced ' don't forget you saucepan kid' the way they say things are different. In this shot you can see the colour pallet blue clearly and the film was done in natural lighting.
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