Growing Up and Aspirations
To dow ith over coming what you had to deal with earlier on in your life. Maybe espcaping what you gre up with and making your life better. Making more of yourself, wanting and getting better than what you had or are used to.
Billy Elliot; As Billy grows up he realisess that boxing, which his dad wnts him to take part in, is not in his best interests, it is not what he wants to do so he starts to particiapte in ballet classes secretly as he knows his dad will be dissapointed.
The Firm; grwing up around people who are more popular and bigger than himself, the main character aspires to be one of them or like them. he wants to be known and noticed in the way that they are so changes his ways to become one of them
Race, Ethinicity and Cultural Tensions
This could occur within society or even within the family, like in east is east where George has different views tha the rest of his family. Could also be a clash between cultures.
Snatch; Different races and ethnic backgrounds all come togehter in this film, but all working in thier different ways and playing different parts.
Harry Brown; this works in the opposti to societys views of the elderly. Harry brown, an old man goes after the youngsters who killed his best friend, he breaks the stereotype that people percieve old men to be like and comes out on top.
Social Class
British social realism looks at the difference between under class and wokring class and all though they are both seen as the worse type of class, there is a big difference.
Full Monty; this shows a run down area and how this affects the people in it, they become unemplyed but they make the best out of a bad situation by makingthemselves into a group and earning money out of it.
Violence ( often with gangs)
Although it is usualy shown in gangs this can also be in the home, child abuse or domestic violence can occur in british social realism films. They also include violent language and threatening scences.
Bullet Boy; this is to do with gang violence. The main character comes out of prison and wants to get out of all the stuff that first got him in thier, this links in to aspirations aswell. He also brings his little brother into the bad stuff that he used to do.
Shifty; the violence in here is to dow ith gangs, but not big groups of them. The violence is mainly because of drugs and they tend to be running from police quite alot.
Sexuality
This is to do with hiding your sexuality as it is not accepted, like in my beautiful laundrette, as they cannot come out as gay as they would be shamed upon. It also includes people and younger people discovering sex and having thier first experiences with it. Also alot of illegal sexual things happen, like peodophilia, rape and under age sex, ahowing the realistic view of it. It can also show a person who lacks in sex life.
Gender Roles and Relationships
British social realism films show true realtionships, not through rose tinted glasses. They show the love and hate, they show broken relationships and the betrayel that can come with them. Absence and replacement is a big thing in these films, and it also looks at not just male and female relationships but any other type of relationship also.
Nil by Mouth; shows the good and the bad of thier relationship. We see the domestic violence that can go on behind closed doors. It also shows the decietful, cheating and uncaring view of the man in the relaitonship.
Addiction
this can with Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking. It can also be with violence or the constant need of love or affection that has been missed like Mia in Fish Tank. The party addiction, like what we see in 24 hour party people can also be shown in bristish social realism.
British Politics
This shows the poeple in these films to be against the politics thata re going on around them as they do not seem to benefit them selves or the area they live in and how it impacts on different people and people of different class.This can be seen in Four Lions.
Immigration
This links in to aspiration as they move here to get away from trouble in thier own countries and to get a good job and look after there family. British social realism shows them in a harsh light and the hardship that they face in england. they face many difficulties and the racism they get does not help and gives them no motivation.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Embeding
Bullet Boy
2004
Saul Dibb
starring Ashley Walters and Leon Black. Its genre is Drama.
Production companies are the BBC FILMS, the UK Film Council
Snatch
2000
Guy Ritchiestarring Jason statham and Brad Pitt, vinie Jones along with alot of other famous and not so famous actors.
Its genres are Crime and Thriller
Production company, Columbia Pictures Corporation.
Football Factory
2004
Stephen Daldry
stars Danny Dyer and Frank Harper. Genre is crime and drama
Production Companies included, Vertigo filmsand Rockstar games.
Kidulthood
2006
Menhaj Huda
starring Aml amen, Red Mardell and Noel Clarke . Its genre is drama.
The production company is Stealh films, Cipher films and TMc films .
2004
Saul Dibb
starring Ashley Walters and Leon Black. Its genre is Drama.
Production companies are the BBC FILMS, the UK Film Council
Snatch
2000
Guy Ritchiestarring Jason statham and Brad Pitt, vinie Jones along with alot of other famous and not so famous actors.
Its genres are Crime and Thriller
Production company, Columbia Pictures Corporation.
Football Factory
2004
Stephen Daldry
stars Danny Dyer and Frank Harper. Genre is crime and drama
Production Companies included, Vertigo filmsand Rockstar games.
Kidulthood
2006
Menhaj Huda
starring Aml amen, Red Mardell and Noel Clarke . Its genre is drama.
The production company is Stealh films, Cipher films and TMc films .
Production Log; Week One.
This week we looked at previous work from the year above who had a simliar brief to us, but had to make a film which was of the genre thriller. From the two candidates we looked at you can certainley see the difference in effort, content, knowledge and research, determining thier grades. Looking at the mark scheme and grade boundaries you can see there is very little in marks that gives you your grade. These are only small differences like, the use of minimal research and basic research that takes you from a level two to a level three in your planning and research. a level 3 to a level 4, with just the difference of proficent creativity and excellent creativity means that the extra little bits are key.
Candidate one who got the lower grade out of the two and in his research and planning, the videos he has produced he does not look top sure. To me it seems as if he doesnt actually know what he is talking about, but is jsut reading off a piece of paper what he has wrote; this does not show a good understanding and he also only uses basic research into his film and audience.
Week 3
Candidate two, however is very clear and confident in his videos. He clearly states what he is going to and overcomes the problems that he faces. He seems to be very sure of what he is doing and also very in control of everything. He uses a good vocabulary and is very enthusiastic in his work. This gives a positive view of him and his grade will go up as he seems to of put all his effort in to it.
http://jbchandler1.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-03-25T03%3A17%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
In their production and construction Candidate ones film was good in terms of sticking to the genre it did keep you in suspense and left you wanting to see more but there where little technical faults that made it no excellent, like when the music in his sequence interferes with the diagetic sound in the film and makes it hard to hear and confusing. This will mean he drops a grade due to silly and easliy corrected mistakes.
Candidate Twos production and construction. Firstly looks very much how a film would start, with its production company appearing first and then going into the film. The film itself shows very good use of camera shots and editng. Also showing a very good and well thought through storyline. He uses the building of tetion very, very well and creates alot of suspense for the audience, carrying out a thrillers true job.
The evaluation stage, in Candidate ones case,once again he just shows a basic understanding of what he has done and not very in depth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3QVsYS8Nvw&feature=player_embedded
Candidate twos evaluation is alot more detailed and he also includes improvments that could of been made showing he has a better un dertsandoing of what he has doen as he is able to asses it. This would probably get a level 4 as it is an excellent understanding of the issues.
http://jbchandler1.blogspot.com/
This gives me an idea of the type of commitment and hard work i have to put into my work to get a high grade. The use of excelent terminolgy, research, planning and creativity is what will get me my high grade. If i follow more in the footsteps of candidate two, rather than candidate one i should be succesful in my work. In terms of my actual production i must stick to my brief and make sure evey little detail is planned and looked at porperly and thuroughly checked over before i can say i am finished.
I will avoid distractions that will limit me to the amount of time and effort i put into my work and will make sure i do not jsut the basic research, planning and creativity into my work.
Candidate one who got the lower grade out of the two and in his research and planning, the videos he has produced he does not look top sure. To me it seems as if he doesnt actually know what he is talking about, but is jsut reading off a piece of paper what he has wrote; this does not show a good understanding and he also only uses basic research into his film and audience.
Week 3
Candidate two, however is very clear and confident in his videos. He clearly states what he is going to and overcomes the problems that he faces. He seems to be very sure of what he is doing and also very in control of everything. He uses a good vocabulary and is very enthusiastic in his work. This gives a positive view of him and his grade will go up as he seems to of put all his effort in to it.
http://jbchandler1.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-03-25T03%3A17%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
In their production and construction Candidate ones film was good in terms of sticking to the genre it did keep you in suspense and left you wanting to see more but there where little technical faults that made it no excellent, like when the music in his sequence interferes with the diagetic sound in the film and makes it hard to hear and confusing. This will mean he drops a grade due to silly and easliy corrected mistakes.
Candidate Twos production and construction. Firstly looks very much how a film would start, with its production company appearing first and then going into the film. The film itself shows very good use of camera shots and editng. Also showing a very good and well thought through storyline. He uses the building of tetion very, very well and creates alot of suspense for the audience, carrying out a thrillers true job.
The evaluation stage, in Candidate ones case,once again he just shows a basic understanding of what he has done and not very in depth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3QVsYS8Nvw&feature=player_embedded
Candidate twos evaluation is alot more detailed and he also includes improvments that could of been made showing he has a better un dertsandoing of what he has doen as he is able to asses it. This would probably get a level 4 as it is an excellent understanding of the issues.
http://jbchandler1.blogspot.com/
This gives me an idea of the type of commitment and hard work i have to put into my work to get a high grade. The use of excelent terminolgy, research, planning and creativity is what will get me my high grade. If i follow more in the footsteps of candidate two, rather than candidate one i should be succesful in my work. In terms of my actual production i must stick to my brief and make sure evey little detail is planned and looked at porperly and thuroughly checked over before i can say i am finished.
I will avoid distractions that will limit me to the amount of time and effort i put into my work and will make sure i do not jsut the basic research, planning and creativity into my work.
beach combing
'Never make someone your priority, when theyve only made you an option!.'
My Little Princess <3 <3
'You never know what youve got 'till its gone.'
The people who will never be forgotten <3
God took your love from me, he needed an angel so it seem.Its hard for me to tell you i love you, when im standing over your grave and i know ill never hear your voice again. I cant stand looking at the pictures on my shelf, knowing it was just one week ago i stood there and took that picture. Does he know how much it hurts to be missing you.
love to partaayyy.
ima P.I.M.P!'If they put you on a pedistool; they can take you off!'
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Evaluation of Past Candidates Work.
Candidate One.
Planning and Research
Candidate ones planning and research was quite good, he used correct and good use of terminology. He also outlined his project and lessons well, although his weaknesses were that he was quiet and not very confident so was a little unclear. He also mumbles and his tone is quite boring. his videos also have no variation and are constantly the same apart from content.
Construction
Strengths in this candidates work is the music used in this candidates exercise is very dramatic and helps to build the tension of the theme, which works well as the genre of the film is thriller. It sticks well to its genre, keeping the audience in suspense throughout the 2 minutes. It isn't bloody or glory, so is not to squirmy for the audience.
The weaknesses of his work is the starting titles are not very clear and i had to look hard to be able to read them. they also took up a lot of the time, wasting time he could of used in his actual filming work. The non diagetic sound, which is the music over the film also over powers the diagetic sounds that are in the film, making the films sound unclear and hard to hear.
Evaluation
The strengths of his evaluation is that he shows a good understanding of what he has done, his strenths and weaknesses and also what he could improve. His evaluation is very clear, easy to understand and clearly presented. He also uses a variety of different media in his evaluation, helping in the presentation and strength of his evaluation.
the weaknesses are that he does not look very comfortable or confident in what he is saying, almost like he doesnt know it. his speech is also very quiet.
Here is a link to this candidates work, including his production logs and drafts of his film. http://amanveermediacw.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-05-05T09%3A55%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
Candidate Two.
Planning and Research
Candidate two shows a clear and very detailed understanding of his task and what has to be done, his plan is outlined very clear. He seems to be very time consuming and in control of his task. He shows good research with not too much, but enough detail.
the weakness in this section is that in one of his videos, this candidate put text over the top of his video to show the topic, this is quite off putting and makes it hard to understand what he is saying.
Construction
The construction for candidate two is strong as it sticks to the brief of a thriller and, again, builds tension for the audience and it does this very well with all of the camera shits and edits that he has put in. His storyline is clear and does not confuse the audience despite the constant flashbacks and change of scenery. The camera work and editing that this candidate has used has been used well as his film is clearly set out. He has also used a good use of location.
In terms of construction, i didn't really find any weaknesses' in the candidates work as it was very well planned and carried out.
Evaluation
In his evaluation candidate two is very thorough in his speeches, he is clearly spoken and also clearly laid out, so that the person watching can understand. His use of terminology is very good and he shows a good understanding of the task he was set and of the audience that he had to appeal to because of the genre he was working with. He shows good research.
Once again, like his construction i did not see any major weaknesses in his work.
This link shows candidate twos final film and his evaluations.
http://amanveermediacw.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-05-05T09%3A55%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
Planning and Research
Candidate ones planning and research was quite good, he used correct and good use of terminology. He also outlined his project and lessons well, although his weaknesses were that he was quiet and not very confident so was a little unclear. He also mumbles and his tone is quite boring. his videos also have no variation and are constantly the same apart from content.
Construction
Strengths in this candidates work is the music used in this candidates exercise is very dramatic and helps to build the tension of the theme, which works well as the genre of the film is thriller. It sticks well to its genre, keeping the audience in suspense throughout the 2 minutes. It isn't bloody or glory, so is not to squirmy for the audience.
The weaknesses of his work is the starting titles are not very clear and i had to look hard to be able to read them. they also took up a lot of the time, wasting time he could of used in his actual filming work. The non diagetic sound, which is the music over the film also over powers the diagetic sounds that are in the film, making the films sound unclear and hard to hear.
Evaluation
The strengths of his evaluation is that he shows a good understanding of what he has done, his strenths and weaknesses and also what he could improve. His evaluation is very clear, easy to understand and clearly presented. He also uses a variety of different media in his evaluation, helping in the presentation and strength of his evaluation.
the weaknesses are that he does not look very comfortable or confident in what he is saying, almost like he doesnt know it. his speech is also very quiet.
Here is a link to this candidates work, including his production logs and drafts of his film. http://amanveermediacw.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-05-05T09%3A55%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
Candidate Two.
Planning and Research
Candidate two shows a clear and very detailed understanding of his task and what has to be done, his plan is outlined very clear. He seems to be very time consuming and in control of his task. He shows good research with not too much, but enough detail.
the weakness in this section is that in one of his videos, this candidate put text over the top of his video to show the topic, this is quite off putting and makes it hard to understand what he is saying.
Construction
The construction for candidate two is strong as it sticks to the brief of a thriller and, again, builds tension for the audience and it does this very well with all of the camera shits and edits that he has put in. His storyline is clear and does not confuse the audience despite the constant flashbacks and change of scenery. The camera work and editing that this candidate has used has been used well as his film is clearly set out. He has also used a good use of location.
In terms of construction, i didn't really find any weaknesses' in the candidates work as it was very well planned and carried out.
Evaluation
In his evaluation candidate two is very thorough in his speeches, he is clearly spoken and also clearly laid out, so that the person watching can understand. His use of terminology is very good and he shows a good understanding of the task he was set and of the audience that he had to appeal to because of the genre he was working with. He shows good research.
Once again, like his construction i did not see any major weaknesses in his work.
This link shows candidate twos final film and his evaluations.
http://amanveermediacw.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-05-05T09%3A55%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
Analysis of Fish Tank
Themes and Situations
In fish tank there seems to be a lot of arguments or disagreements, even the opening scene is of a girl apologising to a voicemail. As a family, the mother, Mia and her little sister Tyler ten to argue a lot, and the use of strong, bad language is quite frequent. Every tends to curse at each other as if it is a norm, the mother uses strong words towards the children and even Tyler, the youngest sister is using bad language. Dancing is seen to be a big part of Mias life as we see many shots of her in a room, alone, dancing but seems to take a liking to her mums new boyfriend as she alows him to see her dancing. Animal cruelty could also be a them as Mia seems to keep going back for a horse that is tied up on a traveller’s site. Alcohol, smoking and sex is also very often seen in Fish Tank. The mother smoke and we also see in a scene where the youngest, Tyler is smoking and drinking alcohol. Mia also seems to be drinking, she takes a bottle of vodka from the kitchen and also helps her self to a beer when she breaks into Connors house. The sex scenes in the film are quite open also, Mia sees a man and women doing things in her kitchen and also when Connor and Mia have sex. The family seem to be very open towards each other, as Mia and her mum can be seen walking around in a pair of knickers quite often and also Connor gets unchanged in front of Mia, who is only 15. Dancing, at the end of the film seems to be the thing that brings the family together and is the only time that they are not arguing.
Representations
Right at the beginning of the film we see a young girl, who seems to be a bit chavy as she is in tracksuit bottoms and has lots of gold jewellery and when she speaks we hear she has a very cocky, Essex accent. The scenery behind her is a council estate, this gives the representation of Britain being full of council and that all people from an estate will be like Mia. One of the first things we see of Mia is her telling her ‘ friends ‘ dad what she thinks of him, she then goes on to head-butts a girl and break her nose. This gives a rough, troublesome view of girls from a council estate. The group of girls that she causes trouble with are dressed very revealing and a bit tarty, they are also dancing, in front of what seem to be older boys. Giving a negative view of these young girls.
As the film follows Mias life we see that her mother daughter relationship is not the best. Her mum calls her names and pinches her and tends not to be very nice to her, this telling viewers that this is how families in councils flats are. The mother also seems to be a bit of a tart as she has a new man come home with her, who in the morning helps himself around the house. She also has parties at there flat where she tells her children that they have to go out or stay upstairs as there is ‘ no kids allowed’. She also seems to be a bit of an alcoholic as she is seen, a lot of the time, to be drinking, and on a nice day out says to Connor, ‘ I want a drink ‘ . This representation of Mias mum is very negative as she looks like an unfit mother, especially when she has a women visit the house because Mia ahs been kicked out of school, and even then she cannot control Mia.
This we see has a rub on effect on Mia as she is also seen a lot of the time to be drinking or drunk. She asks an older boy to buy her drink from the shop, she steals vodka from her mums friend at the party and also helps herself to a beer from Connors fridge, of which she has broke into . In the house Mia wees on his carpet after finding out he has another family, this gives a really scummy representation of her and where she comes from as this is very un lady like. She also kidnaps Connors daughter which makes her look even worse as this is such a bad thing and a 15 year old girl should not do it. Although we see Mias other side when her hard, chav side if broken down when she finds out that the horse has died and her emotions seem to get the better of her and she starts to cry.
The younger sister, Tyler, acts older than she looks, she’s quite mouthy and upfront with what she says. She, as well, smokes, drinks and uses bad language in every other sentence she says. Although she is quite mature in her words, once in the room with her friend she seems childish as Mia says she is leaving and Tyler says ‘Yes, say yes’ urging at her friend to agree with her. This gives the stereotypical, and also negative, view of British council estate families, especially the girls. It makes them look very scummy and rude.
Connor, the mum’s boyfriend, has an Irish accent and seems to be very different to Mias family. He seems to be more calm, have manners and be a generally nicer person, this gives off the impression that any one from outside of Essex or England is more respectful, which is not necessarily correct. Although Connor is seen in a better light, this changes when starts to give Mia a ‘hiding’ which is wrong as she is only 15 and he is not her father or does not take any fatherly responsibilities for the children. Also when Connor and Mia have sex, the opinion of him changes completely, we do not see him to be respectful or kind because of what he has just done. Although the blame is partly on Mia, and gives the representation of council estate children being ‘ slags’ she is not to blame as he is a man and should know it is wrong.
In the film we also see Mia go to what looks like a travellers site on the side of a main road, the boys living on it are the typical stereotypes of a traveller as they are quite horrible to Mia for trespassing and trying to free the horse that is on their land and also seen to be stealing from a scrap yard. This is a negative representation and not necessary true although people believe it.
Mis – en –scene
A popular view that the audience see in Fish Tank is an over view of the council estate, which looks very busy and crowded, making Britain look like they have just stuck everyone there together. All the flats look very dirty and not looked after, telling us that they are not bothered about where they live and that the council have left them to themselves and do not try to make it a better area to live in. There is a little park seen in the centre of the estate, this is also very un clean and not very good as well as unsafe, once again showing that no one is bothering with the ‘council estate kids’. Inside Mias flat, the same as the rest of the estate, is not very homely, Mias room is very plain and basic and looks like she doesn’t really have a lot of stuff, obviously because they could not afford it. Tylers room is very messy but seems a bit more homely and comfortable, she has also drawn over her walls, showing no respect for where she sleeps and that the mum does has not taught them that this is wrong. The rooms in the house are also very cluttered, but we see a change when Mias mum tidy’s up for Connor but still it does not look very nice.
Outside the council estate we don’t see much better, there is the travellers site which is not at all nice, and makes Britain look even more dirty and makes believable that people are left to fend for themselves and no one helps them. When Mia visits Connor at work it is full of big tall buildings, like an industrial estate, which itself is still not very clean or pretty to look at. Making Britain look like it is just built up of big buildings that no one has took care in building.
The majority of the film is set in and around Essex and when Mia ventures out of this area, to Connors home, in Tilbury we see a huge change in scenery. The house are a lot more posh, they look cleaner and well cared for. The cars are newer and shinier and make it look like a generally nice neighbourhood, in comparison to Mias environment. As Mia turn on to Connors road there is a girl in a pink top coming out of it, she helps in the better neighbourhood view of Tilbury as she looks a lot more respectful and does not mouth off at Mia, like a girl would probably do back in the estate. This young girl is also presented herself in a nicer way.
Music and Sound Effects
Throughout the Fish Tank we hear a background music of a busy background, whether it be on the estate where you can hear children shouting and general background noise or whilst Mia is walking on a main road and you can hear cars rushing by.
Also included in the films are songs that Mia listens to and dances to and known songs a video on Mias tv of Ja Rule and Ashanti that we she starts dancing to. That the young girls seem to be influenced by like, for example ; Cassie. Me N You’ when we see Mias ex – friend, Keily, is dancing to outside in the estate with a group of girls. The music is very hip hop and R ‘n’ B, connoting that young white girls are influenced and learn from young black music artists.
When there are scenes in the film where the clip is in slow motion, mostly the scenes of Mia and Connor, Connors breathing gets louder and deeper. This is made obvious to the audience, showing what Mia hears when she is with him.
Opposite to the stereotypes of the estate people, Mia receives a voicemail and the women’s tone of voice is a lot more soft spoken and she sounds more respectfully. This send the message that the women is higher up than Mia, or of a better class maybe connoting the importance of the message.
Camera work and Editing
The camera seems to follow Mia everywhere she goes, the story is based on her and her life this makes the film more like a documentary than an actually. It allows film 4 to carry out there social realist ethos and show a true kitchen sink view of British life, they carry this out well. The camera tracks Mia when she is almost running after the traveller boy who she seems to of taking interest in, this shows how Mia wants to be around the boy and wants to be involved in what he is doing. The view through ‘ grey tinted glasses’ is also showed when there is a close up of a couple in Mias kitchen at her mums party who are performing oral intercourse.
When Connors breathing is more distinct on the scenes the footage also is in slow motion, emphasising the moment ant letting the audience feel the emotion, this is evident when he carries Mia to the bedroom and has her on his back after cutting her foot in the pond scene.
In the scene of Mia dancing in front of, or even for Connor the camera is at an angle where the moonlight is almost silhouetting her, making her look and seem older than 15 and giving her a sexy, more appealing side. It also shows the audience Connors view on Mia at this moment.
The director shows Mias point of view which we see when Connor is undressing Mia and putting her into bed. This is one of the very little times that we are seeing it from Mias eyes and not following her and seeing it as an on looker.
Also in this film, animals seem to be quite a big part of. The camera close ups on the horse that Mia sees, the hamster in Tylers room and also Tylers drawings, on her wall, of cats and also at the pond where the camera is zoomed din on the dragon fly and the fish that Connor catches.
Dialogue
Most of the dialogue in Fish tank is of a chavy, Essex accent, with the acception of Connor and also his family that we briefly hear, as well as the voicemail elf ton Mias phone. This is due to the fact that it is based on the people in the council estate and so it is more effective in getting their point across. The dialogue of the chavy tone is usually bad or rude, down putting language, towards family, friends and enemies. The mother has a very demanding and ‘ hard-core’ tone and attitude.
The travellers tend to have a more calm tone their dialogue, although when they speak it tends to undermine Mia, accept the one whom Mia becomes friends with and eventually leaves to go to Wales with.
Connor, the mother’s boyfriend, has a smoother tone to his voice and his dialogue is less explicit than the others in the film. He has an Irish accent and this gives him a different view and has a different effect on the audience.
In fish tank there seems to be a lot of arguments or disagreements, even the opening scene is of a girl apologising to a voicemail. As a family, the mother, Mia and her little sister Tyler ten to argue a lot, and the use of strong, bad language is quite frequent. Every tends to curse at each other as if it is a norm, the mother uses strong words towards the children and even Tyler, the youngest sister is using bad language. Dancing is seen to be a big part of Mias life as we see many shots of her in a room, alone, dancing but seems to take a liking to her mums new boyfriend as she alows him to see her dancing. Animal cruelty could also be a them as Mia seems to keep going back for a horse that is tied up on a traveller’s site. Alcohol, smoking and sex is also very often seen in Fish Tank. The mother smoke and we also see in a scene where the youngest, Tyler is smoking and drinking alcohol. Mia also seems to be drinking, she takes a bottle of vodka from the kitchen and also helps her self to a beer when she breaks into Connors house. The sex scenes in the film are quite open also, Mia sees a man and women doing things in her kitchen and also when Connor and Mia have sex. The family seem to be very open towards each other, as Mia and her mum can be seen walking around in a pair of knickers quite often and also Connor gets unchanged in front of Mia, who is only 15. Dancing, at the end of the film seems to be the thing that brings the family together and is the only time that they are not arguing.
Representations
Right at the beginning of the film we see a young girl, who seems to be a bit chavy as she is in tracksuit bottoms and has lots of gold jewellery and when she speaks we hear she has a very cocky, Essex accent. The scenery behind her is a council estate, this gives the representation of Britain being full of council and that all people from an estate will be like Mia. One of the first things we see of Mia is her telling her ‘ friends ‘ dad what she thinks of him, she then goes on to head-butts a girl and break her nose. This gives a rough, troublesome view of girls from a council estate. The group of girls that she causes trouble with are dressed very revealing and a bit tarty, they are also dancing, in front of what seem to be older boys. Giving a negative view of these young girls.
As the film follows Mias life we see that her mother daughter relationship is not the best. Her mum calls her names and pinches her and tends not to be very nice to her, this telling viewers that this is how families in councils flats are. The mother also seems to be a bit of a tart as she has a new man come home with her, who in the morning helps himself around the house. She also has parties at there flat where she tells her children that they have to go out or stay upstairs as there is ‘ no kids allowed’. She also seems to be a bit of an alcoholic as she is seen, a lot of the time, to be drinking, and on a nice day out says to Connor, ‘ I want a drink ‘ . This representation of Mias mum is very negative as she looks like an unfit mother, especially when she has a women visit the house because Mia ahs been kicked out of school, and even then she cannot control Mia.
This we see has a rub on effect on Mia as she is also seen a lot of the time to be drinking or drunk. She asks an older boy to buy her drink from the shop, she steals vodka from her mums friend at the party and also helps herself to a beer from Connors fridge, of which she has broke into . In the house Mia wees on his carpet after finding out he has another family, this gives a really scummy representation of her and where she comes from as this is very un lady like. She also kidnaps Connors daughter which makes her look even worse as this is such a bad thing and a 15 year old girl should not do it. Although we see Mias other side when her hard, chav side if broken down when she finds out that the horse has died and her emotions seem to get the better of her and she starts to cry.
The younger sister, Tyler, acts older than she looks, she’s quite mouthy and upfront with what she says. She, as well, smokes, drinks and uses bad language in every other sentence she says. Although she is quite mature in her words, once in the room with her friend she seems childish as Mia says she is leaving and Tyler says ‘Yes, say yes’ urging at her friend to agree with her. This gives the stereotypical, and also negative, view of British council estate families, especially the girls. It makes them look very scummy and rude.
Connor, the mum’s boyfriend, has an Irish accent and seems to be very different to Mias family. He seems to be more calm, have manners and be a generally nicer person, this gives off the impression that any one from outside of Essex or England is more respectful, which is not necessarily correct. Although Connor is seen in a better light, this changes when starts to give Mia a ‘hiding’ which is wrong as she is only 15 and he is not her father or does not take any fatherly responsibilities for the children. Also when Connor and Mia have sex, the opinion of him changes completely, we do not see him to be respectful or kind because of what he has just done. Although the blame is partly on Mia, and gives the representation of council estate children being ‘ slags’ she is not to blame as he is a man and should know it is wrong.
In the film we also see Mia go to what looks like a travellers site on the side of a main road, the boys living on it are the typical stereotypes of a traveller as they are quite horrible to Mia for trespassing and trying to free the horse that is on their land and also seen to be stealing from a scrap yard. This is a negative representation and not necessary true although people believe it.
Mis – en –scene
A popular view that the audience see in Fish Tank is an over view of the council estate, which looks very busy and crowded, making Britain look like they have just stuck everyone there together. All the flats look very dirty and not looked after, telling us that they are not bothered about where they live and that the council have left them to themselves and do not try to make it a better area to live in. There is a little park seen in the centre of the estate, this is also very un clean and not very good as well as unsafe, once again showing that no one is bothering with the ‘council estate kids’. Inside Mias flat, the same as the rest of the estate, is not very homely, Mias room is very plain and basic and looks like she doesn’t really have a lot of stuff, obviously because they could not afford it. Tylers room is very messy but seems a bit more homely and comfortable, she has also drawn over her walls, showing no respect for where she sleeps and that the mum does has not taught them that this is wrong. The rooms in the house are also very cluttered, but we see a change when Mias mum tidy’s up for Connor but still it does not look very nice.
Outside the council estate we don’t see much better, there is the travellers site which is not at all nice, and makes Britain look even more dirty and makes believable that people are left to fend for themselves and no one helps them. When Mia visits Connor at work it is full of big tall buildings, like an industrial estate, which itself is still not very clean or pretty to look at. Making Britain look like it is just built up of big buildings that no one has took care in building.
The majority of the film is set in and around Essex and when Mia ventures out of this area, to Connors home, in Tilbury we see a huge change in scenery. The house are a lot more posh, they look cleaner and well cared for. The cars are newer and shinier and make it look like a generally nice neighbourhood, in comparison to Mias environment. As Mia turn on to Connors road there is a girl in a pink top coming out of it, she helps in the better neighbourhood view of Tilbury as she looks a lot more respectful and does not mouth off at Mia, like a girl would probably do back in the estate. This young girl is also presented herself in a nicer way.
Music and Sound Effects
Throughout the Fish Tank we hear a background music of a busy background, whether it be on the estate where you can hear children shouting and general background noise or whilst Mia is walking on a main road and you can hear cars rushing by.
Also included in the films are songs that Mia listens to and dances to and known songs a video on Mias tv of Ja Rule and Ashanti that we she starts dancing to. That the young girls seem to be influenced by like, for example ; Cassie. Me N You’ when we see Mias ex – friend, Keily, is dancing to outside in the estate with a group of girls. The music is very hip hop and R ‘n’ B, connoting that young white girls are influenced and learn from young black music artists.
When there are scenes in the film where the clip is in slow motion, mostly the scenes of Mia and Connor, Connors breathing gets louder and deeper. This is made obvious to the audience, showing what Mia hears when she is with him.
Opposite to the stereotypes of the estate people, Mia receives a voicemail and the women’s tone of voice is a lot more soft spoken and she sounds more respectfully. This send the message that the women is higher up than Mia, or of a better class maybe connoting the importance of the message.
Camera work and Editing
The camera seems to follow Mia everywhere she goes, the story is based on her and her life this makes the film more like a documentary than an actually. It allows film 4 to carry out there social realist ethos and show a true kitchen sink view of British life, they carry this out well. The camera tracks Mia when she is almost running after the traveller boy who she seems to of taking interest in, this shows how Mia wants to be around the boy and wants to be involved in what he is doing. The view through ‘ grey tinted glasses’ is also showed when there is a close up of a couple in Mias kitchen at her mums party who are performing oral intercourse.
When Connors breathing is more distinct on the scenes the footage also is in slow motion, emphasising the moment ant letting the audience feel the emotion, this is evident when he carries Mia to the bedroom and has her on his back after cutting her foot in the pond scene.
In the scene of Mia dancing in front of, or even for Connor the camera is at an angle where the moonlight is almost silhouetting her, making her look and seem older than 15 and giving her a sexy, more appealing side. It also shows the audience Connors view on Mia at this moment.
The director shows Mias point of view which we see when Connor is undressing Mia and putting her into bed. This is one of the very little times that we are seeing it from Mias eyes and not following her and seeing it as an on looker.
Also in this film, animals seem to be quite a big part of. The camera close ups on the horse that Mia sees, the hamster in Tylers room and also Tylers drawings, on her wall, of cats and also at the pond where the camera is zoomed din on the dragon fly and the fish that Connor catches.
Dialogue
Most of the dialogue in Fish tank is of a chavy, Essex accent, with the acception of Connor and also his family that we briefly hear, as well as the voicemail elf ton Mias phone. This is due to the fact that it is based on the people in the council estate and so it is more effective in getting their point across. The dialogue of the chavy tone is usually bad or rude, down putting language, towards family, friends and enemies. The mother has a very demanding and ‘ hard-core’ tone and attitude.
The travellers tend to have a more calm tone their dialogue, although when they speak it tends to undermine Mia, accept the one whom Mia becomes friends with and eventually leaves to go to Wales with.
Connor, the mother’s boyfriend, has a smoother tone to his voice and his dialogue is less explicit than the others in the film. He has an Irish accent and this gives him a different view and has a different effect on the audience.
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