2. The trailer begins with diegetic dialogue from an older man
who appears to be giving out prizes (And in first place, John
McGill) which gives the audience the idea that the young boy is
well-educated, and upper class. No music can be heard in the
background, however we do then hear foley sound of people clapping,
emphasising the young boys award and achievement, as well as
juxtaposing the All men are violent theory. The cinematography
helps to show when the film is set, as the camera looks a lower
quality and the colouring is quite brown-toned, giving implications
that the film is set in the 60s/70s. The films institutional logo
comes next, giving the audience an implication of the films genre
and content, as Film4 are well known for creating indie/social-
realist films, and including topics such as gang culture, drug and
alcohol abuse and violence which are key themes within NEDS. The
logo is red on a black background, which has connotations of the
films darker elements, and works with the synchronous slow, deep
music which begins to play at this point in the trailer,
representing the negative content which follows. We then see an
establishing shot of a school, which adheres to the image which we
already have of the young protagonist, as it implies to the
audience that he is well-educated and quite upper class. However,
the school (which is shown along with the non-diegetic sound of a
school bell in order to show the audience where most of the film is
set) looks quite like a prison, implying that they boy becomes
violent because he has been educated in a strict, prison-like
manor.
3. You are a swat, Mr McGill is heard next within the sequence,
which juxtaposes any positive outlooks that the audience had on the
protagonist, and also highlights the corruption that took place
within school at the time that the film is set, as the young boy is
being punished for being clever and getting 100/100 on a test. This
also gives the audience implications as to why the boy becomes
violent within the film, as he is punished for being good and
therefore taught to misbehave. The next ambiguous intertitle leaves
the audience wondering whether John McGill is one of the
hard-working kids that is mentioned, or whether he rebels against
this title (Barthes- Enigma code). The writing is bold, and black
and white which could be a representation of the violent route that
the protagonist decides to take within the film, which is
emphasised through the synchronous, slow music that is being played
in the background. The screen then cuts to a scene which is shot in
an office within the school, where the teacher discusses Johns
older brother, and asks him Are you going to turn out like him?
which is another enigma code (Barthes) as the audience is not told
what his older brother is like, or why John is advised not to
follow the same route as him in his life. John answers no, which
gives the implication that his brother is violent, and perhaps a
member of the gangs which are shown later on within the
trailer.
4. The intertitles which follow (And there are non-educated
delinquents NEDS) reveal the films title, and also ask the question
as to whether John will become one of the hard-working kids or a
non-educated delinquent, leaving the audience to decide for
themselves, whist also showing the films main themes of education
and gang culture, as the image of a gang fighting is flashed
briefly on the screen before the films title is revealed. The font
of the writing also adheres to these themes and their connotations,
as well as adhering to the synchronous music. [Youre dead wee man]
This dialogue highlights the corruption within the education
system, as once again the protagonist is being insulted and
threatened because he is intelligent. The close proxemics, and low
angle shot, allows us to see the antagonist as being more powerful
than John McGill, as well as highlighting the age difference. He is
also wearing a hood, adhering to stereotypes of gang members. The
synchronous music has become more intense, representing the gang
culture and violence which is being brought into the trailer. The
two binary opposite characters (Strauss) can also be seen here.
Religious imagery is then brought into the trailer as we see John
being threatened once more by the gang member, this time in a
church. The mise-en-scene includes a lot of red, representing the
anger and violence that the gang member has. We hear the priest say
Body of Christ in the background, which again adheres to the
religious imagery and links into the image of Christ that we see
later on in the trailer. Although the protagonist is looking down
on the antagonist, he is still clearly in control within the
situation as he is making the threat. (Earp & Katz All Men Are
Violent)
5. In the next shot, the theme of domestic violence is
introduced into the trailer, as the music becomes tenser and we see
John and two of his relatives sat at a table. They all look very
uncomfortable, which can be seen from their facial expressions, and
all jump when the older man moves, suggesting that he is often
violent towards them. We hear the diegetic sound of the draws being
opened, which has been intensified in order to make the scene feel
more real, adding a sense of verisimilitude. The female appears to
be wearing night-wear, which could be seen as objectifying her,
adhering to the Male gaze theory. The last shot that we see of the
younger John McGill shows him putting on a leather coat and looking
in the mirror. The coat itself has connotations of gang culture,
suggesting to the audience that John has decided to take a negative
route in life and follow in the footsteps of his brother. This is a
relatively long shot, giving the audience time to see how John
looks at himself, as he looks quite scared and timid, and also like
he is contemplating his own future. The over the shoulder shot
again adds an element of verisimilitude, as we are placed behind
John In a contrasting scene, we see John has grown up and when
asked what he wants to do after he leaves school; he replies with
go to university. This is the last positive shot that we see of
John, as he is then involved in gang culture which creates an
element of irony, as his actions remove his own dream of going to
university. This scene is very bright, as set outside which
highlights to the audience that it is a positive scene where Johns
true hopes can be seen.
6. The previous scene quickly cuts to this once, where John is
involved in a fight at school. A knife is on the floor in front of
him, and the low angled shot and low key lighting allows the
audience to see Johns thoughts about picking up the knife before he
has actually done it. I think this is a key sequence within the
trailer, as it highlights the exact moment when John forgets any
dreams of a good education and a good life, and turns to gang
culture entirely. This adheres to the all men are violent theory,
as even the character with the best outlook has turned to become
violent in order to fit into society. John is then seen practicing
throwing the knife at the ground, as if practicing stabbing
someone. This is a long shot, which shows the mise- en-scene of
John bedroom, contrasting the child-like bunk beds and wall
hangings with his violent actions, and showing how quick his
transition between being a hard working student and becoming a gang
member was. The change in Johns character is also emphasized here,
as a close up shot shows him smoking a cigarette and he is later
shown once more at a close up shot drinking alcohol. These have
connotations of the negative path that he has taken, and also link
to drug and alcohol abuse which are key themes within most social
realist films. The music continues to be tense and synchronous,
although the sound of other gang members laughing can be heard in
the background. This could be seen as a moral panic, as young
people are often viewed to be led into alcohol and drug abuse.
(Cohen Moral Panic)
7. The next shot is fast paced, and diegetic screaming and
shouting can be heard in the background, as the gang members invade
Johns home and threaten him. The hand held camera adds
verisimilitude and confusion to the scene, whilst the low key
lighting takes away some of the viewers sight of the action that is
taking place, leaving only the sound to describe what is taking
place. This also adheres to the Moral Panic theory by Cohen, as
home invasions are often seen on the news, and are commonly seen in
lower class areas of Britain. John is then shown for a long take
walking on his own in a field, as if contemplating his own life and
his future. This scene is relatively calm in comparison to the
scenes before and after it, and the lighting is much brighter. This
could imply to the audience that John is enjoying his life as a
gang member, however is sad facial expression and body language
suggests otherwise, leaving it as an enigma code (Barthes)for the
audience to interpret themselves. The music continues to build,
leading up to the intense scenes which follow this one. In the next
shot John can be seen running away from a gang of youths on his
own, and he is clearly outnumbered by them. The shot is once more
filmed with a hand held camera and with low key lighting, leaving
the audience to have to interpret what is happening from the loud
shouting and the gradual build of the synchronous background music,
which is becoming faster and more intense. The camera is at a
slight low angles, making the gang of youths appear to be much more
powerful than John, and highlighting how outnumbered he is.
8. Johns success can be seen after he hides in the house of a
stranger, who turns out to be one of the gang members parent. He
quickly slaps the boy as he is walking out of the house, which is
shown at a close up shot, highlighting how confident of his ability
as a gang member he is becoming, and also how other gang members
are beginning to respect him and be afraid of him. This gives the
audience some idea as to why he has chosen to become a gang member,
as he is no longer being insulted and abused for being intelligent.
There is an intertitle towards the end of the film which shows a
newspapers review of the film, which helps to encourage people to
go and view it. The intertitles are white on a black background,
which is very simplistic however it does match the negative,
violent theme of the film and also connotes the social realist
genre. The synchronous music continues in the background of the
intertitle, becoming more intense as the action reaches its end and
the trailer begins to end as well. One of the most intense scenes
within the trailer shows John throwing some lit fireworks through a
window of someones house, and the audience is placed within the
house to add an element of verisimilitude and create visceral
feelings for the people inside the house. This shows just how
violent John is willing to be as this could have easily killed the
people who are inside the house, and also shows how gang culture
has led to him being violent alone. The woman in this shot has been
seen before in the trailer talking nicely to John, which makes this
scene more shocking for the audience.
9. There is a brief shot of John lying below a statue of
Christ, and he appears to be dead. He has a knife lying next to
him, which gives the audience the implication that he has been
stabbed, or that his death/injuries have been caused by the gang
members. It is a high angle shot, which makes him look small and
not very powerful, emphasizing how his gang culture lifestyle has
led to his own downfall, and that it wasnt worth losing his
education and family for. The final shot in the trailer once more
adheres to the All Men Are Violent theory by Earp & Katz, as it
shows just how intense and violent the gang members were. Two
opposing gangs are seen charging towards each other on a bridge
from a long shot, highlighting to the audience just how violent the
boys have become. The low key lighting represents the action that
is taking place, whilst the mise-en-scene, which shows a dark
forest and river, has connotations of evil and the thriller genre,
once more representing the abuse and violence which is taking
place. The trailer then fades to black, leaving the audience in the
dark about what has happened to the protagonist (Barthes Enigma
code).
10. There is a brief shot of John lying below a statue of
Christ, and he appears to be dead. He has a knife lying next to
him, which gives the audience the implication that he has been
stabbed, or that his death/injuries have been caused by the gang
members. It is a high angle shot, which makes him look small and
not very powerful, emphasizing how his gang culture lifestyle has
led to his own downfall, and that it wasnt worth losing his
education and family for. The final shot in the trailer once more
adheres to the All Men Are Violent theory by Earp & Katz, as it
shows just how intense and violent the gang members were. Two
opposing gangs are seen charging towards each other on a bridge
from a long shot, highlighting to the audience just how violent the
boys have become. The low key lighting represents the action that
is taking place, whilst the mise-en-scene, which shows a dark
forest and river, has connotations of evil and the thriller genre,
once more representing the abuse and violence which is taking
place. The trailer then fades to black, leaving the audience in the
dark about what has happened to the protagonist (Barthes Enigma
code).
