This Is England

• TIE Opening: How is cinematography used: (3) - Montage of significant events in the 80's - Handled camera of the footage used recorded by the soldiers in the Falklands - Sets the tone as a social realist film - Series of close-ups and mid-shots of Shaun entering Sandhu's shop for the first time
• TIE Opening: How is Mise-En-Scene used: (2) - Soldier uniforms - militant theme of the film, perhaps leads to Shaun's racist ideologies developing - Shaun walking into shop wearing flare trousers - immediatley embarrassed - leads to his bullying and involvement in Woody's gang
• TIE Opening: How is editing used: (3) - Montage cutting between Falklands war, Dianna's wedding - presents contrasts in society (wars and royal marriage and Shaun's life) - Editing pace increases as Shaun gets into a fight - Use of audio match cuts with cuts synchronised to the sound during the montage sequence, and use of time manipulation which draws spectators attention to the rise in skinhead culture and windrush generation, the social groups represented throughout the narrative
• TIE Opening: How is sound used: (2) - Non-diagetic as opening credits roll - Fighting sound-effects are exaggerated, demonstrating impact the fight will have on Shaun's life that we see in the film
• TIE Opening: How is performance used: - Falklands war soldiers and genuine war footage - gives the film the element of 'real life
• MSRA: Mr Sandhu Racial Attack Sequence
• TIE MSRA: How cinematography is used (2) - Mid shot of Shaun stepping into Sandhu's shop - mirrors when he first stepped in in opening sequence - how he has been influenced - Colse-ups and over the shoulder shots used when combo threatens Sandhu with machete, symbolises how dominant and masculine Combo is trying to be
• TIE MSRA: How Mise-en-scene is used: (2) - Mr Sandhu knitted jumper costume, implies his passivity - contrasts to gangs threatening costumes (even more so then Shaun's) - Use of graffitti props outside the shot, implies the childish nature of the gang (like their childish racist beliefs) - Graffitti traditionally a childish thing to do (they are all adults)
• TIE MSRA: How is editing used in the scene: (2) - Fast Paced editing for dramatic effect, adds to intensity of the situation - Shot reverse shot quick cuts between combo and Sandhu show how dangerous combo is
• TIE MSRA: How sound is used in the sequence: (1) - Entirely diagetic - alongside soundbridges between inside and outside the shop - emphasises the importance of dialogue on this sequence (gives scene extra realism)
• TIE MSRA: How is performance used in this scene? - Shaun is presented as seeing racism as a fun joke as he runs around the store from Mr Sandhu - an ideology backed up by combo's influences
• TIE Car Drive: How is cinematography used in this sequence: (2) - The lighting is grey and dull, reflective of the atmosphere of the sequence (oppressive in tone and action) - We initially see only a group shot of everyone in the car - this changes when Combo becomes enraged and we see close-ups of him and pukey, emphasising the quarrel between the two
• TIE Car Drive: How is Mise En Scene used in the sequence: (2) - Use of St Georges flag as a prop - Shauns new nationalistic ideology is embodied in this scene and presents him as idolising Combo - The shot of Combo's group is a twisted mirror of the earlier group shot (when they walk in unison) where the cross is overlaid over the shot
• TIE Car drive: How is editing used in the sequence: (2) - Initial drive is all one take - allows tension to build - cuts begin when Combo reacts to what Pukey says - Transition from a long take to really quick cuts as Combo moves around the car and towards Pukey - adds intensity
• TIE Car Drive: How sound is used in the sequence: (3) - Only diagetic audio for a time - emphasises uneasy feeling to the scene - furhter exemplifies when the conversation is taken from quiet to shouting by Combo - Combo refers to his gang as 'troops' which connects the sequence to the war on race combined with the use of the st georges cross mise en scene, which at the time represented the nationalist movmements militaristic intentions - Tyre screech sting is used to symbolise combos quick changing personality and how he is quickly overcome with anger
• TIE Car Drive: How performance is used in the scene: (2) - Portrays the instability and insecurity of Combo, through rapid shift from caring to rage in reaction to Pukey - Combo is a manipulative character, as shaun becomes devoted to him, he is well aware that he is defining and influencing Shauns future (with nationalism)
• TIE Ending: How is cinematography used (4) - Long over head tracking shot - emphasises his solidarity and how he is now alone - Close-ups of Shaun - emphasises his expression and actions as he discards the english flag - as if he is alone again making his own desicions - Break of the fourth wall at the end symbolises shauns plea to the spectator to avoid making the same mistakes he did - When combo hits milky close farming is optimised and handheld camera to represent combos lack of control over the sequence, unlike the others where he maintains harsh control, and the use of lighting in his fl...
• TIE Ending: How is Mise-en-Scene used (2) - The flag - represents wider nationalist ideas - tossing it into the ocean demonstrates loss of faith and rejection of the ideals - The broken boat - Shaun brings out the flag, is symbolic of the 'broken' 'English Ideals
• TIE Ending: How editing is used (1) - Long cuts of shaun as he is walking coupled with the flag drifting away represents nationalist influence drifting away from him
• TIE Ending: How sound is used (1) - Cover of the song 'Please,Please,Please let me get what I want' by The Smiths is the only audio used - lyrics reflect shauns journey and how he was manipulated by combo
• TIE Ending: How is performance used in the sequence (2) - Shaun's final look to the camera is him looking to us - as if he is asking us to not make the same mistakes - Shauns actions are much more adult in this sequence
• What could you talk about in this is englands narrative - the ambiguous end - Binary oppositions
• What are the binary oppositions in This is England (4) - Nationalism vs Progressive Man - Dominant masculinity vs submissive masculinity - Positive vs negative influence on shaun - White vs black
• What did levi strauss argue and how does it relate to this is england - Argued that one side of a binary pair is always seen by a particular culture as more valued than the other, seen in this is england through how shauns allegiance shifts, but ours doesn't throughout the film
• Explain the ambiguous end to the narrative (2) - Audience left to wonder if Milky is ok and what happens to combo - Opening symbolises real life as real life is never easily resolved and doesn't often have happy endings
• How can Shane Meadows be considered an Auteur (3) - Hand Held camera to create realism - Bases his stories off of Low income nothern families - Repeated use of the same actors
• Three ideological factors in This Is England - Anti-nationalism - Anti-war - Anti-thatcherism - Clear anti nationalism throughout presenting combo as a violent bully, the film exists in a world that replicates our own relaistically suggesting the filmmakers intention to make us question our own beliefs (ie when shaun breaks the fourth wall at the end)
• What two elements could we talk about narrative with regards to this is england - Formalism - Structuralism
• Describe formalism in terms of narrative in this is england (2) - Chronology and time - ambiguous, open ending, symbolises real life as life is never easily resolved and doesnt often have happy endings - Voice and perspective - the directors anti-nationalist perspective is evident throughout, in this case the narrative is told through a particular point of view
• Describe structuralism in terms of narrative in this is england - levi Strauss' binary oppositions
• Contexts in this is england (3) - Falklands war - margaret thatcher as prime minister responding to argentinas juntas aggression towards british territory - North south divide - furthered by thatchers closing of coal mines and disruption of northern industry - Skinhead subculture - portrayal of windrush generation, white and jamaican combined culture aiming to bring people from different races together, but after the national front infilitrated the culture its intentions changed
• Describe representations in this is england - Masculinity - Class
• Describe masculinity in terms of representations in this is england (3) - Woody is nuturing and kind, almost brotherly, actively avoiding combos brainwashing - He doesnt however have the morale strength to stand up to combo when he is racist towards milky, he may be progressive, but he isnt perfect - Combo adopts an aggressive paternal relationship towards shaun, indoctrinating him with unhealthy male stereotypes, like not being able to cry, and uses shauns fathers death in the falklands as a means to divulge his oen ideology and indoctrinate shaun
• Describe shane meadows as an auteur - Handheld camera to create realism, based his stories off of low income northern families and repeated his use of the same actors