TIE context

• Who directed This is England?

  Shane Meadows
• Auteur signature of Shane Meadows

  Repeated use of the same actors (Andrew Shim, Vicky McClure from A room for Romeo Brass)

  Concern with themes concerning identity, working class, masculinity and the Midlands

  Autobiographical narrative

  Concern with authenticity - semi-improvisational approach to performance
• What year was This is England released?

  2006
• Which companies produced This is England?

  Warp Films and FilmFour (British companies) Optimum distribution
• Was it filmed in a studio or on location?

  Filmed on location in the Midlands
• Low budget or high budget film?

  Low budget (£1.5 million)
• This is England genres

  Drama and British social realist
• Shane Meadows as a director

  Came from a working class background in the Midlands, made several low budget films in the midlands

  
  

  Influenced by kitchen sink realism, social realism (addresses lots of issues around that place at that time)
• Shane Meadows quote on This is England

  'This is England is a snapshot of an era and a life that seems very dated now. It's about sticking up for mates and beliefs
• This is England context

  Set in 1983

  In the 80s, there was a conservative government - Margaret Thatcher PM who was re-elected as a consequence of British victory in Falklands war the previous year

  
  

  Rise in racial discrimination from the 1981 economic recession, there was also very high unemployment rates

  
  

  The Brixton riots (1981) the black community demonstrating anger at unsympathetic policing (police stopping and searching black people)

  
  

  Social problems included high unemployment, decline of industry and widening north/south divide due to Conservative policies. Margret Thatcher shut down coal and steel factories in the north resulting in unemployment

  
  

  After the second World War, due to millions of deaths, the government invited others from British colonies (different countries like Jamaica and India) to fill up unemployment gaps and to be a part of the workforce this resulted in uproar from Brits claiming that the others are 'taking their jobs
• Skinhead subculture

  Motivated by social alienation and working class solidarity

  
  

  Close-cropped or shaven heads, working class clothing such as Dr. Marten boots, high-ankle straight-leg jeans and simple shirts

  
  

  Reached a peak during a revival in the 1980s

  
  

  Early movement (in the 60s) was influenced by ska music and Jamaican subculture

  
  

  1980s saw growing split, with far-right racist element in skinhead subculture, some skinheads agreed with this and some didn't. This resulted in others seeing them as fascists, thugs and racists, when loads were not.
• Shane Meadows quote

  'Its unfortunate that the racist elements have become such a by-word for skinhead culture. The media has played its part in this, but by the same token it's clear the fascist element has always been fairly vocal in the skinhead subculture. The sad bit is that the mire enlightened, anti-fascist aspects have not better promoted themselves
• This is England follows a (narrative)

  Linear Narrative

  Follows narrative structure of mainstream films in having a cause and effect flow of events

  Ellipsis (the shortening of the plot duration of a film achieved by omitting intervals of sections/story marked by an editing transition to omit a period or gap of time from the film's narrative

  Narrative arc (move a character or a situation from one state to another)
• Both Trainspotting and This is England follow (narrative)

  Todorov's narrative theory (equilibrium, disrupts equilibrium, quest to restore equilibrium, climax, equilibrium is restored)
• The problem with saying This is England follows Todorov's narrative theory

  It follows Todorov's narrative theory to an extent because it is a British social realist film so the equilibrium is not fully restored in order to keep it realistic and to question ideologies
• Both Trainspotting and This is England have (narrative)

  Character Arcs
• Narrative devices and examples of what scene it is in, in This is England

  Suspense (Combo beats Milky)

  Surprise (Meeting Combo)

  Repetition (Motifs like the flag and certain setting locations like the shop)

  Narrative patterning

  Subplots

  Alignment - how we are positioned to feel about a character (Shaun is bullied in the opening)
• This is England is also a (narrative/type of film)

  Rites of passage film (transition from childhood to adulthood)
• Binary oppositions in This is England

  Young and old (Shaun/Combo or young skinheads/old skinheads) - link to rites of passage

  Empowered and victim (Combo/Lol) - reversed in the car scene, link to gender stereotypes

  White and black (Milky attack scene)

  Nationalist far righters and left-wing socialists (Party scene)

  Action and inaction (Combo and Woody) - opposition of characters cover many different elements like violence and peace or extremism and compromise
• Levi Strauss argued that


  One side of the binary pair is always seen by a particular culture as more valued than the other - this could be used as a useful starting point for a discussion, particularly as the central character's allegiances shift through the narrative.
• Visual style of This is England

  Realism

  Achieved using a hand-held camera

  Archive montage of the pop, politics, clothes, cars and sport of era (seen in the opening scene)

  Shooting on location - Midlands/the north

  Working class neighbourhoods: social housing/large estates

  Use of big close ups for emotional intensity (seen in Combo speech scene)

  Examples of this can be seen in the attack on the shop scene
• This is England influences

  British New Wave/Kitchen sink realism

  Ken Loach

  Social realism
• British New Wave/Kitchen sink realism

  Name given to a sequence of films released in the UK from 1959-1963

  Usually in black and white

  Spontaneous quality, often shot in a pseudo-documentary style

  Shot on location with real people rather than extras, capturing life as it happens

  Overlap between British New Wave and angry young men, those artists in the UK who challenged the social status quo

  Their work drew attention to the reality of life for the working classes, especially Northern England which was characterised as 'It's grim up north
• This is England ideologies

  Anti-Nationalist (Combo is presented as a violent bully and his gang is predominantly poorly educated followers

  
  

  Anti-War (disturbing archived footage of dead and injured servicemen and the narrative strand of Shaun's lost father point to serve a clear Anti-War message)

  
  

  Anti-Thatcher (Combo's comments in his speech scene, Thatcher's repeated shrill voice on the radio, 'Maggie is a twat' graffiti to show that Thatcher's policies and approach should be challenged