Task 4

Media Task 4

Section 1

In this section I will be focusing upon the straight comparison of two binary opposites. In how Brutishness is represented in This Is England and any of the  Richard Curtis romantic comedies.

Funding and economics play an influential role in representation. In terms of representation If the Richard Curtis series of Working Title romantic comedies portray one side of new fangled Britisih Cinema. Then the low budgeted films such as This Is England, which portray the grittiness and social realism of society represent a much more varying vogue within Britain’s cinema industry. In comparison to Curtis’s commercial success with such hits as Love Actually and Bridget Jones Diary, it can still be argued that low budget films such as This Is England are vital in keeping with Britons sense of cultural self-identity.

Also with companies such as Working Title, the company behind Curtis’s catalogue of rom-coms, access to funding is becoming forever easier due to the company being a conglomerate of Universal. Therefore films can be produced to a higher caliber, for a wider audience and in turn reap a greater gross return. However this injection of funding may not necessarily mean that one film is better than the other. In my personal opinion I think that the lower budget films e.g This Is England show society at the time as what is really is. Where as glossy high budget successes create a powder coating to shield its viewers from reality. Hence why lower budget films are not made to be viewer over a large audience, instead it aims to create a sense of art, quality and realism instead of selling out quality for profit. Which tends to be found in most of Curtis’ rom-coms as they create large amounts of Stereotypes, so that foreign audiences are comfortable with what they are seeing, and can immediately identify the setting. Via the use of a southern accent and a backdrop of London it’s clearly apparent that the film would be set in England. Giving these types of films access to the American market where the vast majority of money is made within cinema.

Where as with This Is England, foreign viewers generally may not be so familiar with the scenarios occurring and the setting used. From comparing some simple figures from This Is England and one or Two of Richard Curtis’s  romantic comedies. In terms of budget This Is England had a mere £1.5 million in comparison to Bridget Jones Diary which had a staggering £26 million budget. And in its opening week in the US This Is England made only $18,430 where as Bridget Jones grossed in at $10,733,933.  Clearly showing that more social realist films fair worse abroad. This was also apparent in the UK also as TIE only managed £207,676  where as BJD raked in £5,720,292. Reiterating further that social realistic films are based more towards a niche audience and are based on much lower budgets.

Richard Dyers star theory was created in 1979. From this a developed idea was gained, in that

‘viewers perception of a film is heavily influenced by the perceivable of it’s starts and that publicity, materials and reviews determine the way audiences experience a film.’

[Wikipedia]

From knowing this, it’s clear that it can be applied in this situation. For example Bridget Jones Diary starred American actress Rene Zellweger. With her being one of the lead roles it helped to create wider appeal to an American audience, as they may have been aware of her before due to her appearances in Deceiver in 1997, One True Thing in 1998 and Me Myself and Irene in 2000.

Along side Rene, Hugh Grant and Collin Firth. These are both British actors who are used to portray the stereotypical English man.  As being a middle class, successes due to their standard of living dress sense and posh accents. These traits being beneficial, when appealing to an audience outside of the British Isles.

Also both may be recognized also for their past work in Notting Hill and The English Patient. Due to Grants character traits he has been used in several other roles, playing a similar character appearing in other hits such as Love Actually, About A Boy and Bridget Jones: Edge Of Reason.

Not only does the star-studded cast give Curtis’s films more views than the likes of This IS England, but it’s also due to advertising. Due to the larger budget more advertising can be used in the field of new media using social networking sites, You Tube, Television and such alike. Where as This Is England would be on a smaller scale of advertising and previewed on the television not at peak times.

In the bigger budget films certain aspects are reiterated where as others are hidden to protect the audience. In the larger budgeted films the class of people are shown as glossy and upper middle class. In terms of setting Curtis’s films tend to be set in and around the capital in the richer areas such as Notting Hill or in the Home Counties . In terms of character types, they are heavily stereotyped, with the use of southern accents and high living conditions. Providing an image of how England wants to be seen, not showing the real social issues that occur in this country. Also characters used are in the majority of Caucasian decent and are able bodied and under the age of 40 and above 20.

Things that aren’t represented though, include issues such as social deprivation and those at an economic disadvantage. Also in terms of films such as Notting Hill it only visualizes one area and doesn’t show the opposite side to the same postcode such as in Noel Clarkes Kidulthood and Adulthood, where on more or less the same postcode two completely different narratives are being portrayed.

In the lower budgeted movies we tend to see more of a sense of this, as social realism shines through. And with them being based upon a smaller budget they tend to be for a smaller audience so widespread appeal is not a necessity.

British cinema is a rather open talking point, as its hard to determine whether cinema should be classed as British or as English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh. Personally I feel each nation should be dealt as an individual body. Because if not it could cause stereotypes between each country that could be taken as been offensive. Also with differing cultures and languages it would prove hard to establish them all as one unit.

As well as this films set in England will differ to all of those set in the rest of the British Isles. As you can’t compare two countries to another, as films set in England will have different traits to those set in Scotland. For example London and the Home Counties tend to be the focal point of most English films, where romantic comedies and gangster films tend to be focused upon. Where as in Scotland accents differ, also so does setting as it focuses upon different cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, also the accents differ and so does the way of living. In specific circumstances with Wales, the language also differs therefore films set in differing countries are clearly not similar in terms of setting. However they may be similar in terms of the message that they are trying to get across such as a political message or something along those lines.

For example Northern Ireland With Bloody Sunday, which is a

‘Documentary-style drama showing the events that lead up to the tragic incident on January 30, 1972 in the Northern Ireland town of Derry when a protest march led by civil rights activist Ivan Cooper was fired upon by British troops, killing 13 protesters and wounding 14 more.’

[IMDB]

Several stereotypes and countertypes occur in British cinema. In terms of Richard Curtis’s romantic comedies, characters are stereotyped as being upper middle class, everyone appears to be affluent and based in the south of England which is recognizable from the accent. Films of this manor tend to be set in the capital (London), and racial stereotypes are used such as the Welsh character in Notting Hill, who is portrayed as stupid. Also the majority of the cast tends to be Caucasian, heterosexual and highly educated. A key example of a British stereotype would be Hugh Grant, whom Curtis has used on several occasions.

The countertypes that occur in Curtis’s films tend to be that certain male characters aren’t portrayed as manly and heroic. Instead they are shown as been intimidated by other male characters in their competition for female affection.

Where as in This Is England the stereotype tends to be a skinhead, who is aggressive, frontal, crude and vulgar.  In terms of dress sense they dress in a similar manor to give the sense that they are together. They tend to be portrayed as racist, late teens early twenties, poorly educated and live upon a gritty, roughed up council estate.

The countertype from this is that one of the gang members Is coloured and another member is merely a child. As well as this the mean persona is abolished when they are all together as they act nice and friendly. And others intimidate certain members. The actual entire cast is a countertype in comparison to Curtis’s portrayed stereotype.

How gendered is British cinema? Well this is dependent upon the genre of the film in question. If the example were to be a romantic comedy, then it would be aimed mostly towards both the female and pink pound market, due to the themes addressed. However the comedic aspects can draw in a male audience. As well as this, male gaze can also be used. Using an attractive female cast can help to lure in male viewers, such as Kiera Knightly.

This theory can also be applied to other genres such as high-octane action films. On a whole it tends to be a predominately male based audience that enjoys watching people shoot each other, whilst explosions occur simultaneously. Therefore attractive male characters are used to lure in a female audience, via the female gaze.

So in a way British Cinema is gendered, however reiterating on my original point, it is dependent upon the genre of the film.

The higher budgeted films tend to be romantic comedies showing a stereotyped view of Britain. These have been so successful due to repetition, as ‘audiences enjoy repetition of familiar, but also an injection of novelty and change to familiar forms.’ Which is to ensure larger profits are gained from these films, as foreign markets can easily identify the film due to its stereotypes.

Where as lower budgeted films tend to portray a sense of social realism and are created for national and specialist viewing, rather than international appeal.

Britain overall tends to focus It’s international input through rom-coms. However recently more gangster related films have been having an impact, such as Guy Ritchie’s Rock ‘N’ Rolla. These have appeal to foreign audiences as with many other movies in it genre, it’s been influenced by American Crime films.

To summaries, Richard Curtis’s approach is to make glossy films, which have a recurrent high profile cast, based on the lines of a romantic comedy genre which are solely based to make a large gain in return.

This Is England is based along the lines of social realism, and has a relatively unknown cast, as the main character was picked from the street. And instead money, the film was made to express views and artistic credit.

Section 2

British Cinema clearly matters, as it allows us as a nation to shape our identity, and show the rest of the world how we want to be portrayed. Which is being accomplished through companies such as Warp X. Hollywood maybe the dominant force, but there will always be British based film companies. As there will always be an audience for social realist and other common genres. Also without national companies, identity would be lost and we would then have no say as a nation of how were portrayed. Instead a foreign stereotype would be put in place, so in this sense there will always be an incentive for British original films.

As well as this, with out British Cinema the US market may not be able to function as well. As it produces a large amount of money from ticket sales as the films languages don’t need to be altered. Also homegrown talent from the UK is used in America and around the world, so without it certain roles may not be able to be filled as easily. Examples of British actors/ actresses would be Ewan McGreggor, Hugh Grant and Billie Piper.

Question 3

Kidulthood….

·       Shows socially realistic Britain

·       Represents current news affairs at its current time of release.

·       Such as knife crime, teenage pregnancies and happy slapping.

The Full Monty….

·       Unemployment

·       Single parent

·       Characters do something that they wouldn’t to gain money and respect

·       Represents the decline of the steel industry

Dr No….

·       Sauvé ladies man

·       Exciting, high octane lifestyles

·       Drive nice cars