Growing Up & Aspiration
Definition: Maturing, going from kids to adults, getting an education, get out of their current situation, to be more than what you grew up with, change who you are, having dreams of a better lifestyle
Example: Billy Elliot (2000)
How it explores the theme: Billy dislikes sport but has a passion for ballet dancing. He is aspired to become a professional ballet dancer when he is older, but it is not accepted by the people around him.
Further Info: The film was set against the background of the 1984 Miner's Strike. Billy Elliot is an 11 year old boy who is torn between his passion for dance and the disintergration of his family to become a boxer. The message this film gives out is "Inside every one of us is a special talent waiting to come out. The trick is finding it." Jamie Bell, who stars as Billy in the film says he wanted to "prove that it wasn't just for girls". The film had a budget of $5,000,000 and made some success in USA with a gross of $21,994,911. Below is the trailer for the film.
Race, Ethnicity & Cultural Tensions
Definition: Racism, tensions between two cultures - they do not always get on
Example: East Is East (1999)
How it explores the theme: Mixed race children are confused between the two cultures they come from and find it difficult to keep both in balance. Their father tries to control their lives by getting them married to Pakistani girls because he wants them to follow his culture.
Further Info: It is directed by Damien O'Donnell and tells the story of a Khan family living in Manchester during the 1970s. George (a Pakistani immigrant) and Ella's (a native Anglo) marriage and children face racial prejudice and struggle to find a place for themselves because George wants them to follow his tradition. O'Donnell says "We're dealing with racism...we do it in the film with humour because I think it's a great way to make a point". Thes use of humour in a film is effective in getting a message across because people are likely to watch it anyway for entertainment. East Is East was a little popular with USA and had a gross of $4,170,647. Below is the trailer for the film which shows the lives of children who wish to follow their own British lifestyle.
Social Class
Definition: under class, working class, live in council estates, no job, ordinary people
Example: The Full Monty (1997)
How it explores the theme: It is about 6 men who are unemployed who decide to become strippers to gain enough money to get somewhere else. The working class are just ordinary people like anyone else as a man says "you're just like the rest of us...scrap".
Further Info: The film had a budget of $3,500,000 and it's gross was $45,857,453 in the USA. It was distributed by Fox Searchlight and the comedy involved is what made the film successful. The director Peter Cattaneo was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Direction and won the Academy Award for Best Director. The film was set in Sheffield which is seen as a grimy, dominished locale and the script reflects the loss of status for individuals and the community. Below is trailer made for the film for an American audience because the comedy involved in the film would appeal to them.
Violence
Definition: Emotional scenes, a reason for violence, impacts on dialogue with swearing, fighting, bullying, guns
Example: Kidulthood (2006)
How it explores the theme: Three boys who are sixth formers bullying three boys in the lower year, punches one to the ground to show their dominance. Boy under pressure by his uncle to cut someone's face with a knife. A boy beats up his girlfriend for cheating on him.
Further Info: Noel Clarke wrote and starred in the film Kidulthood as well as it's sequel, Adulthood which was later released in June 2008. According to the director, Menhaj Huda, the film cost only just £600,000 to make. The film was shot in the actual areas of inner West London and the London Underground of Ladbroke Grove. Noel Clarke wanted to show the lives of actual teenagers growing up in these areas and pass on a message to the audience. He mentions in an interview that many people who watched Kidulthood, miss out the moral message it was giving out. He also says "If you behave like this and get involved with these sorts of people...you could die" and that it wasn't just about "another young black man getting killed on the street". In the video below, Philip Saunders interviews Noel Clarke.
Sexuality
Definition: Homosexuality, bisexual, transgender, others around people may not accept the way they are
Example: My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
How it explores the theme: Two men who like each other of different ethnicities but the Pakistani man is being dominiated by the white ethnicity. The Pakistani man's father tries to set him up with a girl so he is not attracted to men.
Further Info: The film's budget was £650,000 and it's gross was $2,451,545 in the USA. Channel 4 Films/Film Four was the first production company to produce films of extreme themes. It was directed by Stephen Frears and written by Hanif Kureishi. Homosexuality was a major issue back at the time during around 1985. The film also involves comedy to push the issue forward and give out a message to show the lifestyles of ordinary people. Below is the trailer for the film.
Gender Roles & Relationships
Definition: Pedophiles, mother/father figures, expected to be a man/woman, friendships can change your life, relationship between husband and wife
Example: One Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
How it explores the theme: A man who acts feminine as he hides in a cupboard, he intimidates a tougher man than himself and tries to run away from his troubles as he says "Where's my suitcase?!". A man also calls him "You're not even half a man".
Further Info: The gross for the film was small in the USA which was $171,830. The director Shane Meadows, who also directed This Is England, was nominated for the Best Feature at the Gijon International Film Festival 2002. The film trailer portrays the roles of men and women as shown in the trailer below.
Addiction
Definition: Drugs, alcohol, self-harming, thieving/shoplifting
Example: Trainspotting (1996)
How it explores the theme: Strange scene when the person drops a pill in the toilet and goes down inside it to get it, this gives us the idea that people are addicted to substances and are willing to take big risks which seems unrealistic. The guy also nearly gets runover by a car and starts laughing at the screen.
Further Info: Trainspotting had a budget of $3,500,000 and was successful with it's gross $16,501,785 which shocked critics. The film shows the "Edinburgh heroin culture" and portrays the fantasy and urban life that heroin addicts face. In the video below, the director Danny Boyle describes his intentions of the film.
British Politics
Definition: Explores how the government doesn't care about the society or people, anti-government films made to represent this
Example: Hunger (2008)
How it explores the theme: This film is about the last six weeks of the life of a hunger striker, Bobby Sands. It is based on the 1981 Irish hunger strike. A man sacrifices for what he believes in.
Further Info: Michael Fassbender plays Bobby Sands, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer and led the 1981 Irish hunger strike. Critics say that the film dramatizes these events rather than portraying what actually would've happened. Hunger was turned down by the Irish Film Board, but still had gone down to be one of the most successful Irish films. The film was also named as the 'Best Film Of 2009' by the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards. The director of this film, Steve McQueen, wanted to show people about events which occured in the past which they don't know about. McQueen talks about this outside the London Film Festival in 2008.
Immigration
Definition: Moving from one area to another area, trouble fitting in with the society, they are taking away our benefits
Example: Somers Town (2008)
How it explores the theme: It is about a lonely Polish boy who makes friends with someone already within the society. Football is a common sport in Britain and a man gets the Polish boy to wear an arsenal t-shirt so he supports that football team.
Further Info: It's gross revenue was £566,616 and is directed by Shade Meadows, who was also the director of This Is England. The film studies the social environment in Somers Town in London which was shot in black and white. It was set around Pheonix Court, a low council property which reinforces the social realism in films of the working class. New Of The World describes the film as 'Hilarious, heartwarming British film-making'. Below is the official trailer for the film.
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