Story- Shank is an action/urban film, set in a dystopian future London in 2015, where society has fallen apart, the

gangs have taken over and the economy is in complete anarchy. The story follows Junior and his older brother Rager, who are in charge of a local gang, "The Paper Chaserz", although they try to stay out of trouble and refuse to kill as part of their moral code, which is especially enforced by the strong but defensive Rager. Rager leads his gang, "The Paper Chaserz" and they plan to steal goods out of a local van. The robbery is successful, but rival gangs called The Soldiers, whom are notorious and bloodthirsty, trying to take-over all other postcodes in the London area, attempt a theft. The "Paper Chaserz" escape; however, Junior is stranded and cornered by The Soldiers. Rager reappears and saves his brother by beating all the rival gang members, telling Junior to leave. As Junior flees, Rager is attacked by the crews leader Tugz, who stabs Rager in the back multiple times. Junior now teams up with the rest of his gang to get revenge on The Soldiers. The gang meets a trio of girls named Ree Ree, Tash, and Little Lexy, who agree to help them as they also have a reason to get revenge against Tugz. Todorovs Theory- Todorov believed that a theory he developed could be applied to any film however was created based on fairy tales. Todorov believed that there were 5 Narrative stages that occur in each film the stages being A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be), A disruption of that order by an event, Recognition that the disorder has occurred. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption. And finally a return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium but one in which there has been changes. The film shank can be linked into Todorovs theory as easy stage can be easily recognized. The first stage of the theory of a state of equilibrium is at the start of the film, the film may be set in a dystopian future however in the film this is normal to the times and people so this is the state of equilibrium everything is how it should be and every day is a normal day. The disruption of this state of equilibrium in shank is where the paper chasers rob a local van and get caught by the rival gang the soldiers. The Paperchazers are outnumbered and all run off however Junior gets separated and cornered in a car park. This is where his brother Rager runs back to help Junior and beats up the other 5 rival gang member using his boxing technique and skill however when he bends down to pick junior up the rival gangs leader stabs him multiple times in his back and kills him. The recognition stage of Todorovs theory follows here as Junior and the rest of the Paperchazers meet up and take care of Junior, here they all realize they have lost their leader and Junior wants to kill and avenge his brother Rager by killing Tugz. The repair stage of Todorovs

theory is where the Paperchazers gather all their weapons, tools, and food and set out to find where Tugz lives or where they could find him. They meet 3 girls on the way named Ree Ree, Tash, and Little Lexy who have all been abused and humiliated by Tugz in the past and also want to get revenge, the 3 girls and the Paperchazers take off and eventually find Tugz where Junior confronts him with a knife and chooses not to stab him as he thinks back to Ragers code of not taking blood or killing. Junior puts the knife down and walks off just as he does that Tugz grabs the knife and tries to stab him in the back just like he did to his brother, here junior blocks the knife attack and throws Tugz down 20 flights of stairs in tower block where he dies instantly from the impact with the floor. This is now near the end of the film where Todorovs stage of new equilibrium can be linked. The everyday life of the gangs now are the same , the same crimes happen , gangs still sell drugs, the two gangs still have war with each other however this is normal for them, so this is normal life to them however Rager and Tugz are no longer alive. Levis Strauss Theory- in the film shank there are many binary opposites that the film could be linked with. Loyal and Disloyal, throughout the film we see the journey of junior wanting to avenge his brother Rager this shows the loyalty to family and the love for one another. Also when junior is cornered in the car park Rager comes back to help out and fight off the rival gang this shows again loyalty the fact in which they never leave a man behind. Another binary opposite could be rich and poor. The two gangs are fighting for food and money and this is the main reason for the crime and hate against one another. However the suppliers of the food the normal average day people such as the delivery driver and shop worker are seen by the gangs as rich wealthy targets, this contrasts against the gangs as they are poor and they are trying to get simple food and items just to live. Another binary opposite could be life and death. The narrative of the film is based around the death of Rager. When Rager is killed there are many people killed along the way to get to Tugz, this shows life and death. Success and failure could also be a key binary opposite in the film shank. The Paperchazers have always been the more successful gang of the two until the events that lead up to the death of Rager. Success is shown throughout, when Junior kills Tugz this is success for the gang, also when they rob the van, unsuccessful events are when they get cornered against the Soldiers. Vladimir Propp Character TheoryHero- the hero in the film would be Junior, this is because he sets out to kill Rager to avenge his brother in which he does. Villain- Tugz, he kills juniors brother the leader of the Paperchaserz, this is who the hero sets out to kill.

Dispatcher- although Rager dies, he is the reason Junior goes out to kill Tugz, he tells Junior to end the war between the gangs and to do so he has to kill the rival gang leader. Helper- in shank there are many characters that could be seen as the helper. The main one I would suggest would be Lexy, this is because Lexy used to go out with Tugz and he abused her, she is the one that leads Junior to the people needed to find Tugz. Anti-Hero- the anti hero would be Ragers trainer. Junior goes to the man that teaches youth offenders and troubled kids to fight to be able to defend themselves. He is an anti hero because his actions arent heroic or good however they help junior in the quest to avenge his brother. Barthes Theory- there is action codes throughout the film shank. In Shank when Rager fights off the rival gang to save his brother this leads up to the main event at the end of the film when Junior Kills Tugs. An example of enigma code in Shank is when you meet Junior and Rager together, you hear the Rager is the guardian of Junior and his older brother but this leaves the audience thinking about who and where are Juniors parents and are they still alive. Cultural references in the film could relate to the harsh living conditions and toughness of life living in east London. The generations of families that are poor and struggle to survive from east London originates from all the immigrants choosing east London as there place to migrate and set up, but this only lead to generations of poverty and this can influence the behavior and lifestyle of those who grow up and live there. The film shank represents this well as we see them fighting over basic thing such as food and water but we see the underlying theme of respect and togetherness throughout and we see the friends and families working together in this harsh environment to survive.