Textual analysis

During the film for This is England we can see how representation of race and
ethnicity is represented throughout the film as we see during the film a wide range of
different key scenes which represent race and ethnicity in a negative way. A key
scene that I have picked out from This is England is the shop scene where we see
the shopkeeper get held up by Combo with a machete for not selling young Sean
cigarettes, wine, whiskey and larger. The scene starts off as we see a medium long
shot of Banjo, Meggy and Gadget outside of the shop spray painting derogatory
language onto the side of the corner shop such as “P**i” which connotes the
representation of ethnicity in a negative way as the use of the language used is
represented in a negative way towards people from Pakistan. As the scene
progresses we hear the exaggerated sound effect of the shop bell as Sean walks
into the shop as this connotes to the shop keeper that someone has entered his
shop as there is a use of a mid shot of the back of the shopkeeper. In this scene
there is a use of stereotypical ethnic stereotypes used throughout as the character of
the shopkeeper being from Pakistan creates a negative stereotype towards them, as
people back in the times of the 1980’s created this negative stereotype as they saw
these people as job takers who could come into their country and take jobs from the
people of England. The use of this stereotype creates a negative perception to the
audience about this group which is still a problem in today’s society. We hear the first
interaction between the shopkeeper and Sean in this scene as Sean (white) who is
under the legal age demands the shopkeeper to give him whiskey, cigarettes, larger
and wine. The dialogue shared between the shopkeeper and Sean is short but
demanding from Sean’s part which has connotations that Sean is being very hostile
with the man from the get go. The dialogue used by Sean is very racist towards the
shopkeeper as he uses the derogatory term “P**i” to use as a name for the
shopkeeper. The term used
by the young kid (Sean) and
the long shot used as we see
Sean running around the
shop laughing as the
shopkeeper chases him
connotes to the audience that
the use of the term is seen as
more of a joke and a laugh
which could influence an
audience into thinking that
saying the word will not have
consequences. As the scene
progresses, we see a slight high angle of Sean as he is on the floor which have
connotations to the audience that he is in a weak position as he has been caught
and is about to get thrown out by the shopkeeper and he has no authority only being
a kid but this is when Combo enters the scene before Sean is going to get kicked out
of the shop. We see the use of close ups and medium close ups used when Combo
threatens the shopkeeper with a machete. The use of close ups is to connote to the
audience the power that the
white male (Combo) has
and it signifies the fear that
he strikes into the
shopkeeper. After the threat
from Combo, we hear the
dialogue of Combo making
the call for Meggy, Banjo
and Gadget to come in and
help steal things from the
shops which connotes to the
audience that the males (all
white) do not care about the living that the shopkeeper is making because of his
ethnic background as they feel like they are taking innocent jobs from ‘their people’.
As the key scene comes to an end we see a vary of different shot reverse shots in
different shot types such as big close ups, close ups, and mid shots as Combo once
again threatens the shopkeeper, the use of big close ups of Combo’s face shows to
the audience of the expression of anger in his face that the shopkeeper has took a
living from ‘innocent British people’ and further connotes the racial motivation that he
has on people of a non British background. We also hear more derogatory terms
used towards the shopkeeper as Combo calls him a “P**i c*nt” and that the shop that
he owns “reeks of curry”. These terms used in the film could be negatively received
by the Pakistan community as the terms are used to negatively paint a stereotype of
the Pakistan community but it also has a negative impact on people of colour as the
characters in this story such as Combo do not see black people as ‘English’.

I also looked at other key scenes during this film and the film as a whole to really
understand the way that
race and ethnicity is
represented in British
cinema. Another key scene
which I looked at In ‘This is
England’ is the speech
scene. As we start this
scene, the use of mise en
scene in the image instantly
stands out as we can see
multiple different English
and Union Jack flags used all across the room which has connotations of being very
patriarchal and has connotations that they only care about their country and people
who are claiming to be “British” when they are of another ethnic background
shouldn’t be living in England.The use of the medium long shot used in this scene
allows us to see a large part of the room clearly as we see the use of stereotypes
used as the men all are classed as “stereotypical Englishman” with the skinheads
and the smart casual clothing/suits. This allows the audience to create an image of
these types of people and label them as racists from how they are represented in
this film. As the scene
progresses we cut to a mid
shot of Combo and his
troops as Pukey is seen
talking to Gadget in the
middle of the speech which
angered Combo and made
him slap Pukey on the head
which has connotations to
the audience that Combo is
serious about what Lenny is
trying to tell them and that it
is disrespectful to be talking during the speech. The use of dialogue is also key in
this scene as the audience hears terms such as “ We are not racist, we are realists”
and “send them back”. This gives connotations to the audience that this group of
people are negatively represented and negatively represent Britain and how we think
of people of different cultures and backgrounds. These terms can give audiences
negative opinions of how people of ethnic backgrounds are represented as they are
seen that they steal livings from innocent people.
The final key scene which I have analysed from “This is England'' is Combo’s
montage scene. The scene starts with a wide shot of Meggy, Banjo, Gadget, Combo
and Sean walking towards the camera. This shot was used with the use of the
incidental music playing to make the troops look intimidating and scary. The clothing
of all of the troops in this shot has connotations to the clothing that people wore back
in 1980 Britain with a lot of rebel clothing such as leather and boots, this is used to
not only match the time frame of the film but it is to also show what type of clothing
people wore to intimidate other people. As they are walking we see the use of a
crossfade of the England flag which connotes the very patriarchal society that
England was trying to
become back in the day but
it could also connote that
the streets belong to
England and the English
people. It cuts to a long shot
of the troops in an
underpass which connotes
their rebel behaviour
throughout this film and how
they want their message to
be seen by other
communities around their area. The use of crossfades is used as it cuts from scene
to scene of the troops practising their scaring tactics of how they can be powerful
over ethnic communities. We see this clearly with the 2 shot of Combo and Sean as
they are practising walking to look more intimidating and shouting racist remarks to
themselves such as “F**k off you P**i b**tard”. The use of this language used in the
context that it has been used in has negative connotations towards the Pakistan
community which has been a common theme throughout this film. This has a
negative impact for people living in the UK who are of an ethnic background as it is
seen as normal during these times to be using racist language to describe a person
of colour and this can have a negative impact on how people react to using the
terms. We see this clear in Combo’s montage scene when Combo and the troops
threatened the 3 boys of colour. The scene starts off with a long shot of the 3
coloured kids playing football which then cuts to the crane shot of the troops walking
into the direction of the
kids. The use of this shot
with the incidental music
playing in the background
has connotations of war as
the use of the long shot of
the troops walking in a line
shows them as being
fighters and standing up
for their country against
the “sewer rats”. We see how race and ethnicity is represented even more during
this scene through the use of close ups and medium close ups of the conversation
that Combo has with the boys. The use of close ups and medium close ups during
this sequence is very important as is connotes the fear that the 3 boys are facing
when Combo and his troops intimidate them with a knife and this gives a negative
representation to different ethnic communities of colour as it could strike fear into
them on how the film as represented how people in the UK treat people of colour.
This is also shown strongly in the use of dialogue such as “ I’ll slash you” and “run
home because mummy's cooking curry”. These negative remarks used through the
dialogue and the stereotyping used represents these communities in a negative way
as audience’s could be influenced into thinking that it is ok to say these racist
remarks to someone of a different ethnic community or colour.

The second film that I looked into for my dissertation on how race and ethnicity is
represented in UK cinema was East is East. There are a few key scenes which I
have noticed which shows us as an audience how race and ethnicity is represented
in UK cinema and how
it could have a positive
or negative impact on
the different audience’s.
The first key scene I will
be looking at is the
night out scene as I
think this shows signs
of how race and
ethnicity is rpresented
in throughout British
cinema. The scene
starts off with establishing shots of the night club to show where Abdul and Tariq are
going for the night. We see the use of shot reverse shots from the bouncers (white
male) to the people waiting to get in which leads to the first misrepresentation that is
shown as the audience sees the bouncers turn two males down of an ethnic
background and says that the club is for “members only”. This shows the
representation of race and ethnicity as people of a white background were being let
through with no bother but the people of an ethnic background get turned away
which shows that people that are not of a certain ethnic background would not be
allowed in the club which gives a misrepresentation to the audience and how people
treat members of different communities. After the audience sees this it cuts to a mid
shot of Abdul and Tariq as they make there way towards the bouncers. The audience
hears dialogue between both Tariq and the bouncer as the bouncer calls in “Tony”.
This could connote to the audience that Tariq is afraid of his identity and also not
being accepted by the society that he is living in for being of a different ethnic
background. This could have a negative representation on the audience as people of
different ethnic
communities that
are watching could
also be scared of
being who they are
and have to make
up a persona in
order to please
other people who
are not apart of
their community. As
we go further into
the scene, we see
Abdul and Tariq who are kown in the club as Arthur and Tony walk into the club and
the audience hears the dialogue shared between the two brothers as Abdul asks
“what is the tony malarkie about” to which Tariq just dismisses it and says that it does
not matter. This could be negatively represented to the audience as Tariq is not
happy with who he is and his background and this could have a negative response
from the audience
as the people of
different
communities could
change who they
really are to fit in
with other ethnic
groups. The second
scene that I looked
at for the
representation of
race and ethncitity
in East is East is
the scene where Tariq finds out his father (George) has arranged him and his brother
Abdul to get engaged. The scene starts off with tracking shots of Tariq and Meenah
both chasing their little brother Sajid around the house. The use of clothing that the
kids wear in the scene shows to the audience that they are fitting in with regular life
around Manchester with Tariq wearing a leather jacket, jeans and a shirt, Meenah is
wearing her school uniform and Saleem is wearing jeans and a vest. These types of
clothing are what people in Manchester worn back in the 70’s. As the scene
progresses it cuts to a low angle of Tariq breaking into his Fathers room which has
connotations of power as he opens the box to find the traditional wedding outfits his
dad has bought for the wedding. The shot stays in a low angle long take as the
audience hears Tariq get more angry about the situation his Father has put him in to
which he uses the derogatory term “P**i”. This could convey to the audience that
Tariq does not want to live this traditional life style that his Father wants him to live
and wants to be
himself and marry
who he chooses
which makes the
audience have
sympathy for Tariq.
This could provoke
an positive response
from the audience as
they could feel sorry
for Tariq and Abdul
as they have no say
in who they marry. We see it switch from various different close ups of Tariq ruining
the wedding outfits that his Father has bought as he does not want be apart of this
traditionalist way and wants to be his own person. The use of the big close ups of
one of the watches shattering could connote to the audience that Tariq is trying to
break away from what his Father is getting him into and the one that is not broken
could connote Abdul as he is not yet to find out about this news. The film East is
East shows to the audience that there is some misrepresentations of the Pakistan
culture but it also shows it in more of a positive way as it can be represented more in
a joking way with the use of other members of the Pakistan community in the film
they are seen to slightly make fun of their traiditons in a light hearted way which can
provoke a positive response from the audience.

The third and final film

which I will be
analysing for my
textual analysis is the
film “Bullet boy”. I
have chosen this film
as I think it is an
appropriate film of
choice when looking at
how it represents race
and ethnicitiy. There
are some key scenes
which I will be analysing in closer detail to showcase how UK cinema represents
different races and ethnicities which will be massively beneficial to my dissertation.
The first key scene which I will be looking at for the film “Bullet boy” is the scene
where we see Wisdom gift Ricky a gun. We start off this scene medium close up of
Ricky smoking a joint and as the scene progresses a little bit further the audience
looks at the house that Ricky and Wisdom are in as we see things on the floor, a
bench in his living room, a small light in the corner of the room and stains on the
walls. This could connote to the audience about how people of colour who are not of
a privileged background
live and misrepresent
them by showing them
smoking weed which
shows illegal activity
and also showing them
living in poor living
conditions could portray
to the audience how
poorly people of these
gangs live and show
what people of colour
live like which is not all true. The scene progresses as we see a slight low angle of
Wisdom pointing the gun at Ricky which creates a negative sterotype towards black
people that they always carry guns which can also have a negative impact on how
the audience sees people of colour as this can change their perspective on how they
view things. The use of costume as well also creates a stereotype around the black
community as in this scene we see Wisdom wearing baggy joggers, a vest top and
chains which can be seen as stereotypical towards black people and how these films
can categorise them into a specific style. We also see Ricky wearing the same
clothing that he wore when he was in prison of a grey tracksuit which also could
create more of a misrepresentation to the audience that people of colour are seen as
violent people with the
use of costumes and
props used in this film
which not only
showcases people of
colour badly on screen
but could also have a
negative impact on
people of colour in the
real world. As the
scene progresses
further the use of the
slight high angle on Ricky as Wisdom is pointing the gun at him connotes weakness
as it shows Ricky in a vulnerable position, the audience instantly sees the fear from
Ricky through not only his body expression as he instantly jolts and scrambles to get
the gun out of his face but he also shows the fear through the use of dialogue as he
shouts “put it down” and “get rid of it”. However, Ricky still takes the gun off Wisdom
which could have a negative response from the use of misrepresenteing to them that
black people will have guns and use them which creates these classic sterotypes
which has a negative effect on these communities.
The next scene which I will be looking at from the film “Bullet boy” is the scene where
we see Ricky and Wisdom getting ready to jump one of the people that Wisdom has
been having problems with as I think this is a good scene to really focus on the
negative stereotypes of black people and how it can convey negative connotations to
the audience
watching of people
of the black
community. As the
scene starts, we
see a shot reverse
shot of Ricky and
Wisdom which pans
to a POV shot of
them looking at the
door of the guy’s
house which
instantly connotes to the audience that they are waiting for the person to leave the
house so that they can plan their attack on the person. As the scene progresses it
cuts to a close up of Wisdom pulling out his gun to which Ricky is shocked by and
asks him “what are you doing?”. This portrays to the audience the negative
representation of the black community as they could be seen as violent and
aggressive in ways by carrying guns around and planning to attack people even if it’s
because of problems between them and the character. However, it also shows how
Ricky does not want to really be apart of this altercation that is about to happen as
he has just come out of prison which could make the audience feel sympathy
towards Ricky as he is getting dragged in to the dangers and violence but on the
other hand other audience members may not feel sympathy towards Ricky as they
feel like he should just walk away from the violence instead of roping himself into it
which could cause
these negative
representations for
these communities.
The audience then
hears the dialogue
between Ricky and
Wisdom as
Wisdoom says “only
gonna put the ting
to his head and
scare him”. This can
give some more negative connotations towards the black commmunity as audience
may think that these “gangsters” would do anything to ensure that they stay powerful
no matter what which can have an effect on how the audience members portray
different communities. Also, the use of the low key lighting and tense non diagetic
musicin this scene also creates a sense of hostility for the audience as it makes
them question what is going to happen. As we get further into the scene, the
audience sees the use of different close ups and medium close ups which shows the
tension between Wisdom and the guy and we also hear the tense non diagetic
sound creeping up more which gives the audience the impression that something is
about to happen. It cuts to a mixture of shot reverse shots which leads to Wisdom
shooting the guy’s dog. This has negative connotations to people of colour as it can
make audience’s feel a certain way that these people do not care about life and they
will do anything in their power to make sure that they are feared by others by using
things like guns which can also create these negative sterotypes for black people
which we sometimes still see to this day.

The final scene I will be looking at in how it represents race and ethnicity in the film
“Bullet boy” is the ending scene where we see Ricky’s mum, son and Ricky’s mums
partner at church as I thionk this conveys the black community in more of a positive
way compared to other parts in this film. As the scene starts, we see a mixture of
different mid shots
and medium close
ups of the people at
the church as they
are singing songs of
joy to God. This can
have a postive
connotation on the
black community as
this shows the
audience members
that it is only a
minority of their community who go out and do these bad things which cause these
negative stereotypes on their community and by showing the other half it can make
audience’s feel more positively towards people of colour as they see all of them
smiling and giving thanks to God for their lives. We do see a medium close up of
Ricky’s little brother at church looking lost as he watches the people around him
celebrating and rejoycing which gives makes the audience feel sympathy for the boy
as he is not used to everything being all happy and cheery because of the troubles
that Ricky has put on
him and his mum
over the years. As
the scene
progresses, we see
Ricky’s mum’s
partner talking to the
audience as he talks
to them about how
they should not let the devil overpower them and believe that God will always come
stronger. This gives the audience more of a positive feeling as it makes the audience
feel like the community is more connect together when they all come as one. We
also see how the words that the mum’s partner is saying also foreshadows how
Ricky, his mum and his brother’s livesd have been in this film in thart they “are not
alone” and “we are family”.This definitely has positive connotations for the
representation of the black community as it makes the audience feel sympathy
towards them as the acts of violence that happen are tearing these families apart
and that they all need to stick together as one to battle what is happening on the
roads as this is what is giving these communities these negative representations.
What is important to note as I have done these different textual analysis on 3
different is that the all of the 3 directors forhese films (Sean Meadows for This is
England, Damien O’Donnell for East is East and Saul Dibb for Bullet Boy) we can
see that all of these directors come from a white background. This is important as we
see through these films how race and ethnicity is represented through the eyes of
someone who is white and not someone of colour. By doing this, it could change the
perspective of the stroy to make us align more with the white characters as the
directors only understand what life was like for them compared to what life was like
for people of colour back then.