Component 1c: British Film Since 1995 (Narrative)

“Explore how the narratives of the films you have studied influence your response to key characters.”

Plan:

Intro – Trainspotting’s non-linear narrative influences younger audiences to be drawn to Renton and his lifestyle, presenting him as charismatic, enthusiastic and likeable. This Is England’s use of montage and an almost episodic narrative encourages the audience to empathise with Shaun, understand his descent into nationalism, and be repulses by Combo’s negative influence on his life.

1. Referencing the Opening sequence, Trainspotting’s use of ellipsis, fast-paced editing and rapid narration bridging it all to convey what Renton’s life is like, his appeal to younger audiences through pop culture references, punk/nihilistic attitude and poetic counter-Thatcherism monologue. Referencing the Fun With Friends and Racist Bother sequences, This Is England’s use of montage to encourage the audience to support and empathise with Shaun, done by conveying their personality in short sequences.

2. Referencing the London and Closing sequences, how Trainspotting encourages the audience to come to their own decisions on Renton through his acceptance and embrace of capitalism, and final rejection of nihilism, which his character has been largely built on until now. Referencing the Combo’s story montage and the racist bother sequence, This Is England’s manipulation of the audience through Meadows’ use of montage and manipulative non-diegetic compiled scores to influence the audiences to dislike Combo’s character.

Conclusion – Trainspotting uses expressive imagery and a non-linear , rapidly paced narrative bridged by his narration to encourage the audience to like Renton, but allows some independent reading of his character towards the end of the film, when Renton’s personality and character largely changes, accepting everything a lot of his charm and wit has been built off until now, his nihilistic attitude and hedonistic philosophy. This Is England uses montage and manipulative editing to encourage the audience to persistently empathise with snd understand Shaun, even during his descent into racism, whereas Combo is presented as evil, encouraging the viewer to dislike him constantly throughout the film.

Version 1:

Trainspotting’s narrative encourages the audience to respond to Renton in a positive way, using ellipsis and narration to present him as charismatic and engaging. This Is England uses montage and manipulative editing to encourage the audience to empathise with Shaun, as he is shown as innocent and good-natured, and oppose Combo, who is presented as hateful and violent.

In the opening sequence of Trainspotting, the 1977 track ‘Lust For Life’ by Iggy Pop plays, immediately establishing Renton’s interest in the music, making him more relatable to viewers who were around his age in the 1990s, when the film is set. Rapidly cut shots are connected by Renton’s omniscient narration, which is enthusiastic and poetic as he lists off stereotypically middle-class characteristics like “electrical tin openers”. The line “choose life” is a deliberate mocking of the anti-drug adverts that people Renton’s age would have been used to growing up, further making him relatable and charismatic. This nihilistic, punk attitude presents Renton as youthful, intelligent, fun. Match cuts connect random scenes displaying Renton’s hedonistic lifestyle, such as when the film cuts from him falling on a football pitch to him falling in a drug den. This conveys what his life is like to the audience: centred around pleasure and fun, which encourages the viewer to see him as easy-going. Even when trying to get off heroin, he is largely comedic and witty, claiming that his friend Sick Boy is lacking in “moral fibre”.

On the other hand, This Is England encourages the audience to empathise with Shaun throughout the film. In the Fun With Friends montage, the non-diegetic compiled soul music is upbeat and positive, reflecting the happiness that Shaun feels with his new friends. Slow motion is used in gliding, carefully framed shots of Shaun having innocent, childish fun with his new friends, jumping into puddles together. This is done in a deliberate attempt to influence the viewer to feel happy for Shaun. In the Racist Bother sequence, the audience is still encouraged to feel empathetic for him, regretful of his descent into racism. This is conveyed through a shot of Shaun, superimposed, walking through a graffitied underpass, displaying a literal descent into nationalism. The compiled, non-diegetic piano music is somber, sorrowful, manipulating the audience to feel sorry for Shaun for being indoctrinated into such a group, shown through the faded over image of the St. George’s flag against him and the gang waking, and the shot of Combo teaching Shaun how to act and talk like he does. This represents his loss of innocence, which the viewer is manipulated to feel upset by.

Trainspotting encourages the audience to respond to Renton independently through his abrupt acceptance of the previously rejected middle-class values mentioned in the ‘choose life’ monologue. The London montage is made up of conventionally shot images of typically London associated items, such as tourists, pigeons, famous street names. Non-diegetic compiled charted dance music popular at the time plays over the scene, making the sights feel vain, superficial. This signifies Renton’s shift in character, to choosing a career, choosing life. At the end of the film, his monologue serves as a direct contrast to his one at the start at the film, where he now embraces all the middle-class ideals he has avoided up until now. He accepts capitalism, Thatcherism, and rejects his previous nihilism. This encourages the audience to decide for themselves the morality of his actions, and the longitude of nihilism as a philosophy.

This Is England manipulates the audience into disliking Combo. In the Combo’s Story sequence, as Combo plays out a racist caricature of a black man, the diegetic sounds lower in the sound mix as the non-diegetic compiled score rises, another mournful piano tune, influencing the audience to feel aghast, disgusted at what Combo is saying. The use of reaction shots of Woody and Milky, who seem ashamed and embarrassed by what Combo is saying, also tell the audience how to respond to Combo. The film also focuses on the vitriol with which he says racial epithets, highlighting the pure hatred in the man. In the Racist Bother sequence, Combo is presented as both intimidating but also pathetic, as a brutal man of violent means who bullies children and harasses women, believing in the process that he is making a difference, acting as a force of good. In the closing sequence, the film uses news reel footage from the end of the Falklands War to juxtapose the consequences of the war with those of Combo’s actions. Britain is shown to have won an inconsequential island through a conflict which has caused scared, helpless prisoners of war, dead British soldiers, and fathers who never returned home, like Shaun’s. This contrasts Combo’s beating of Milky, and so forces the audience to confront the uselessness of Combo’s ideology, and that the only thing it causes is chaos and suffering.

Trainspotting uses it’s largely non-linear, fast-paced narrative and sharp narration bridging cuts to quickly communicate Renton’s witty and charismatic personality, influencing the audience to feel drawn to him. He is presented as intelligent, passionate, and having joie de vivre. In This Is England, Shaun is presented as naive, innocent, and childish, encouraging the audience to consistently empathise with him. The non-diegetic compiled score also serves to influence their responses to him, to regret his descent into nationalism and feel happy for him when he is happy with his friends. Combo, on the other hand, is consistently presented as cruel, needlessly violent and pathetic. The audience is coerced to hate him through the composed score and the juxtaposition between his actions and similar consequences of nationalism in history.