Component 1c: British Film Since 1995 (Ideology)

How useful has an ideological critical approach been in analysing the films you have studied? Refer in detail one or more sequences for each film.”

Plan:

Intro –

An ideological critical approach has been highly useful in analysing This is England due to the films explicit ideology about the destructive nature of hate and the harm that misguided patriotism/nationalism has on people. Such an approach to Trainspotting, however, is less useful, as the film has an implicit message on the arrogance of youth and the harmful side-effects of it. However, by displaying why people may find this lifestyle appealing and fun, the film negates a message on whether it is worth it or not.

1. How TIE conveys its meaning through the montages that preface and conclude the film, heavily implying and outright displaying the harm caused by patriotism and a brazen sense of entitlement due to ones own nationality, contrasting Combo’s ideology with the actions of Great Britain in the Falklands.

2. How a critical approach to Trainspotting is useful due to how the film conveys the arrogance and hedonistic lifestyles of its protagonists in the rapid opening montage of the film, conveying the vain but fun benefits of such a life, reflected in the style of the film, and mocking the middle-class values that Renton avoids.

3. How TIE conveys the harmful knock-on effects of such an ideology as Combo’s, indirectly resulting from the patriotism previously discussed, negatively effecting everyone, including the people who hold that outlook on life. This is conveyed in the assault on Milky and the harassing of children. The characters themselves also represent the social groups that were prevalent in England at this time.

4. How an ideological approach to Trainspotting is less useful due to the films objective display of the drawbacks, often horrifying, of Renton’s enthusiastic and hedonistic lifestyle, therefore not taking a stance on whether the lifestyle is worth the destruction it causes for them.

Conclusion: An ideological critical approach to TIE is much more useful than one to Trainspotting, as TIE has an unmistakable message that it wants the audience to accept and agree with, whereas Trainspotting has an implicit message about the folly of the carelessness of youth, but also objectively displays the flaws of such a lifestyle, ultimately not conveying a strong message like TIE does.

Essay:

An ideological critical approach has been very useful in analysing This is England (Shane Meadows, 2006) due to the films explicit message about how hate misguided patriotism can descend into hate, destruction and pain. Such an approach is not as useful in analysing Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996), as the film holds a very implicit, veiled message about the arrogance and brashness of youth. However, the film negates the potency of this message by taking an objective stance, displaying the harms of such a self-destructive lifestyle but also the various appeals and attractions of that life.

This is England conveys the damage caused by patriotism through the opening and closing montages of archive news-reel footage from the 1980s. The closing montage, played immediately after the scene where Combo assaults Milky because of his ethnicity, shows the devastation caused by the Falklands War, which Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pursued in a campaign to win support for her party and policies by stoking patriotism in the people by winning back land from Argentina. The montage exposes the victories of the war; a small village on a derelict island, and the subsequent casualties; scared, helpless POWs, dead British soldiers, parents not returning home, the effects of which are shown through Shaun’s character. In this way, Meadows is communicating that patriotism is flawed, and people can be urged into violence by a vague sense of entitlement because of their nationality, which is shown through Combo, who believes himself superior to immigrants, who he views as sub-human, because of his English heritage. This is also argued through the immediate juxtaposition between the montage displaying the horrors of the war and the violence caused by Combo’s hatred. Therefore, Meadows is arguing to the audience that the patriotic mission in the Falklands is an example of blind nationalism, which can lead to violence, reflected here through Combo’s character, who believes his violence and discrimination towards foreigners to be a just cause because of his unhealthy attachment to his country. The films ideology is highly explicit, as in the ending scene a reformed Shaun literally throws his St. George’s Cross into the sea, rejecting nationalism. In this way, the audience really has no choice but to accept the messages of the film as they are so blatant.

An ideological approach to Trainspotting is slightly useful because of its representation of youth. The young people in the film are arrogant, with punk attitudes, rejecting societal norms and social conventions. They reject “life” and the various capitalist characteristics of a picturesque middle-class lifestyle, such as “fixed mortgage payments” and “a job”. In the opening montage, Renton’s outlook on life is conveyed through the enthusiastic and upbeat ‘Lust for Life’ Iggy Pop track, reflecting what sort of music the group enjoy, and showing the various reckless activities that they engage in, such as shoplifting and drug usage. As Renton lists off the standards that he rejects in life, he is shown engaging in these activities through jump cuts and parallel editing, cutting at one point from him falling in a football pitch to him falling in a drug den while experiencing visual ecstasy from a cigarette. The rapid editing of the scene, connecting shots through Renton’s enthusiastic non-diegetic omniscient narration and the fast non-diegetic compiled score, reflects the quick fixes and vain thrills that he thrives off. The film is conveying the message that youth can be careless, arrogant, and many young people may feel as if they are untouchable, here shown through the chaotic but thrilling life that Renton lives, and the disregard he shows to societal rules and expectations while chancing death with the use of heroin. He even says “there are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?”, defining his careless and hedonistic approach to life.

An ideological critical approach to This is England is also useful due to the films unmistakable message about the negative impacts of hatred. Throughout the film, Combo is built up as a vitriolic man who genuinely hates people unlike him, as from the first scene he appears in, crashing the skinhead’s party, the film pays particular focus on his spiteful and dramatic pronunciation of racial epithets and his disregard for Milky, a man of Jamaican descent, while he performs a racist caricature of a black man. The audience is manipulated to hate Combo, e.g., non-diegetic, composed somber piano music plays as he insults black people, and, by extension, the hatred and racism that he represents. For example, in the scene where he gives a speech to win people over to his cause, he reflects many of the sentiments that people would have heard in 1980s Britain, such as criticisms of her war in the Falklands and the rise of unemployment. He also turns his hatred towards Muslim and Middle-Eastern minorities, reflecting the rise in nationalist sentiment and political parties in the 1980s, often veiling racism and violence towards minorities. In the scene where he assaults Milky, Combo feels hatred towards a man who is portrayed as genuinely good, speaking with kindness to everyone in the room, including a man who has proven himself to be racist. The audience is manipulated to sympathise with Milky through the dramatic and downbeat non-diegetic compiled music played over the beating. However, Milky is not the only victim of the hatred, as Combo himself breaks down, regretting his actions, and attacks the other members of his racing gang, screaming “I hate you” at men who share his ideology. Meadows not only influences the audience to disagree with Combo’s ideology and actions through the emphasis on his hatred and the use of non-diegetic composed music, but also shows the general destructive and chaotic nature of hate, which consumes everyone it affects.

An ideological critical approach is useful for analysing Trainspotting due to the films message on the benefits of hedonism, but the synonymous harm that such a lifestyle as Renton’s can involve. Although the film holds an implicit message about the carefree ideology of youth, conveyed through their focus on material pleasures and pursuit of fun, it balances the representation of the appeals and the harms of living such a way. For example, the film displays how such a way of living can be fun and mindless for the people living it, offering escapism through the use of drugs, e.g., when Renton overdoses and hallucinates literally sinking into the floor, completely escaping reality and the consequences of his actions, including his guilt for avoiding prison when his friend Spud was sentenced to jail time. At the same time, however, the film forces the audience to acknowledge and appreciate the harm that this approach to living can cause, and the self-destructive tendencies that Renton and his friends have developed as a result of their pursuit of pleasure. For example, while he is in a sort of transcendent ecstasy and surreal bliss during his overdose, Renton suffers an expressive and horrifying withdrawal afterwards where he hallucinates his friends mocking him and the baby he shares responsibility for the death of haunting him, showing that material pleasures can often lead to terrible consequences, and hedonism, while making for a life of easy fun and leisure, can have harmful side effects. However, it can also be argued that the film does not focus on conveying a strong message as much as it does creating an expressive and entertaining film through its style and playful nature. For example, Boyle uses expressive imagery to present the squalor that the characters live in to make the grim situation more funny for the audience, seen in the scene where Renton climbs down a toilet to retrieve a pair of pills. This is impossible, but the non-diegetic compiled score of tranquil ethereal music juxtaposed with this disgusting but comic imagery makes for a fun scene. Therefore, an ideological critical approach to Trainspotting is not as completely useful.

An ideological critical approach to This is England is much very useful due to the films explicit messages about the negative effects of patriotism and hatred. The audience is manipulated through the score to dislike Combo and be repulsed by his actions, conveying the pain that hate causes people, and also communicates the devastation that can be caused by a sense of entitlement due to ones own nationality by contrasting Combo’s actions, a man who embodies and represents hatred and nationalism, and news footage of the pain caused by the Falklands War, a war that England entered out of a vain sense of patriotism and entitlement to that land. Such an approach to Trainspotting is partially useful due to the films implicit messages about the recklessness of youth, and how hedonism, though fun, can cause agony too. This is done through the relatively balanced representation of the joys of living for pleasure, such as the ecstasy that Renton experiences through heroin, but the negative side-effects of such a lifestyle,e uh as his overdose and the subsequent withdrawal sequence. However, the film focuses heavily on creating a fast, comedic, stylish and expressive way of presenting these real and grim consequences of drug usage, more than it does on the effects of hedonism.

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.

This Is England Close-Up (Closing Sequence)

Narrative:

The films narrative is largely linear, however there is use of ellipsis in the montages, where time is compressed to convey information faster, and the montages themselves are expressive, shown what life is like in general through specific images, e.g., happiness in the fun with friends montage, shown through jumping in puddles and laughing with friends.

Key Elements:

Ideology:

The film never establishes what Shaun’s time in Combo’s gang did to his relationship with his other friends (Woody, Lol, etc.). By the ambiguity of whether or not Shaun’s life has been permanently stained/damaged by his time in Combo’s gang, the film shows that racism leads to harm for everyone. Milky, the victim of a hate crime, Combo, the regretful perpetuator of it, and Shaun, the helpless bystander, tied to the awful occurrence by his place in the gang. Even the other members of Combo’s gang were caught up in the chaos of the assault scene, assaulted by Combo as well, showing that racism is a poisonous whirlwind of violence that drags everyone up into it.

The film ends the same way it started, with a montage of news reel footage from the 1980s, here displaying the end of the Falklands War. The footage shows the spoils of the British victory: the raising of the Union Jack over a town hall in a small, unassuming village on a derelict island, scared and helpless POWs, dead British soldiers. This imagery displays the results of patriotism, when nationalism descends into violence, and what it costs, e.g., lost fathers, like Shaun’s. This questioning of the morality and necessity of nationalism and pride in one’s nation contrasts Combo’s own ideology. The film forces the audience to confront the question: what is the cost of nationalism? The juxtaposition of Britain’s violence and Combo’s likens the two, questioning the morality of both. What is the reward of the ideology of the people that Combo represents? The people that claim England to be a glorious land. By showing the results of that ‘glory’, the film explicitly tells the audience that this ideology only leads to pain and suffering.

Shaun throwing the St. George Cross into the ocean is an explicit symbol of a rejection of nationalism, of the hate that it can lead to. He even wears his normal skinhead clothing now, having rid himself of the hate he held while in Combo’s gang. The film here, using this imagery and the sorrowful non-diegetic compiled piano score, conveys its ideology to the audience that racism only leads to regret, violence, and loss. It influences the audience to agree with its ideology, done through Shaun breaking the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera at the end. The film is not interested in letting the audience make up their own mind, and so it is not true British social realism. This is an opinionated film with an explicit ideology that it influences the viewer to agree with, and the viewer would have to try very hard to have an oppositional or aberrant reading of the film.

This Is England Close-Up (“Racist Bother Montage” Sequence)

Narrative:

Key Elements:

As with previous montages, the camerawork in this one is more gliding and graceful, carefully framed, such as the shot that smoothly dolly’s backwards as Combo and his gang walk, in slow motion, towards it.

Ideology:

Shaun is shown being indoctrinated by Combo into the gang. He is told what epithets to say, how to talk to the ethnic minorities Combo targets, being cheered on by Combo and the others as he begins to walk and talk like they do. He is also shown in one shot of him walking through a graffitied underpass, which he is superimposed against, literally descending into a world of racism, far-right sentiment and nationalism.

Combo and his gang are presented as pathetic, but imposing. The characters are shown to be truly low, as they harass women and children, thinking that they are making a difference, or are in the right. In the shot shown below, they are even shown to be laughable, as Shaun wears a coat too-big for him, and Gadget walks like a thug. However, the men are also made intimidating through their use of fear to scare away the Muslim children. Combo carries a knife, and the group, in this way, reflect their real-life counterpart nationalists. Risible in appearance and nature, but intimidating in their methods.

Again, the film strays from the nature of true British social realism, as non-diegetic compiled piano music plays, somber and sorrowful, over the montage. This music tells the audience that what Combo and his gang is wrong, immoral, and Shaun’s growing inclusion into their ideology and methods is tragic, regrettable, a low point in the story. In this way, this sequence is a direct parallel to the one where Shaun has a fun day out with his friends, the other skinheads (non-racist ones). There, the non-diegetic compiled score is soul, upbeat and positive, giving the montage an optimistic mood, and manipulating the audience to feel happy for Shaun. Here, the mood is made more miserable and downtrodden by the despondent piano tune, influencing the audience to feel sad for Shaun, and regretful of the current events in the film.

This Is England Close-Up (“Combo’s Story Montage” Sequence)

Narrative:

This scene is the disruption of the equilibrium, a clearly defined turning point in the narrative where an infectious force of hatred worms its way into an otherwise picturesque friend group.

Key Elements:

The more gritty, real use of a handheld camera is done here to give the scene, in contrast to the montages, a more brutal and dark feel. In this way, the film has all the trappings of a British social realism film, except for the use of montage and manipulation. For example, as Combo continues with his story, performing an outrageous impression of a caricature black man, the diegetic sounds lower in the sound mix and a non-diegetic compiled somber piano score rises in the sound mix, juxtaposed with Milky and Woody’s ashamed expressions and Combo’s glee in his blatantly racist impression. This is manipulative, as the film is influencing the audience to feel repulsed by Combo’s story and impression, empathising with Milky, who has been singled out and humiliated here. A true kitchen sink drama would show the scene and allow the audience to come to their own decisions on the story and Combo’s character, rather than trying to tell them how to react to it. In other words, diegetic sound is the mark of true British social realism, so This Is England goes away from true British social realism by subduing its diegetic sounds in favour of a manipulative non-diegetic compiled score.

There is deliberate focus and emphasis on Combo’s use of racial epithets to highlight his sheer hatred, his rage towards ethic minorities. It highlights the poison and vitriol of his words, and the enthusiasm of his odium.

The camera focus is tightly on Combo in this scene, the camera close to his face, and he gets the majority of the screen time during his speech. However, the film cuts away to reaction shots of other characters, like Milky, who is clearly ashamed, angry and disapproving. The use of reaction shots here shows the clear divide between the people who are rightly embarrassed by Combo’s story, like Woody, and those who find it funny, like Gadget, foreshadowing the ,after split in the group, and conveying the hidden prejudices amongst some in the group.

Ideology:

This Is England Close-Up (“Fun With Friends Montage” Sequence)

Narrative:

Meadows uses montage to compress time and convey messages in short time spans. Here, an entire day out with friends is shown in a short montage, which communicates to the audience that Shaun has found a place in this friend group, and is happy with them.

The film is almost episodic, with the periodic use of montages acting as book markers dividing different segments of the story. For example, the first montage displays Shaun bored and sending his Summer alone, and after that he first meets the skinheads. In this montage, we see what his life is like now that he has friends to spend it with, but after this montage the equilibrium is disrupted, and Combo’s infectious character is introduced. After that, a montage is used to convey his negative influences on Shaun.

Key Elements:

During these montages, the film plays out almost opposite to how Trainspotting does. It uses a gliding steady cam, with carefully composed and framed shots , the use of slow motion. Whereas Boyle uses more chaotic, playful and interesting camerawork, This Is England is mostly more gritty and real in its camerawork, aside from in the montages, where the film becomes more conventionally pretty. For example, the montage os highly edited, even to the point that its doesn’t reflect reality, e.g., we see the gang jump into a pool three times.

The non-diegetic compiled score is soul music, the music that the skinhead group is formed on. The montage also takes place against the backdrop of a deprived urban landscape with graffiti, showing the setting they live in. Clips of Shaun having fun with friends,played in slow motion to emphasise his happiness, show his acceptance into this new, surrogate family. The clips also show off the inclusive nature of the group, which contains men, women, black and white people, younger and older people. They are all bonded by their shared sense of fashion, taste in music, and eccentricity as a group. They are no the cool kids, so to speak, rather a group living on the outskirts, an edgy group. They are from a particular subculture, and they gang together. They are also given a childlike innocent by being shown jumping into puddles together, laughing giddily.

The film is prevented from being true British social realism through the manipulative editing that encourages the audience to react to the film in certain ways. For example, in this sequence, the upbeat, lively compiled music juxtaposed with the shots of Shaun and his friends having fun influences the audience to feel happy for him, which is not true to the subjective nature of kitchen sink dramas.

Ideology:

This Is England Close-Up (Opening Sequence)

Narrative:

Meadows as a director favours the use of montage, which he uses frequently in This Is England. The film immediately begins with news reel footage from events and examples of pop culture in Britain in the 1970s, such as skinhead fashion, the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher, nationalism. This is done for the same reason that Boyle opens Train spotting with Lust For Life by Iggy Pop: to immerse the audience in the time period, conveying the attitudes and mood of the time.

For example, the non-diegetic compiled score used is soul music, the music that the skinhead gangs are formed around an appreciation for. Milky, later on in the film, refers to himself as one of the original skinheads. The juxtaposition of soul music here and news reel footage of racist skinheads at rallies conveys the infiltration of racist nationalists into the skinhead subculture.

The conflicts present at the time are conveyed through the contrast between black music and racist rallies, violence with pop culture, Thatcher with miner strikes. The film then transitions from this montage into Shaun’s bedroom, which contains a photo of his deceased, military father, and a radio playing a broadcast of people discussing Thatcher’s politics, immediately rooting Shaun in this time period, and to an extent a product of it. He is part of the films hyper real reflection if 1983 working class Britain.

Key Elements:

Ideology:

Trainspotting Close-Up (Closing Sequence)

Narrative:

The film is narratively satisfying, coming full circle by the end. Renton’s motivations were established at the start of the film, and now his change in motivations/actions has been explained,. Despite the fact that we don’t know what happens to him or the other characters next, the story has been finished, having told the story that it set out to tell.

Key Elements:

At the beginning of this sequence, the camerawork has calmed down, with a higher use of static shots, with a signifying the calm before the storm. Renton, too, seems to have lost his cool confidence, now acting more cautious than he did when he was someone with no care for the consequences of his actions. This change in behaviour and filmmaking signifies a shift in Renton’s world.

Ideology:

The narration, too, is less poetic here, more an explanation of why Renton chose to betray his friends. It is less nihilistic, more pragmatic, even confessional in tone. As his explanation has a moment to sink in, there is a call back to the poetry of the narration at the start of the film. Renton begins an almost reversed versions of that one, with the same rhythm, cadence, but a different delivery, like a mirror image of the first monologue. He now accepts and embraces ‘life’, capitalism, Thatcherism, rejecting nihilism and hedonism. In this way, the film argues that nihilism ultimately fails, leading to nothing, and mist give way to pragmatism.

Trainspotting Close-Up (“London Montage” Sequence)

Narrative:

The montage begins with sudden, jarring stock footage of thongs that are distinctively from London. Rapidly edited shots of pigeons, ice cream, tourists, double decked buses and famous street sign convey the new location to us, alongside the use of current dance chart music from the time, a switch from the cool retro compiled music used before. This use of shallow chart music that would have been popular at the time signals a change to a new place. Even the camerawork loses its signature playful flourishes, reverting to a more conventional style of cinematography, signifying Renton’s turn to consumerism and some level of ‘normality’ in modern life, and a turning point in the film.

Ideology:

The use of new chart music and the distinctively London things serve as the embodiment of all the things that Renton rejects in his initial ‘choose life’ monologue. The typical working-class values are embodied here in the montage of a modern, bright metropolis. It also signifies Renton starting a new chapter in his life, accepting capitalism, work as an estate agent, and a rejection of heroin, hedonism, etc.

Trainspotting Close-Up (Opening Sequence)

Narrative:

Renton’s fast paced, energetic and almost poetic narration connects the scenes in the film, acting as a bridge to maintain a constant fast pace. His narration is accompanied by visuals, such as when Begbie finishes Renton’s sentence, speaking directly to the audience and thereby breaking the fourth wall. His narration is rhythmic, bridging the large ellipses between scenes, which are used to compress time in this opening sequence to give the audience an introduction to the lives and personalities of these characters.

Key Elements:

The film opens with an ‘in media res‘, or a cold open, immediately cutting to a low angle shot of feet running from an unseen threat, then cutting to Renton and Spud, who we do not know, running from security guards for reasons we do not know. This is done too shock the audience, throwing them into the story and the pace of the film, overwhelming them with the sudden information. The song ‘Lust for Life’ by Iggy Pop plays to the scene, lending an upbeat energetic pace to the scene, but also conveying the shared culture and tastes of the protagonists, who would have grown up listening to this type of music, as it was released in 1977.

The film is rapidly edited with unusual angles, a playful style of cinematography, such as the arching shot of Renton on the floor. Another example of the playful editing and camerawork is the action match between Renton falling on the football pitch to him falling in the drug den. It uses freeze frames and captions to introduce the ensemble cast of characters, which also breaks the fourth wall, a narratively engaging strategy. The film also uses highly exaggerated, heightened mise en scen, such as the red drug den and the green hallway outside it. The film is rooted in British social realism, but presents a grim situation in a mostly comedic, fun, even exotic way.

The film is highly expressive, conveying the lives and circumstances of the protagonists in a light, comedic, even cartoonish way. For example, the film conveys Renton’s addiction and his struggles to get off heroin through the comically jagged planks of wood that he uses to lock himself in his room. He then comedically breaks these down to escape, which is unrealistic, and so the film is not true to British social realism, but presents the grim subject matter in a lighthearted and fun way. It is storytelling through metaphor. This is most done i8n the ‘worst toilet in Scotland’ scene, where Renton literally climbs into a toilet to retrieve some suppositories. In the next scene, he is soaking wet, even though we, the audience, understand that he did not actually climb in. The toilet itself is comically and unrealistically dirty, to the point of absurdism. This is a metaphor, done to convey the filth and squalor that Renton lives through in a funny and comedic way.

Ideology:

Renton’s omniscient narration plays over the scene. In it, he sarcastically mocks the ‘choose life’ anti-drug campaign, in which he rejects stereotypical middle-class values, instead embracing hedonism, approaching life in a nihilistic way, rejecting the status quo, authority, social conventions and aspirations. He instead chooses to live a life for pleasure, claiming, “why? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?”.

His message has a strong counter-culture message to appeal to the younger audiences. Renton has an angry, defiant punk attitude, and is made likeable through his intelligence, charm, and enthusiasm. The 1970/80s cultural references are targeted at the more youthful audience, e.g., Sick Boy talking about James Bond, making pop culture references for the younger British generation watching.

These stills from the opening sequence convey the pace and disjointed scenes used to introduce us to the characters and the story.

Narrative Hodge-Podge

Narrative:

Trainspotting –

The film begins with an ‘In media res’, or a cold open, beginning with a jarring shot of feet running from an unseen threat, belonging to an unseen person, with the non-diegetic compiled score playing ‘Lust For Life’ by Iggy Pop. The song is fast paced and upbeat, lending an immediate momentum and energy to the film. It also reflects a shared culture between the characters, who would have listened to this music from 1977 as they were growing up. It creates a sense of camaraderie between them, as they like the same music.

The film does not have a linear narrative, as the event we are currently seeing takes place about halfway through the story, just before Renton and Spud are arrested for theft. The scene itself is non-linear, randomly cutting to a disjointed football game and using freeze frames to introduce each individual character.

The editing style of the film keeps it in constant momentum, a rapid pace of progression immediately established through the cold open, accompanied by the jarring narration, an action sequence and lively music. They narration is used in the film to branch between scenes, so there is either something on screen keeping the audience engaged, or Renton’s all-knowing narration to keep them immersed in the story. This is why the film feels so quick. An example of this constant motion through editing is the motion match between Renton falling on the football pitch and him falling in the drug den.

The pace of the film is also kept fast by the almost constant camera movement, which keeps momentum between hard cuts from one scene to another. The camera movement is also accentuated through the fluid character movements, as they run on the football pitch or run from security guards through the streets, or just fall backwards onto a floor. The choice of songs also compliments the film, as ‘Lust for Life’ plays over the monologue accepting drugs and rejecting middle-class social values, and later in the film, ‘Mile End’ plays during the grim flat-share between Renton and Begbie in an increasingly trashed London flat. They also contribute to the pace of the film, the tone and pace of the songs matching that of the scenes, e.g., ‘Lust for Life’ is fast and lively. The pace is also contributed to through the almost poetic screenplay. This can be seen in the visual accompaniment of the narration, for example when Renton describes how much he hates when people say… then the film cuts out Begbie speaking directly to the camera in a dollying in low angle shot about how much he looks down on the use of heroin.

The films rapid momentum is also maintained through the blurring of time, done through huge time compressions and ellipsis. In this way, one sequence seamlessly leads into another. This can be seen in the transition to London as a location for the film, the city being introduced in a montage of shots of things that are clearly from London, e.g., famous street names, ice cream, tourists and pigeons. Parallel editing is also used to tell multiple stories at once, such as what happens to Spud, Renton and Tommie after the night at the club, which sets up later aspects of the film, like when Tommie becomes addicted to heroin due to his grief at losing his girlfriend.

The cinematography is also unique and interesting, as the film frequently uses jarring camera angles, e.g., the low angle shot from behind the men guarding the football net. This playfulness prevents the film from becoming too mired down in the grim situation the characters are in, and so the film is not a kitchen sink drama, more an expressive and often comedic depiction of careless drug use.

In the middle of the otherwise fast paced narrative, the film’s momentum slows down in an interlude, during which the main characters visit the great outdoors, where only diegetic sounds are used and the editing pace slows down. This brings our attention to Renton’s nihilistic outburst, keeping the audiences focus away from how the film was made and instead on Renton’s message, in which he mocks Scotland for being colonised by an even worse country.

Another instance in which the narrative sows along with the tone of the film is the sequence in which we learn of the neglected baby’s death. The editing slows done, the non-diegetic compiled score subdues, the film returns to more traditional camera work, and our attention is kept on the distress of the mother, and, like the characters, we are forced to confront the horrific situation that these people are in due to their addiction. This scene is one of the only in the film. That does not present a grim situation in a light-hearted and fun way, through playful cinematography, music, poetic narration or expressive dialogue or imagery.

This Is England:

Whereas Trainspotting begins with a cold open to immediately immerse the audience in the world of the protagonists, This Is England begins with news reel stock footage from the 1980s, establishing the political climate of Britain in that time period. Culture is shown through footage of shows like Knight Rider and characters like Roland Rat, and the politics are established through footage of Margaret Thatcher, the Miner’s Strike, the Falklands War, Iranian Embassy Siege. This immerses us in the world that Shaun lives in. It conveys the mood of the time, a time of turmoil and change, and a lot of anger. Just showing Thatcher alone communicates this, as she was infamous amongst the working class for being highly pro-capitalist, conservative, with policies of privatisation and union limitation. Soul music is also played, as this was the origins of the skinhead movement; people dressed like that and shaved their heads to show their love for soul music, a traditionally black, cultural music form. Over time, this fashion movement was infiltrated and taken over by far-right nationalists, and this is what Milky and Combo dress the same way in the film. Different ideologies, same clothing. Milky even claims to be one of the first skinheads in the film.

Shots of the derelict area in which the film is set, working class homes in the town of Grimsby, establish the environment in which the protagonist lives. It also conveys an impact of Margaret Thatcher’s new house building schemes, which were intended to provide modern housing to replace the slums formed after WW2, but this housing soon became run-down and homogenous in appearance. A later shot of an abandoned, run down church with anti-Thatcher graffiti on it further conveys the attitudes of the area of society that Shaun lives in. Meadows uses this montage of visuals and music that define the era to root us in the setting of the story.

The films narrative is linear, the story and plot running largely in parallel. Meadows makes large use of ellipsis, however, to compress time, alongside montage to convey information. For example, when Shaun spends his summer holidays alone, and a montage with large time compressions is used to convey his loneliness. The same goes for when he is having a day out with the gang, where the film hard cuts to random shots of him and his friends hanging out and having fun. Upbeat, jovial music is okayed int eh non-diegetic composed score here to manipulate the audience into feeling happy for Shaun, alongside conveying his happiness at that time. The film is almost episodic in that there are large periods of linear storytelling before the use of a montage and large ellipsis. The disruption of equilibrium occurs in the bridge to the second half of the film, when Combo returns from prison.

Key Elements:

Trainspotting:

The film is highly expressive, using unique camera movements, lively pup music and unrealistic scenarios to convey addiction. In this way, the film gets to the truth of heroin addiction through comedy. For example, the scene where Sick Boy opens up his show sole to reveal a compact kit of heroin in there, which he then takes, despite wearing a suit. This moment, alongside the one in which Renton comedically breaks through a boarded up door to find heroin, are both cartoonish in nature, conveying the filth and squalor that they live in in a fun way. This can also be seen in the contrast between the highly red drug den and the oddly green hallway that the baby sits in as its mother takes heroin. Another example is when the scenes of the guys thieving places are played in montage, the music matched to the visuals, or when Tommy physically can’t lose the pool game with Begbie. Also, the use of classical music played over ‘the worst toilet in Scotland’ scene, an expressive moment itself, contrasting the filth of the moment with beautiful music, is played off for comedic effect.

This is England:

Shane Meadows takes subject matter that would traditionally be considered British social realism, but makes the films in a way that prevents them from being exactly kitchen sink dramas. This is because of his use of non-diegetic compiled music to in fluency the audiences reaction to the film. For example, when Combo returns from prison and immediately begins to spread his racist views, the diegetic score slowly subdues in the mix and the somber, emotionally manipulative non-diegetic compiled piano music rises in the sound mix. This is done to influence the audiences emotions here, influencing them to sympathise with Milky and oppose Combo. The exact same thing is done as Combo assaults Milky towards the end of the film, where we are manipulated to feel repulsed, horrified at what is happening.

Ideology:

The opening monologue by the omniscient Renton, separate from the one we see on screen, is a deliberate mockery of the ‘Choose Life’ anti-drug slogan. He sarcastically lists off typical, stereotypical characters of middle-class life like “electrical tin openers” and “compact disc players”. The monologue rejects these, and Renton claims that he chose something else, and why? There are no reasons when you’ve got heroin, he says. They reject an ideal life, career, family, etc. and instead choose heroin because they simply find it fun, pleasurable. This is a hedonistic ideology, as the characters embrace the pursuit of self-indulgence and arbitrary pleasure above all else. This can also be seen through Renton’s manic laugher at samosa being killed by a car, and the characters’ enjoyment of the hectic football game, or Renton’s seeming euphoria from smoking. It can also be argued that the film has a nihilistic ideology, as the characters reject all moral principles and accept life as meaningless, which Renton seems to be implying in this opening monologue. At the end of the film, Renton goes directly against this opening monologue, accepting this lifestyle, “choosing life”. In a sense, capitalism and Thatcherianism triumph. In this way, the film seems to claim that, ultimately, hedonism must give way to pragmatism, and nihilism leads to nothing.

Renton, despite his clear flaws, is immediately established as a likeable character. He is charismatic, and there is a poetry, even an intelligence too his opening monologue. This can also be seen in his monologue about Scotland, which itself is nihilistic, as he comments on the grim nature of his country, which he describes as a useless backwater nation of “wankers” colonised by “wankers”, and “all the fresh air in the world won’t make a fucking difference”.

This is England:

In the scene where Combo and his gang visit the political meeting in the rural pub, we get an insight into the operation of this organisation. In the 1980s, these political organisations that opposed immigration would campaign, but also used fear mongering tactics and violence against minorities, here represented by Combo. Combo himself speaks some logic to Shaun, which convinces him to join his gang. He speaks on the injustices and pointlessness of the Falklands War, which affected many people at the time, including Shaun, but targets his hate on the wrong group; minorities. His long monologue is done to remind audiences who were alive at that time period of some of the things they would have been hearing at the time, so Meadows is setting him up as a violent, hateful man, but one with a logic, despite how flawed it is. It shows how fine the line is between his political views and his prejudice, how one can lead to another, and what sort of thinking and ideology was attractive to these far-right nationalists. The justification for his hate towards the war is later shown through news reel footage from the time used in another manipulative montage towards the end of the film, in which we see what the war and the suffering it caused has achieved; a single, small village and scared, unarmed POWs.

This same footage is played right after Combo assaults Milky, cutting from him carrying Milky’s passed out body away, to a news reel shot of a British soldier erecting a Union Jack on a town hall roof in the Falklands. The film intentionally does this to contrast Combo’s actions with that of the British army. We see all that Combo’s ideology has achieved is violence and an almost dead friend, whereas the army has taken helpless POWs, lost lives, and all for the insignificant village shown. In this way, Meadows clearly communicated his opinion in a way that the audiences would have to work very hard to disagree with from watching the film. This is also conveyed in Shaun’s literal disposal of the St George’s Cross flag, a symbol of nationalism, into the ocean. The film argues that nationalism and racism cannot survive, and leads to nothing but violence. It also harkens back to the the behaviour of his gang earlier on in the film. Despite their intimidating appearance as a gang, as individuals they are pathetic, even laughable, who bully kids and harass women. They can put as much effort into a cause to belief, but in the end, what good does it do? The film is also conveying the dangers of patriotism in the juxtaposition between Combo’s ideology and imagery of the Falklands War. Combo’s obsession with pride in his country, and the country’s feeling of obligation to protect any meagre area of land it owns due to a sense of patriotism are shown to have harmful effects on innocent people, such as the fathers and wives waiting for the men to come home from the war, the POWs, the lined up bodies, and Milky, the women in the underpass, and the boys playing football. This is the result in pride over ones country, the film argues, and the rejection of these beliefs can be seen in Shaun throwing the England flag in the sea at the end of the film, both rejecting Combo’s ideals and vain patriotism.

This Is England Contextualised

Shane Meadows typically produces films that verge on being Cinéma vérité, or kitchen sink dramas, due to their subject matter. Kitchen sink dramas are social realism films set in the Uk, and they follow everyday life, are typically gritty and discomforting to watch, dealing with social issues like crime and poverty. Meadows’ films tend to follow characters living in working-class Britain, experiencing aspects of that society what reflect the time period they are set in. For example, This Is England follows young Shane, whose father has died in the Falklands War, which he copes with by joining a gang of skinheads, who themselves become a vestige of blatant racism that grew in expression in 1980s Britain. It also contains background imagery that represents a rise in anti-Thatcher sentiment at the time, and a rise in anti-Muslim activism and political campaigning.

In this way, his films reflect many of the qualities of kitchen sink dramas. However, they are not kitchen sink dramas, rather Meadow’s own execution of real social aspects of Britain in his films. This is largely due to the fact that his films attempt to manipulate the audience, e.g., through music. He uses non-professional actors much of the time and largely fluid scripts that are only set in stone a short time before filming begins, with the actors improving much during rehearsal. They include themes like violence, which Shane experienced in abundance during his childhood. “The Velocity, the hatred, someone stamping someone’s face into the corner of a room. – That never leaves you.”. He often tries to emphasise how heroic it is for some people to just live a normal life. “For some people just to lead a sober life is heroic, way better than running a conglomerate or making political decisions.”

Many of his films feature the use of fake father figures that his more youthful characters wrongly put their hopes and aims onto. He examines the negative effects of an older, dangerous stranger on a happy friend group, which he also has experience in his younger years, such as when he was kidnapped and held at knife point by an ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend. In fact, many of his films and characters are inspired by his own stories. He straddles the line with kitchen sink dramas. When he was young, he supported runaway’s from children’s homes. He joined a skinhead gang around the age of 11 for protection from bullying, some of which was aimed at his father, and got involved in petty crime like stealing and drug-usage. He became violent himself, in one instance encouraging the older-boyfriend of his sister to beat up a younger, innocent kid.

He uses his own personal trauma to help make his films, which he in-turn uses to help his trauma. This is why so many of his stories are so personal, e.g., Shaun from This Is England serving as an alter-ego for Shane when he was younger. This explains why characters like Woody in the film are often portrayed as father-figures, and we see the descent into hate from a more understandable perspective, but still see it in all its ugliness and brutality, as Shane did in his youth.

This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2007)

This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2007) follows young Saun, a lonely boy who suffers from bullying who finds friendship in the open arms of a local gang of skinheads. At first, he enjoys the company of his new friends, but events turn sour when an old member of the group, Combo, returns from prison, and begins to spread his poisonous and racist views amongst them.

The film follows a linear narrative, told mostly through the perspective of Sean, which makes us sympathise with him, despite his eventual belief in Combo’s racist preachings. We understand why he listens to Combo, why he feels accepted and safe in the skinhead gang, and how he becomes further engrained in their society throughout the film.

I personally enjoyed the film! I felt that it was ruthlessly realist in its portrayal of anti-Muslim hate groups. The film is frequently disturbing, interspersed with comfortable dialogue scenes that keep the viewer on-edge. The way that it portrays an innocent boy’s descent into racism is believable and tragic, and it has one of the most terrifying film antagonists I’ve ever seen! I rate This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2007) four stars!

Trainspotting Contextualised

Areas like Greater Manchester and London were a few of many English and Scottish cities that experiences major heroin outbreaks during the mind 1980s, Western Britain being mostly effected in particular. These outbreaks affected predominantly 18 to 25 year olds who more mostly unemployed and living in deprived urban areas. Addictions usually lasted many years and led to involvement tin crimes like drug dealing and prostitution. Young people largely avoided heroin in the early 1990s, but rumours in 199 indicated that the ‘heavy end’ drug may be making a return.

Danny Boyle directed and produced Trainspotting. In interviews he has claimed that he likes to shoot low budget and work through his films “inch by inch” with a sense of naivety in the filmmaking process, not having a fully formulated, rigid plan to stick to. He prefers to shoot through wide shots, framing characters in landscapes. He also like his actors to “physicalise” his films and convey their emotions through their body language, likely due to his history as a state director. He also aims to create a “visceral energy” through. His films through the pace and movement of it. He also claims that 70-80% of a movie is sound, and without good sound a movie cannot succeed.

The author of the original Trainspotting book, Irvine Welsh, has said that he likes to include moral complexity in his works, avoiding clearly cut good/bad guys, using interesting characters to for the audience to follow. He wants his readers to think “God, these are real people that are going through real conflicts; life isn’t coming easy to them, they have to make decisions and try to navigate the consequences of their actions.”.

The film revitalised the career of Iggy Pop, a rock/punk artist at his height in the 1990s. His song ‘Lust For Life’ became deeply connected with the I’ll, many people recognising it as being from Trainspotting. Released in 1977, the track is an exemplification of rock/dance music of the time the film is set in, one cultural aspect of the late 1980s and early 1990s that are depicted in the film.

Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)

Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996), follows a group of heroin addicts living in Edinburgh in the 1990s, specifically Renton, who falls in and out of addiction, withdrawal, petit crime and redemption.

The film is highly surreal, following a group of characters whom frequently communicate directly to the audience, such as Renton, who makes ironic commentaries on society and heroin through an internal monologue. The film also uses abstract imagery to evoke the horror of drug addictions, such as the horrors that Renton hallucinated while experiencing withdrawal, and the characters will often swap between places and times at unrealistic paces to convey a sense of lost time and wasted adulthood. The film also uses this abstract imagery and poetic, social realism to convey the experience of a heroin addiction in scenes to immerse the viewer in then position of the characters.

The narrative is told in a unique way, as the beginning scene takes place chronologically about a third of the way into the film, and events happen in quick succession, the periods of time between them sometimes minuscule when it was a long time chronologically.

I personally loved the film’s fluid pace, gripping characters and harrowing but immersive sequences. I rate Trainspotting 5 stars!!!

Component 1c: British Film Since 1995

Component 1c looks at two films, Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996) and This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2006), with the specialist study areas ideology and narrative.

2021 Autumn exam questions:

To how useful has an ideological critical approach been in analysing the films you have studied? Refer in detail to one or more sequences from each film.

2022 Summer exam questions:

Discuss how one or more specific narrative devices enhance the dramatic qualities of the films you have studied.