My short opening sequence to the beginning of my film has a strong representation of a social group. Typical to the social realist genre I have tried to depict the working class and in particular the youth of this group. The representation I have tried to give is very similar to that of work by such directors as Ken Loach and Shane Meadows. The two main protagonists in the sequence are two early teens thrown into the struggles and surviving in the working class. The equilibrium stage of the sequence at the very beginning is shot in a country side area showing the young boys in a location out of their boundaries. They are off the urban setting of their estate ‘The Manor’ giving the sense that they are rule breaking or up to no good. However their presence does not create a dislike for the boys. We as an audience are made to empathize with the characters as they appear so juvenile and playful.
When firstly considering the two roles and casting them I chose to use two fifteen year old boys and decided to dress them in casual wear more specifically sports wear which is typical to this social group and more often associated with the stereotype that is the ‘chav’ and ‘asbo’ subculture; the signifiers such as track suit bottoms exemplify this. The choice of costume is one which I find stereotypical to the representations of the working class in today’s society. I also decided to use two boys who had a natural connection and rapport with one another in their real lives which I feel enabled them to give the film the character roles to convey the themes and representations associated to the social realist genre, this idea of poverty connecting families and friends to support each other through the hardship. More distinctively in my production, male friendship and their fight against working class difficulties.
Another representation within the sequence is that of a girl who is unconscious through an over dose of drugs in a tunnel. Although the character role is small her appearance in the sequence is key to understanding the boys’ involvement in the narrative. When dressing the female character I decided to carry on with the casual and simple costume design that is stereotypical to a council estate resident and also used make up to create an negative image of what the media shows us about drug abuse and its consequences. Her general stance in the tunnel was also considered to give a real and effective appearance to her role. My intention was to use graphic images to set the scene and give her role an impact, if only for the short duration of the sequence, to engage the audience and also create a sense of empathy for the boys. Her situation is one that is closely linked to the social realist genre whereby young people fall into poverty and hardship through either their personal need to satisfy a drug dependence or to sell drugs to support families and to ensure their well being. My intention therefore was to try to create a scene that depicted this desperation and also create a powerful impact upon the audience and to introduce the boys into the narrative of the completed film.
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