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CONCEPT ANALYSIS REPRESENTATION

You have the three main friends; Jack, Shaun and Ben, who all have been brought up in the same way and we as an audience in turn make the link with how they are represented in the film to real life situations that we often see in the news. They all dress wearing tracksuits and baseball caps, which we stereotypically make the connection with the youth of today and how they generally look, physically. Their behaviour also links to what we would associate with people from a similar background; this being the youth misbehaving and committing crimes on a daily basis. In contrast, you see the drug lord at the end who in appearance seems much higher class yet still behaves in a way we would associate with someone from a lower class and we as an audience know that he has only earned this through illegal activity and conforms to our stereotypical view of what a powerful criminal seems to look like, with smart attire and a nice car.

TZVETAN TODOROV
Todorov suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and then the characters recognise the disruption, and finally reach a resolution and reach a state of repair, when equilibrium is restored. He believed Narratives didnt need to be linear. The progression from initial equilibrium to restoration always involves a transformation. There can be many disruptions whilst seeking a new. Here narrative is not seen as a linear structure but a circular one. The narrative is driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium. However, the equilibrium attained at the end of the story is not identical to the initial equilibrium. The first state of equilibrium is where Jack and his mates are continuing and going on with everyday life, chilling and still unemployed hanging around on a council estate. The disequilibrium of the trailer is where jack takes the opportunity to take the drugs, this is where the whole of the narrative takes a change, Jack and his friends go from safe to living in danger. Jack now lives his life in fear of Eddie and Vic coming for him one day but not knowing when. The new state of equilibrium is re-instated when Eddie and Vic die; this is not seen within the trailer but is mapped out and scripted. This makes the audience go and see the film.

CLAUDE LEVI-STRAUSS
There are many examples within my film of binary opposition and it is made clear throughout. The three main characters arent really involved in as much crime as the two kidnappers are and you see this clear difference in the way that they choose to deal with the situation they have been put in. The three friends seem very out of their depth, whereas the two kidnappers seem at first, as if they are very sure what they are doing and show how serious their operations are once they kidnap Jack and even though their lives show this clear contrast, the class is however similar. This allows the audience to recognise the division between each of the characters and leads to the audience asking questions of what is going

to happen to Jack and what events are going to lead up his friends trying to find him. Another example of binary opposition is through the difference in lifestyle between the three friends and the glimpse we get of the drug lord at the end of the film and how he seems much better off through his mannerisms and how he is dressed.

VLADIMIR PROPP
THE HEROES/ANTI-HEROES The three friends are generally seen as the heroes in the film with them having to help each other out in order for each of them to be saved. They may be seen as anti-heroes because of the fact that you see Jack take the drugs at the beginning and because of the way Shaun and Ben what to get him back and feel like crime is the only way of doing so. Ray also can be seen as a hero as he saves Jack and the boys from being killed and once he kills Eddie and Vic, he leaves the boys and this could be seen as a heroic thing to do if you didnt know his criminal side. THE VILLAINS The two kidnappers, Eddie and Vic, are the villains in the film due to the life they are leading and the crimes you see them commit throughout the film but the opinion of these villains change towards the end when you see their desperation for the money they need and once Ray is introduced at the end, your feelings do change for these characters. THE REWARD There are several rewards in the views of the different characters in the film and these are what drive the several back stories in the film. Initially, Jack sees the potential for a reward with the chance to steal from the drug dealers and make some money from it. Another reward within the story is once Jack is kidnapped. Ben and Shaun ultimately have to go out of their way in order to rescue him and receive the reward of getting Jack back unharmed from Eddie and Vic. Another reward in the film is when Ray finally goes out and kills Eddie and Vic because of the money that they owe to him and this may be seen as a reward due to the fact that he reclaims what he may have lost previously. THE DONOR The donor in this film are Eddie and Vic because it is these two who take Jack and tell the two friends what they expect off them and this is what sends them on their way in order to find Jack and rescue him.

ROLAND BARTHES
Had the theory of narrative being like a ball of thread, as people/audience see plot and story from different angles and pull the thread from different angles. Narratives are either open (can be unravelled in lots of different ways) or closed (theres only one way to see it). Action codes: When some action occurs in the film it implies there will be further action regarding this specific movement. Enigma codes: anything that happens within the film that isnt explained, which the audience wants answered (like what will happen next?) Narrative is identified by symbols, signs and cultural references.

Action codes: Eddie and Vic enter the building with a gun, what will happen next, who will get shot? Jack gets kidnapped, what are Eddie and Vic planning to do with him When jack robs Vic and Eddie for the drugs

Enigma codes: Why is Jack robbing drug dealers? Is he in desperate need for money? Where are Eddie and Vic going to take Jack

Narrative symbols: Cocaine on the table (refers to films like scarface) Guns Hoods and tracksuits Blacked out cars

ANGELA MCROBBIE
In this film, it is clear that the male cast is represented in a way that we generally associate with men. The characters are constantly involved in crime and violence throughout the film and this is what we normally associate with men from these poor upbringings and the way that the characters in the film behave conforms to the general stereotypes and ideals we see pushed through the media.

STANLEY COHEN
In our film, the group of boys do conform to this negative representation of how the youth are demonised through the media and the way they deal with the various events that occur in the film show the audience how these social groups from these run down areas tend to behave. The moral panic within my film may be the fact that the only way the boys feel that they can make money is by selling these drugs that they have had to steal and shows how more and more groups of youngsters are being dragged into this criminal world and the panic may be seen as the way in which gun crime is seen as being more acceptable, especially the way in which Ben and Shaun choose to go about helping their friends and look at the fact they will require a gun in a fairly care-free manner.

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