Research on Themes

Anthony Taylor
Research on Themes: British Cinema and British Identity.

British themes allows us to explore notions of Britishness and the reality of British life through the everyday activities people go through in their lives.

Gravity- Collin Hutton
Gravity is a short British film written and directed by Collin Hutton. It explores how three teenage boys are able to gain possession on a gun and how their inappropriate and careless behaviour results in the death of a young boy.

There are a number of themes within the short film in Gravity. Firstly we see the use of Gun Crime in a very gritty, dull and rural area of London. Gun Crime has a high rating in areas seen here. Themes such as gun crime are contemporary suggesting a more modernized Britain and the use of guns within Britain within certain areas.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422346/

Sold-Nadia Attia
“Sold” explores how a young man living in a small house in London, has given up all hope on his dreams and ambitions until realising a strange shopping channel which quickly turns his life around.

The themes based around the short film, “Sold” looks at the lack of ambition this man is facing. He has no dreams and enthusiasm and continues to live his daily life as an unemployed single man. The film also looks at consumerism. The idea of consumerism can be contrasted to the film “Trainspotting” (1996) which is the idea that everybody will work hard to earn all of life’s luxuries such as High tech equipment and living the perfect life. There is also a lack of community within the film “Sold”. The man is afraid to socialise with his neighbours and is kept locked from the outside world. We can also see the use of surrealism. We see in the short film the television is talking directly at the man at home however the narrative structure is still linear and chronological order. “Sold” is a good example of how unemployed people live their lifestyle within Britain.

Double Take-Toa Stappard
Double Take, written and directed by Toa Stappard follows the life of a thief who steals carrier bags, backpacks and anything else he thinks is worth stealing.

Themes such as Crime and Justice can be seen within the clip “Double Take”. The idea of the thief being a vigilante lives his life as a thief within London. We also have a long Point of View shot through a handheld camera. The use of kinetic movement creates a sense of realism as if the vigilante is being stalked. Double Take is also a non linear sequence with the use of flashbacks which results in a circular narrative. “What goes around comes round”.



For the love of-Chris Sheriff
“For the Love of” explores the life of an immigrant worker who came from another country, now working in London to earn money for his son back home. The British short film portrays the man as being invisible to people and is thought to be known as a superhero. However during one night when the worker has received his payment, an aggressive robber attempts to steal his money and walks away with the workers hard earned cash.

Themes such as multiculturalism in Britain show how British identity is becoming more mixed with people from different backgrounds. It is a representation of Britain and the reality in how people want to come into the country to earn money and live a better life. The film also features the working class and unemployment within Britain. A Voice Over is used throughout the entire sequence suggesting the multicultural mix and original language they learned.

In the Love of we see a style of social realism involved. The immigrant tries to send his son positive letters trying to let his son know that he living a happy life and is well known with the people he works with. However the reality is the immigrant man works tirelessly everyday trying to earn a hard living yet still tries to give his son hope. The realistic situation though, is that he is living a hard and difficult life however is able to continue in hope to return to his son for a better future.


There are also certain values explored when looking at British identity. In a heritage film such as Elizabeth(1996) we see Britain having a strong national duty towards itself. We have a strong sense of duty which we uphold shown by Queen Elizabeth

Another strong theme covered in British identity is the issue of Social Realism. This themes allows us to explore British cinema by portraying real life situations with difficult and challenging problems. Social Realism can be explored in films such as "This is England"(2006). Social Realism also allows certain characteristics linked to British identity to be identified such as contemporary urban or industrial settings set among ordinary, working class people as seen in This is England.