England Flashcards
What is the backdrop?
Falklands War- begun in 1982. Thatcher
80s montage of imagery
Whom is a social realist that inspired Meadows?
Ken Loach ‘Kes’ 1969
depicts the same focus on the working class, use of lesser known actors, collaborative and improvisational filmmaking
Where did Meadows grow up?
Uttoexeter in Staffordshire
What does Fitzgerald say about Combo?
“Combo is a racist, schooled in the politics of fear and ignorance.”
What does Savage say about the binary opposite characters in relation to Shaun?
“At the heart of his film is the battle for Shaun’s soul between Woody and Combo, who epitomise the poles of the skinhead ethos.”
What does Savage say about the skinhead in relation to the Falkland’s war?
“The skinhead was the living product of the 1980s war.”
How does it resemble the british social realism of the 60s?
Documentary style filmmaking: naturalistic lighting, on location-run down estate in the north of England, hand-held, unknown actors, underrepresented groups being represented, ‘realism; of the council estate juxtaposed with panoramic beauty of the local countryside.
How is the narrative worked out?
“I’ve grown to realise that my films don’t necessarily come together according to a strict plan.”
- narrative unpredictability lends to realism
-shot film in chronological order for a sense of unpredictability- does so also in ‘Dead Man’s Shoes,’ 2004.
How does it echo __ ‘the 400 blows’ ()?
Character’s maturation, the uncertainties and vastness of life, symbolism of the sea.
Truffaut’s
1959
Savage poses what question?
“But what is left?”
What does Fuller say about masculinity and fatherhood?
“Joining Combo’s gang to prove himself a man in the eyes of his dead father.”
flared jeans…
tan boots, stripy jacket collar
What is Combo’s lecture about National Pride?
“Two fucking world wars men have laid down their lives. And doe what? So we can stick our fucking flag in the ground and say this is england, this is england, this is england.”
Score artist?
Ludovico Einaudi
Being in a gang..
visually
What does Ebert say about Shaun’s need?
“A burning need is the first thing we see in Shaun’s eyes… one of those performances that seem more like self-discovery than an act of will.”
-link to the politics of social realism
Vicky McLure on performance?
“A lot of the characters are ourselves in certain ways.”
Meadows on violence reality
“It’s all done from the reality that I grew up in.”
“Always this aggression and sense of violence wherever I went.”
Meadow’s interview on Skinheads?
- “Really incredible time where people wore their heart on their sleeves.”
- “Being in a gang visually”
Meadows on extremism
“When people are frustrated and disillusioned that’s when you get extremist groups moving in and trying to exploit the situation.”
Brixton race riots?
A rise in discrimination against ethnic minorities partly due to the 1981 economic recession which led to greater insecurity within the working classes worried about their jobs and homes.
‘Dead Man’s Shoes,’
2004
- “Being a skinhead was the
only way to be something.”
No jobs, 3.5 million unemployed.
“You’ve got a whole lot of youth spilling out into the street and being a skinhead was the only way to fight back.
