Essay Plans Flashcards
Explore how editing and cinematography are used to reinforce important messages and values in at least one key sequence from each of the films you have studied.
Characters are the most important narrative device for telling stories in film.’ Explore this statement in relation to the films you have studied.
Explore how both mise-en-scène and performance are used to establish important character information in key sequences from the films you have studied.
Discuss how one or more specific narrative devices enhance the dramatic qualities of the films you have studied.
Intro =
Paragraph One = This is England
- Binary Oppositions
Paragraph Two = Belfast
- Child’s point of view
Paragraph Three = This is England
Paragraph Four = Belfast
- Use of colour to reflect the escapist release
‘The ideological analysis of a film is not very useful as it often reduces it to a simple checklist of messages and values.’ How far is this true in relation to the two films you have studied?
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.
To what extent is ideological analysis useful in examining the closing sequences of each of the films you have studied?
‘Studying ideologies in a film can greatly change your understanding of the film.’ How far has this been your experience of studying each of your chosen films?
How useful has an ideological critical approach been in studying the narratives of your two chosen films?
Intro =
- In both This is England (Meadows) and Belfast (Branagh), a post-colonial lens can be applied to reflect the the struggles and how they impact the narrative of a young protagonist each facing their own hardship following the long legacy of the British colonisation. In This is England, Meadows explores the nationalist ideologies that are present in 1980’s Britian which are highlighted through the skinhead subculture and toxic masculinity which is rife throughout this. This is utilised through Combo who presents his anger towards the fading identity of Briton’s. In Belfast, Branagh foregrounds the post-colonial struggle through the sectarian violence prominent during the Troubles which heavily impacts each community and eventually forces people to protect themselves through emigration and leaving behind their previous life filled with violence.
Paragraph One = This is England
- Combo’s speech
- Exploration of British identity and belonging
- Combo embodies the struggles of British working class identity in a post-colonial context
- His speech attempts to reclaim power and control over his identity
- Uses a rhetoric that is apparent of the anger felt by many working class white people in a post-colonial Britian
- He speaks in a way of an imagined past when Britian was supposedly more unified. He articulates a desire to take back control over a country that has been overrun by immigrants which he frames as a loss of British identity and power
- It reflects a power dynamic between the influx of immigrants from former colonies which represents a loss of ‘true Britishness’
- The language reflects the racial tension and the idea of the working class being overtaken by those who are considered foriegn
- It reflects a desperate desire to reclaim a sense of pride and belonging in a country that has been seemingly stripped of it’s imperial past
- His views are heavily influenced by nostalgia whicb highlights the British identity in the aftermath if the colonisation
- Combo seems to grapple onto the legacy of colonialism stemming from the prejudices and fears in a society. This highlights his racism as a product of historical and social forces
- He rejects multiculturalism and the idealisation of a homogeneous, national identity
Paragraph Two = Belfast
- The troubles beginning is a powerful moment which captures the political violence in ireland which was rooted beyween Protestant’s were deeply sought to remain part of the UK and Catholic’s who desired an unification with the Republic of Ireland
- It represents how the eruption of violence is connected with the legacy of British colonialism
- The Troubles were a culmination of the long history of British colonization which led to the conflicy
- It represents how Ireland had been colonised and oppressed by British Empires.
- Buddy’s innocence contrasts the brutal realities of sectarian conflict that arose from British colonization
- The tensions are fueled by the colonial history which reflects their differing identities.
- Buddy is trapped in this divided post-colonial society which struggled with the fight for identity and power
- Buddy’s family is not radicalised yet are caught in the middle of the violence in a divided society
- Buddy is frightened and confused by the violence erupting around him which is symbolic of his sense of helplessness and loss of innocence that many children were exposed to facing the realities of colonial legacies
- A feminist would argue that the mother is seen to be directly effected by the violence as she attemptes to resemble a sense of normality whilst heriocly protecting her children directly affected by the violence
Paragraph Three = This is England
- The National Front meeting explores post-colonial themes which is centralled from British identity, nationalism and the lingering effects of colonial history
- The meeting allowed a far-right political group which advocates for the preservation of British identity using racial terms
- The NF in the film serves as an ideological platform where Combo channels his frustration towards immigrants as a scapegoat
- It provides an insight into his belief system which is grounded in racial purity and nationalism
- They emphaisis the idea of reclaiming a ‘lost’ England where it has been undermined by waves of immigration from former colonies
- This sentiment is rooted in the post colonial anxiety of losing national identity in the face of increased cultural diversity
- The British Empire has previously exerted control over the world which left a legacy in former colonies. This led to some fearing that their national identity is being eroded
- The spokesperson talks about the loss of England and how it once was so powerful.
- The changes to British society are a direct result of a post-colonial legacy where once dominant white Britian now contend with people from former colonies
- It follows the idea of a golden age of Britian where they were the dominant global empire and the nostalgia reveals the udnerlying fear that Britian is no longer in control
- This is reflected in the emotions of a post-colonial society where former colonisers must stand with the reality of their imperial legacy
- The group blames the country undergoing social, economic and cultural change due to the lack of pride due to a multicultural society in a post-colonial Britian
- A feminist would argue that the NF group reinforces the toxic masculinity that underpins the ideology of dominance and violence which defines a real man. Their speech reflects the sense of superiority and control that white men have over society. The rhetoric of taking back control and preserving a British identity is also based on a patriarchal and racist view of the nation where men controlled the country.
- The absense/marginalisation of women shows how this meeting is a space exclusively dominant by men with no women to question these harmful ideologies.
- The dominance of men reflects how nationalist and far right ideologies are also based on the power of men in these groups
Paragraph Four = Belfast
- History of British colonialism and legacy of partition
- Buddy’s family decide to leave Belfast in a pivotal moment as the violent escalates
- It reflects how the post-colonial context shapes their choices
- They realise that they cannot safely raise their children in a city torn apart by conflict and the long standing impact of colonialism
- The deep religious divisions reflect the post-colonial divide between religious communities which was exacerbated by the British colonial rule
- The sectarian violence was deeply rooted from post colonial tensions which emphaises the competing ideas of identity and which side they aligned with
- Their decision to leave is not solely about escaping the violence but also rejecting the social and cultural devision that the colonial legacy imposes on their life
- Shows the violence that children witness which shapes their identities and they continue to remember throughout their life. Autobiographical piece
‘Analysing a film ideologically enhances our understanding.’ How far is this true of your two chosen films?
