Research
RESEARCH
Question ideas
Whilst coming up with my question for the essay I though it was important to note down every one - so I could look at them all and chose the one I would like to write about most. The main style so to say of the essay was always going to be something to do with the lower class / drugs or how people are represented. Drugs and social class have become a running theme in lots of my projects as it is something I am very interested in and enjoy researching into.
How the on-screen influences our identity
How does the on-screen glamorise alcohol and drugs?
How film teaches us about history with reference to Shane Meadows this is England series
How accurate is the representation of the lower class in British TV series?
Shane Meadows and the representation of the lower class
To what effect does Shane Meadows glamorise the British lower class culture?
The Representation of Lower Class With a Focus on This is England and Kidulthood
My chosen essay title is in my Critical context page and the explanation as to why I chose it.
This is England
This is England (series) is a 3 part series containing 1986, 1988 and 1990. Each of these show the audience what life was like in that era, which was classed as 'Thatcher's Britain'. The director Shane Meadows also grew up in these times so has experienced everything first hand - which is why he was the best person possible to create these. They touch on many hard subjects such as abuse, rape, drug & alcohol problems and death - all of which are very stressful but Meadows has portrayed them in a way which is easy to watch but still hits home. It was broadcast on Channel 4 which is known for screening risky and different styles of media rather than BBC1 and 2 which tend to scree more 'PG' and classic shows. This series is one of my favourite of all times due to the harsh reality to it but also how gripping it is - I managed to binge watch all 3 series in 3 days! This is a fantastic piece to talk about the representation of the lower class in as its based around the lower class and shows them in different lights to many other shows.
Kidulthood
Kidulthood, a British drama that follows a day in the lives of four lower class youth that live in a poverty-stricken neighbourhood in West London. The pressure and desperation of poverty propels each of them towards a choice between a life of bleakness, violence and crime or to strive for a better life. This has a very similar tone to This is England (TIE) as it shares the same class of people but is set in different times. Race also plays a big part in Kidulthood and it does in TIE as well which is why they are great pieces to compare each other to. I am fascinated how two different directors have two very different takes on pieces such as these hence why I chose to write about them.
(I go deeper into representation when I talk about my chosen question for this essay over on my Critical Context page)
REPRESENTATION
The two definitions for representation are:- 1.the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented."you may qualify for free legal representation"
- 2.the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way."the representation of women in newspapers"
(I go deeper into representation when I talk about my chosen question for this essay over on my Critical Context page)
DESENSITIZATION THEORY
BEGINNING TO PLAN MY ESSAY
links that I looked out throughout and how they helped me / if they influenced me and what they are
Below are some links that I came across whilst trying to find references for my essay, I thought that it was important to note them down so I could come back to them and look back on them.
➤Shane meadows talks about TIE and death of subculture (ONLINE VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM2anoZae1A
This video is the first thing I came across when looking into what I wanted my question to be. I love watching VICE videos as i feel they are always very truthful and raw and filmed in an urban style which is my sort of style. The interview with Meadows is very laid back and informal, which is when I believe you can talk to someone much easier. In this interview Meadows talks about how the stone roses and music in that era influenced him heavily when it came to creating the series. He also touches on how a lot of the content stemmed from what he grew up with and what he saw when he was younger.
"One of the most unique voices working in modern British cinema"
→This was what the interviewer said when introducing Meadows within the first 30 seconds.
"1990 was a big pivotal moment culturally"
To do with Thatchers Britain
"Thatcher left office in 1990 as she's played a kind of role all the way through this"
→Again, to do with Thatchers Britain - could use when talking about how the whole TV series is sort of based around her when she was in office.
"It's all done from the reality of what I grew up with"
"It seemed like in 1990 when ecstasy came there was a period where the opposite happened and you made friends with people when you went to places and it didn't matter what your accent was and there was this sort of sense of community there"
→Meadows touching on drug use from a personal view in the 90's - good quote for drug paragraph and how they come into play in the final series (that marijuana is a gateway drug etc)
"the drug use looks fairly enjoyable in the first episode but it isn't like that through the whole course of the series"
→This is about when Kelly become addicted to Heroin in one of the episodes.
➤Is this England? (ESSAY)
Although a small piece of writing, this helped me massively when it came to trying to explain what this is England was to my audience without waffling. It is an academic source as it is on the University of Maine website meaning it is an academic journal. Unfortunately I cannot download the full dissertation as it is only accessible to students of that University
➤Why Noel Clarke's 'hood' trilogy remains a vital snapshot of Britain (THE GUARDIAN)
This article, written by Iman Amrani, explains how the movies that Clarke created shaped his life and how they brung him comfort as a teenager as he could relate to them so much. He talk through each of the movies and when he comes to Kidulthood he describes how current it was. This article influenced me to write a small segment of my essay on how common it is for London to be seen as a very different place to what it is and how knife crime and gang violence are still very much happening whether people see it or not - and how Clarke has proven this.
"it was urgent and relevant because it dealt with a world that is so often underrepresented and misunderstood"
→ proves my point at how wrong peoples perceptions may be
"the parents in the film are well-intentioned but clueless about the pressure, bullying and daily issues their kids face."
➤The power of the hoodie (THE GUARDIAN ARTICLE)
This article relates to Kidulthood more so than This is England. One of my teachers mentioned to me hoodie culture and how it links in with what I was talking about so I decided to look on the internet for more information about it. This is one of the first articles that I came across - that I have read before so it was very familiar to me. There is a very negative connotation around hoodies and the people that wear them - a stereotype for many lower class youths. This article talks about the riots and how the people that took part in them tended to wear that particular item of clothing. A quote that I took from this and may possible use within my essay was this:
"the hoodie was a political symbol long before it became a policy initiative"
It states what the hoodie means to a lot of people and links it back to politics which is what the riots revolved around. This is an interesting article and I will use it to influence what I write about in my essay.
➤How the kidulthood trilogy captured the harsh reality of growing up in London (VICE article)
https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/8gqwp5/how-the-kidulthood-series-captured-the-experience-of-a-decade-spent-growing-up-in-london
This article by VICE is a similar one to the previous article by The Guardian and I will be looking into it the same.
➤Kidulthood was the perfect film for lost middle class teenagers (WEBSITE)
https://thetab.com/2016/02/11/kidulthood-was-the-perfect-film-for-lost-middle-class-teenagers-73830
'kildulthood made of roost middle class teenagers'
Another article relating to Kidulthood and how it influenced young people when it came out and how truthful it was. I have looked into thus and found a quote that I may feature in my essay depending on what I decide to touch upon in the kidulthood paragraphs.
Another article relating to Kidulthood and how it influenced young people when it came out and how truthful it was. I have looked into thus and found a quote that I may feature in my essay depending on what I decide to touch upon in the kidulthood paragraphs.
➤Media violence and its effect on aggression (BOOK)
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nXG1AAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=desensitization+in+media&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNtrbdnZ_pAhW0oFwKHShrAWIQ6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=desensitization%20in%20media&f=false
I came across this book when looking more in to the theory that is desensitisation. I feel that out of all audience theories desensitisation applies to my essay most as violence appears a couple of times - especially in Kidulthood. It talks about definitions of the theory and discusses whether it is still relevant and how theorists feel about it. This quote "refers to reduced responsiveness to actual violence caused by exposure to media violence" I feel would work best in my essay as it is the most straight the point and snappy quote that defines desensitization. I will most likely touch on the theory when speaking about Kidulthood and the 'clubbed to death' scene.
➤Growing up in Thatchers Britain - Academic Essay
➤Thesis
https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/931583/shane-meadows-representations-of-liminality-masculinity-and-class
Schwarz, C., 2020. Shane Meadows: Representations of Liminality, Masculinity and Class. Thesis. Bristol.
I came across this thesis when looking into the works of Shane Meadows and investigations that have been made into him. Although very hefty and a big read (some of which I did skip as it was not relevant to me) it was very interesting to see someone else's perspective on Meadows and his productions. I have taken this on board when it comes to beginning my essay and will make sure to be open minded when writing it and refer back to this thesis whenever I have a mental block or struggle with my writing.
➤Representations of social groups (BLOGGER)
http://lingfieldbtecunit1.blogspot.com/2018/11/representations-of-social-groups.html
Although only being a blog (white is why I have not referenced it in the essay) the image that is in this helped me to work out which socio-economic group the This is England group would fall under. This is a very important factor to add into my essay as it all goes back to social class and what they are deemed as.
Harvard system references and how I have used them
This is England. 2011. [film] Directed by S. Meadows. United Kingdom: Warp Films.
→This is a reference for the film / series 'This is England' that half of my essay will be based on. This is a reliable source as it is a series / film that has been out for many years.
Kidulthood. (2006). [film] Directed by N. Clarke. United Kingdom: Revolver Entertainment.
→This is a reference for the film 'Kidulthood' that half of my essay will be based on. This is a reliable source as it is a movie that was published years ago.
Retrowow.co.uk. (2020). 60s Skinhead. [online] Available at: https://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_style/60s/60s_skinhead.php [Accessed 4 Mar. 2020].
→This reference was in relation to one of the This is England paragraphs. It is an article on RetroWow about skinheads and what they are like. Skinheads are a big part of the series as the majority of the cast fall under that category. I was trying to find some words that described how they dressed and I found the perfect sentence in here. However, this website may not be seen as reliable as others as it isn't an academic source as such and isn't a well known one.
O’Hagan, S. (2020). Skinheads: a photogenic, extremist corner of British youth culture. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/aug/19/skinheads-derek-ridgers-portraits-street-photography-70s-80s-youth-culture [Accessed 4 Mar. 2020].
→When looking into what kinds of sources are reliable and which ones aren't, articles came up in conversation. It was said that newspapers that aren't tabloids would be deemed as reliable sources, so when I came across this article about Skinheads I was over the moon. The article goes into depth about the characteristics of the group how how extreme they could be.
Pettinger, T. (2020). UK Economy in the 1980s - Economics Help. [online] Economics Help. Available at: https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/630/economics/economy-in-1980s/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2020].
→This is a website that specialises in economics and supplies A-level books on the subject. I believe that even though it may not be as academic as other it is still reliable as the people who write the blogs on the website also publish the books that people study. I used this website to find a quote about how the economy was during the time period This is England was based around.
Digital Spy. (2020). This Is England '90: Combo's 'very much reformed'. [online] Available at: https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a668845/stephen-graham-on-this-is-england-90-combo-is-very-much-a-reformed-figure/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2020].
→Digital spy is a UK based entertainment, television and website and brand. This is a reliable source as it has been around for many years and they publish articles a lot. From this article i got lots of information about the character in This is England 'Combo' and about his character. I used this website for a quote in one of my This is England paragraphs.
VICE (2015). This is England 90' & the Death of Subculture. [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM2anoZae1A [Accessed 6 Mar. 2020].
→This is a video that I cam across on YouTube before even deciding on my main essay title, it immediately drew me in as I love Shame Meadows as a director. It is an interview with him talking about the newest series of This is England 90's. He talks about everything to do with the series and his inspirations / own experiences. This is a reliable source as it is a video on the internet made by a very well known producer (VICE) and contains the man who made the programme talking about it.
Drugabuse.gov. (2020). Is marijuana a gateway drug?. [online] Available at: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-gateway-drug [Accessed 6 Mar. 2020].
→GOV is one of the most reliable websites out there as it is a government run website. None of the information given will be made up and will be given by specialists in said area. From this website I took a quote about drug abuse and how marijuana can be a gateway drug to much higher class ones. I would say that this is up there with the most reliable quote in my essay.
Marsh, S., 2020. Middle-Class 'Consume More Drugs And Alcohol' Than Poorest. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/16/middle-class-consume-more-drugs-and-alcohol-than-poorer-people> [Accessed 2 April 2020].
→Again, I have gone to The Guardian online newspaper for another source. This article inspired a small element in my essay that was about how the middle class actually consume more alcohol and drugs than the lower class. This is a reliable source as it is a written article on a broadsheet newspaper.
Townend, O., 2017. The Kray Twins. Hanover, NH: Scribl.
→This is a book that I have quoted in my essay about the Kray Twins. I took a quote from it to prove that it is not always black people who are violent / in gangs unlike the media shows. The Kidulthood paragraph is where this quote featured. This is a very reliable academic source as is is a publish book. This is my most reliable source because of this.
Comments
Post a Comment