Catalogue Draft

Primary Research:

NEDS (Peter Mullan, 2011) Film 4 Production:

A supporting film of my choice, which focuses round a young boy in his young adolescence, during his time in secondary school education. He is a good, high achieving pupil and focuses on his career as a journalist until his path is swayed over the summer holidays into hooliganism and gang life. A try representation of Scotland’s working class youth within that era, so was definitely a helpful look into working class life in British cinema.

This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2006) Film 4 Production:

This film is key to my investigation at is follows a subculture renowned with its association with working class youth, a key staple within my investigation. The film follows a group of working class teenagers and young adults in the 1980s and shows their personal rebellion within the subculture of skinhead. As a film that centres around the working class youth it was a necessary decision to make it my focus film. It is gritty and does not shy away from showing the darker sides of working class life and the subculture itself.

Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996) Film 4 Production:

My second supporting film focuses on another set of Scottish young adults, but these are shown as heroin addicts. These “junkies” represent a much harsher side than the almost light hearted tone of This Is England, which at points just focuses on the positives of the subculture, whilst Trainspotting delves into the dangers of addiction. Blamed on the boredom of life, it is important for my investigation of working class life as it depicts it as tasteless to the junkies and therefore the need of drugs factors in to make it better.

Secondary Sources:

This Is England –Shane Meadows Interview (DVD Extras on US Version of the DVD, 2006, as found on YouTube)

This is a very useful video as it reflects Shane Meadow’s intention when approaching his film, This Is England. It shows his initial inspiration for the film and the significance to him of its message of fitting in when being young and the stigma of all being in the same boat, when being working class. This interview helps shed light onto my focus film and what the director sought to achieve when creating the film, it coincides with the what my investigation well with Meadow’s explaining his ideas on the significance of the skinhead subculture to British youth.

The Story of the Skinhead with Don Letts (BBC Production, BBC4, 2016)

The source is a very useful one as it talks about a prominent theme within my focus film, the subculture of skinheads. In addition to simply talking the time the skinheads were at their height of popularity, the documentary delves into who took up the “uniform”. Highlighted throughout by numerous interviews, the skinhead culture was “so you were proud to be working class”. The documentary also speaks about Meadows’ film, This Is England and asks of the significance of the film.

British Social Realism Presentation (Slideshare, Published May 10^th)

This slide show on the website SlideShare is very useful and talks about one of my supporting films, Trainspotting. Applying realist theory to what is going on within the film helps broaden my understanding of the way the film represents the working class. The slide show is very intricate and detailed and explains a lot of points whilst simultaneously applying this knowledge to one of my supporting films.

How director Peter Mullan kept it real for Glasgow gang drama Neds (The Guardian, Published 15^th January 2011)

This article is very interesting and helps reinforce one of the key points in my investigation around the stars of British cinema films. The article speaks about the selection process of casting for NEDs and how they wanted to use true working class lads who had not acted before.the director, Peter Mullan, wished to draw from their real lives and their real characters to create the film rather than act it, he wanted to project realism onto the film by using unknown faces with less acting experience than bigger stars.

This is England Review (Empire magazine online, Published 30^th March 2007, last updated 9^th December 2015)

Much like the documentary by Don Letts, this review speaks about the significance of my focus film This Is England. Furthermore, the review talks about the aims of the film and the portrayal of working class youth in the 1980s. as a reputable film magazine, Empire’s reviews seemed legitimate and well researched when it came to applying my information. The review is positive and brings up some interesting themes which were helpful to me when conducting my investigation.

Sex, Class and Realism-British Cinema 1956-1963 (Written by John Hill in 1986, BFI Publishing)

This book explains the theory behind social realism and then applies it to British films. It is an extremely helpful tool at better furthering my understanding of social realism and also providing contextual knowledge of the era and what other British Films before the turn of the century, applied social realism. Fundamentally, this book allows me to understand how to apply social realist theory to my focus film and my supporting films to create a stronger argument.