This is England

'This is England' facts:

• £1.5million budget funded by National Lottery;
• £90,000 extra was given by UK Film Council after production;
• 2006 film, directed by Shane Meadows.
• produced by Warp Films.

'This is England' was based on some of the director's own experiences as part of a Skinhead gang in his childhood. The actor who plays the lead role of Shaun was a tearaway and part of a gang himself, with no acting experience, until he was cast in 'This is England'.
Shane Meadows bought props and vehicles off Ebay to make the film as authentic as possible and make it resemble 1980's Britain; he even found a prefabricated set to film which hadn't been changed from the 80's in order to film indoor scenes. The film uses entirely natural lighting and there is a lot actor improvisation involved. The purpose of the film for Shane Meadows, was to change the perceptions of Skinhead culture, in particular with regards to racism.

Whilst watching 'This is England', we were asked to answer the following questions:

1. What is the appeal to British audience? Who is this audience, and how do we know this?

The target audience is working class British people, in particular men, however women are represented too by the girls the Skinheads hang around with in the film. We know this through the mise en scene; one of the first shots we see is of a typically working class council estate (it is derelict and overgrown, with boarded up windows, etc.). The film also targets teens as an audience - despite the 18-rated certificate - and other subcultures. An example of this is the goth girl present at school who is accepted by the Skinheads. 'This is England' has a message for teens with regards to the ways of gangs - in the film, the Skinhead gang is quite turbulent, with arguments starting often. This is meant to put teenage members of the audience off becoming part of a gang, due to their being unstable and unsafe.
On a larger scale, the film appeals to all members of a patriotic, British adult audience. Even the title induces national pride, which would appeal to a large number of the audience who are English.

2. How does the cinematography differ from that of 'Hot Fuzz'?

Like 'Hot Fuzz', 'This is England' opens with a collection of clips which set up the storyline. However, in 'This is England', the clips are actual footage from the time of the film (1983), such as images of Margaret Thatcher and the Faulklands. This short, condensed information helps to place the audience in the time-setting of the story of the film.
On the whole, the shots in 'This is England' are at a much slower pace than those in 'Hot Fuzz'; there are more simple transition cuts, in contrast to the snappy ones in 'Hot Fuzz', which help point out the respective genres of each film. Since 'Hot Fuzz' is a comedy film, the snappy cuts are used for comedic effect, whereas in 'This is England' - a social realism film- they are used to create realism and a serious atmosphere.
Also, montages are used to move the story along, and also to give insight into the characters emotions and lifestyle. These montages also have slower-paced shots in order to create a serious, non-mocking atmosphere, compared to the comedic ones in 'Hot Fuzz'.

3. How is social realism constructed?

Several features contribute to creating the genre of social realism in 'This is England'. One such is the aforementioned montages, which show characters lifestyles and daily routines, which invoke realism and make the characters more relatable (we can see what they are like day to day). Also, the mise en scene and character profiles assist in constructing realism, the working class characters and the way they interact with their working class surroundings (and, of course, their fellow working class characters) help create a realistic setting and plot. Simple characterisation devices help to set up this realism, such as the (stereo)typical, less witty, more physical forms of humour used by the working class people in the film. Finally, the actor's improvisation helps to construct a socially realistic atmosphere in keeping with the genre; the way the characters have free-flowing, relatively unplotted conversations with each helps to add a realistic feel to the film.