Analysis of Representations in 'The Selfish Giant'

Regional Identity

The film is set in Northern England and was filmed in Odsal, Buttershaw. This is an area in Bradford so it was filmed in the actual location of the film. This area has been represented as a very industrial, mundane and negative area of England as there is a constant blue over the color palette and there is no non-diegetic music which makes it very and creates a glum mood; the lack of music represents the area as very hopeless and makes it seem like there is a lack of dreams and aspirations from the people living there. The industrial area has been represented by the extreme uses of wide shots to emphasize the poverty of the area, from the image below I can denote that it is a wide shot as the two actors (Arbour and Swifty) are not the main focus. I can denote graffiti and weeds which connote that the area has been deserted and vandalized by youth groups; this represents the area as an area with a high violence rate and tells us it does not have many upper class residents. The production design is very typical for a British Social Realism film as it has the shutters which represent the urban atmosphere, the production design of their costume also represents the regional identity of northerners as very chavy and mostly working class or under class.

The screen grab above also illustrates how northerners are represented as travellers and gypsies as they are seen to be riding horses a lot of the time and this is a stereotypical 'gypsy' thing to do; this conforms to the stereotype. In one scene of the film they are also seen horse racing on the streets (29:37); not only does this represent them as gypsies but it also represents that northern people cause havoc and in general are very rowdy and careless. The effect of the director's choice makes the audience think of people who live there badly when I am sure this is not the case.

The area in northern England is also represented as very mundane and negative as the screen grab below shows, from the screen grab I can denote rain and grey skies which connote that the feeling of the film at this moment is negative, this scene at 01:18:25 also uses the idea of pathetic fallacy which shows how the weather represents the mood as Swifty has just died. This is also typical of a BSR film as it is almost the end of the film and it is at its most negative part. This represents the idea that bad things and bad luck is common for this region.

Age

Age in this film is represented very strongly. The older men-especially Kitten take advantage of the younger generation to the extent where they will make them conduct adult paid jobs for much less money and they will even con them out of their money which they have rightfully earned. Not only is it shocking that the young boys are completing adult jobs these jobs are extremely dangerous as in the end lead to Swifty being brutally killed. This is shown in the screen shot below where Kitten pays the boys for bringing in some cable which they found at the track.This represents the younger generation as very gulliable as they do not realsie that they are being unpaid instead they become overwhelemed that they are even being paid. This innocence which is seen in the children shows how sinister and sly the older generation are as they willfully take advantage without any guilt. This scene is a midshot of the hand over of the money and is at 7:10, the extreme blue color palette represents how there is a huge contrast in the morals of each age group. The effect of this choice makes the audience feel sympathy for the younger generation. It also represents the older generation as bad examples and shows that there are no sufficient role models for children nowadays.

Swifty paying them

The scene shown above(01:02:07) shows how the older generation of men took advantage of the younger boys and this represents them in a bad light, here the older man took Arbour's cable and told him he would sell it and split the cost but in the end he drove away with all of the money. The close up used here emphasizes how excited Arbour was to recieve some money as he is living in a working class/under class family and this would help them and this makes the audience feel extreme sympathy for him and hate the older generation. The technique used here is called depth of field, the money has been placed out of focus slightly and Arbour's face is in complete focus so the audience focuses more on his happiness in that moment rather than the cash; this was chosen by the director to emphasise the negative representation of the men.

The last point I would like to make about age is that Arbour's mum-although older than her is represented as much weaker as she is crying and he has to comfort her, this connotes that she is unable to look after her son and there is a reverse position role here. This represents that the younger generation are becoming more responsible and beginning to act more like adults. This scene also however represents Arbour as innocent which is one of the few scenes which does this. It portrays his child-like side and shows the audience that he is still good at heart. Another scene in the film which connotes Arbour's innocence is when the police arrive and he feeds the fishes-his innocence here is portrayed as he still does child-like things and this represents him as a boy who can act older when the circumstances require him to but at the same time he is still only a little innocent boy. 

Arbour hugging his mum to comfort her

Disability

In 'The Selfish Giant' disability is not dealt with properly and is represented as a weakness and a problem in the persons life. The main disability shown is from Arbour as he suffers from a severe case of ADHD, he is not aided in this as he is excluded from school with no support; he is represented as a problem as he is told to stay away from Diesel (horse) when Swifty is allowed near it as he as seen as 'normal'. This secluded nature is represented harshly in the film whereas in real life the people would be given counselling or the medicine required to improve their mental health issues. The film doesn't sugar coat the condition and shows the worst parts of it for example when he is under the bed screaming and hitting the bed or when he is screaming at his mum and chucking everything around. Instead of people helping him he is called a 'mental case' which shows that people laugh at his disorder instead of help him. The most help he gets is when his mother just tells him to take his medicine-her view is that if he takes that and does nothing else everything will be okay. Overall his illness is represented as a problem.

Arbouer under the bed screaming

The other mental illness which is explored within the movie is depression and the sufferer is Swifty's mum, this common illness makes her look weak and although it is common it represents her as incapable and unable to look after her son, this illness does not improve over the course of the film which is typical in BSR and there is no magical cure for her.

Social Class

Social class is represented very harshly in this film, the younger generation are made to believe that to survive they need to earn money as they are in such a low position, the under class and working class have been represented as extremely poor which is exaggerated-there is a scene where their sofa is being sold and the children are in a dark house as they cannot even afford electricity; this extreme situation is very rare but has been shown as if it is very common. This represents Britain as a country with a large amount of people who live at the bottom end of the scale. The production design of this scene has been specifically chosen to represent the family as weak and in extreme poverty-the grey colours emphasize how nothing is brand new and the low key lighting show how they cannot even afford to pay for electrics. Even the kids' clothing is old and tatty and they do not even have a dining table on which to eat their dinner. This scene also includes a high angle shot of one of the girls being told to get off of the sofa so it can be sold-this is very touching and a direct key of sympathy to the audience. The social class are also represented as very desperate as they even need to sell their basic household items such as their furniture-their only sofa. This situation is not usually expected from the 21st century. The audience is also made to feel shocked by the mid shot of Swifty holding his younger brother, their facial expressions represent how the younger generation feel let down and sad about the class they have been born into. Their desperation of money is also shown when Swifty is killed whilst in the process of trying to make some money. 

The under class are also represented as a group of very rowdy people who tend to cause a nuisance and are no good to the community. Arbour's brother is a drug addict and the parents of the families do not care about their children, this represents them badly, they are also denoted to wear ripped clothing  which connotes that they are so poor that cannot even afford to clothe themselves but also connotes how careless and dirty they are. In the whole film they also swear a lot which represents them as very rude even to their own children and family members. 

This shot at 29:45 shows how rowdy they are-horse racing on public roads leading to havoc

The under class are also represented as people who do not know what they are talking about and the upper/working class do not listen to them, I find this very surprising especially during the scene where Arbour's mum is called into school-the headteacher tells her that Arbour is excluded and although his mum plea's with the headteacher she says no-this represents how the higher classes' have more say in what happens and have much more power than the ones below them. This represents the lower classes' as weak and unable to stand up for themselves as they are immediately overpowered. This scene takes place at 18:37 and the head teacher also says 'Is there anything I can do?' which emphasizes how the working class and upper class look at them as if they are in need of help or hand outs. They are represented very weakly. 

Arbour's class is also seen as disadvantaged as he has ADHD but it is worsened as in class there is no support teacher next to him-is this because he is of a low class so doesn't get one or is it because people of his class believe they are a waste of time-either way this represents him as hopeless.The lower class are represented as people who do not appreciate education in any way as Arbour says 'I hate school, I'm a fucking scrap man me!'-this strongly connotes how he does not care about academics and connotes that the under class overall do not care either.

Gender

The two genders play very different roles in this film. The males are represented as harsh, violent and very masculine-so masculine that at one point Kitten attempts to chop off Arbour's hand as he has stolen-this harsh act portrays men as mean and shows that they do not have a heart. This is the stereotypical image of a man as he has to be in charge and people need to fear him-as Swifty is quite an emotional boy he is told to 'toughen up' by Arbour. Even at such a young age Arbour has got the idea of a real man into his head when this is not correct. The men are represented as scary and if you got in their way it would be the end for you. This violent image is emphaszied by close-ups and low angle's of the main men in the film-especially Kitten. Price Drop also orders his wife around which shows which gender is represented as much higher in a relationship, this represents to the audience that men should be feared.

Kitten pushing Arbour's hand into the machine

On the other hand, women are represented as very weak and unable to do anything, even their own children are more able to look after them and they are shown as very emotional. If at any point in the story Arbour is in need of comfort he always goes to his mother as the female is connoted as a shoulder to cry on-he would never go to a man for this as they are connoted to have no emotions and no heart. Most of the woman in the film also have no job and just sit at home miserably except for one woman-the lady at the scrapyard. However, even she does not conduct the same job as the males do, she has a thinking and logistics job and if you look carefully she does not actually do much so even she represents women as weak.

Arbour and his brother have an absent dad which could be the reason as to why they are complete tearaways, although Swifty's dad is completely useless he is not as crazy as Arbour and this connotes that men are needed in a family to create boundaries and without one leading man the children become a mess and the wives are unable to control them. This also connotes to the audience that a woman is nothing without a man.

At 12:46 there is a scene where Swifty's dad is shouting at his mum "You're completely useless aren't ya"-he blames her as there is no money for the electrics, this shows how men do not talk to women as if they are human too and as she does nothing but look at him in fear as she knows there is nothing she can do. This shows to the audience how weak women are in comparison to men. The midshot also allows the audience to see the facial expressions of both actors-especially the mother. Her messy appearance and costume also adds to her character and represents the struggles of life she faces everyday.

Swifty's dad shouting at his mum

Sexuality

Sexuality is not explored a lot in the movie but it is mildly hinted at throughout, there are no gay actors but there is a constant theme of casual homophobia as most of the children call each other gay. This is not direct or abusive and they do not realize what they are truly saying in the situation as it is not the correct accusation. This homophobia has been grained into their culture and without showing it the audience is able to tell that if one of them were to be gay they would have been disowned by their family. This also emphasizes how there is no escape-they are stuck in this same world. 

Ethnicity

In this film there are mainly white people and not many other cultures seen other than in the school scene. This film presents white people as bad parents who have many children, this is shown especially in the scene at Swifty's house where their sofa is being sold and their are many of them and they are ordered to move instead of asked nicely which they should have been asked as it is a very shocking experience. White people are also represented as if they all have broken families, the two main actors have broken families. Arbour has an absent dad and Swifty has a reckless dad and a depressed mother.

White children are also presented as rude as if they have no manners, this is shown in the classroom scene where Arbour swears at the teacher and tells him he stinks, he is the boy being rude when there is a brown boy sitting next to him behaving properly, this represents white children as problems and disruptions in educational environments, the mid-shot also connotes that coloured children are a lot more well behaved and contribute to the class room effectively compared to white people.

The last representation that is given for white people is that they hate the police and are constantly swearing, this is shown throughout and even the younger kids swear a lot. This shows that maybe this is a mannerism they have learnt at home from their parents; this stereotype of white people is unrealistic but is represented very brutally.