josephine3hofe’s Blog

How are ‘This is England’ and ‘Son of Rambow’ typical of British film?

            Both Son of Rambow and This is England are very typical of British film. We notice this through various traits that we often see in British films. These range from the camera work to the soundtrack. British films also don’t often rely on money generated from their films, and so have a very low amount of money for the creation of these films.

                In Son of Rambow the camera work is mostly done by the two main actors in the film; two children. The storyline involves the two boys doing most of the filming themselves, as they are making their own movie. This is typical of a British film because, as there aren’t that many British films, the budget to make the few films that are brought out is quite low and therefore it is a lot cheaper to have two children filming parts of it. However, it is a good technique to use because it emphasises the story that is being created.

                This is England begins with recycled video clips of Britain in the 80’s. This would have been very easy to do, but also cheap and hassle-free. This leaves the producer to spend more money on things like costume, however, the costumes used are nothing ‘fabulous’, but more conventional for Britain in the 80’s.

                Neither of the two films have particularly famous actors in them. This follows the fact that British films are created on a low budget and so it is a lot cheaper to do it this way, although the actors that are used are very effective in creating the characters that are needed to provide the spectators with an interesting and conventional film. It is also good doing it this way because then the small time actors get known, but also there aren’t expectations of what kind of film it will be compared to the expectations that a film with Brad Pitt would have.

                As well as not having very well known actors in them, the producers of Son of Rambow and This is England haven’t used any special effects. This is typical of British film because we hardly ever see Sci-fi movies, but more often comedies.

                Due to the lack of specialist camera work, special effects, and famous actors, these films very much rely on the plot and dialogue to create meaning and excitement for the audience. Considering that this is very hard to do on a low budget, the producers of the films have done a very good job in creating an above usual standard, British film.

                Sound and lighting also link in with the lack of money. As you will notice, most British films have only diagetic sound as opposed to non-diagetic sounds. This is effective though as the spectators can relate the film to real life where-as non-diagetic sounds usually tell the spectators it’s a film. Much alike this is lighting. The producers rely on natural lighting, again creating a more life-like film.

Overall, Son of Rambow and This is England couldn’t really be more typical of British film, as they are both very low budget, with small time actors and a lack of special effects.

Comparative Study of

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Superbad

            Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a film about a teenage boy nearing the end of his school years, who decides to ‘play sick’ to his parents so that he can take a day off school, and spends a day, with his girlfriend and best friend, causing mischief and having fun. The storyline has parallel narratives; school with Principal Rooney trying to catch Ferris out, Jeanie, his sister and the trouble she gets into, and Ferris. These parallel narratives then all converge into one in the final scene. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is set in the 1980’s, one feature of this which is noticeable is the lack of obscene language, whereas in Superbad obscene language is used almost casually.

            Superbad is a film about three best friends, also nearing the end of their school years, who are on a ‘quest’ to purchase and provide alcohol for an entire party that they have been invited to. They did not, however, plan on any difficulties, apart from the use of Fogell’s fake ID, in getting this alcohol. The spectators are shown the story of how these three friends go about getting what they want. As Superbad is set in modern day times, there are certain contextual factors that may have been an influence, the obscene language for example. Also, many teenagers are influenced by each other to party and binge-drink, which may have affected the plot of Superbad to fit the expectations of this teenpic.

            Both films have the storyline of teenagers nearing the end of their school years, and growing up in life, where the main storyline involves a ‘last bid’ for a night of fun. However, the representations of the teenagers in these two films are very different. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off the teenagers are made out to be ‘badass’ for their time, and although there is no use of obscene language, which is what we would regard as ‘badass’ for modern day, these teenagers are still seen as rebellious. The only time the spectators hear a swear word is from an adult, which is very different to modern day. Also, these teens are only looking for a day of fun by skipping a day of school, whereas the Superbad teens are out to get drunk, party and lose their virginity. In Superbad the teens are seen as extremely rebellious. This is done through their very obscene language, which is used casually – this is very contextual for modern day. Also, the teens are shown as ‘crazy’ for girls, alcohol and parties. The time-gap between the two films also affects the appearance of the characters in each film. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has very modern clothing for their time, but their appearances are old fashioned and un-cool to the modern day viewer.

            Both Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Superbad have parallel narratives within their storyline. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off the parallel narratives include: school – where the Head Teacher is desperately trying to catch Ferris out, home – where Ferris is ‘ill’, and finally, the trouble that Jeanie gets into. These parallel narratives then all collide at the end of the film. This is a good technique because it gives the spectators more than one storyline to follow, and then it can all be pieced together in the final scenes of the film. Superbad begins with three friends, and their task to purchase alcohol, but as the story develops, these three friends are separated, dividing into two storylines – Fogell and his run-in with the police, and Evan and Seth – in their desperation to find some alcohol to take to the party. In Superbad this creates conflicts within the narrative, between the three friends as tempers rise. This is different in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, however, as the conflicts are between adults and teenagers. This gives the spectators more of an idea of the time period as modern day teens have become more aggressive towards each other, and their only conflicts aren’t with adults. These conflicts are resolved the typical way for teens; apologising to each other by realising that they were wrong, much like in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Jeanie and Ferris resolve their conflicts. However, it is a very different story with conflicts with adults as a teen will very rarely admit they are wrong to an adult, this is shown in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Rooney, the head teacher, is left very high tempered at the end of the film as he has been beaten by Ferris.

            These two films reflect their contexts very well, through appearances, attitudes and personality. Superbad has a very accurate representation of modern day teenagers, as is likely for the representation of teenagers in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. These two films also show the development of society over time, and also both of teenagers and adults. I think that Superbad is more relevant as a contemporary text because many teenagers will be able to relate to it more, whereas I expect Ferris Bueller’s Day Off would be less interesting for the modern day teenager as it does not reflect the conflicts that the teenagers of today experience.

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