Character Analysis - Bullet Boy

Character:                             Ricky (Ashley Walters)
Character Detail:                  Main Character, was released from prison due to stabbing someone.                                                       Very loyal to his friend wisdom. Young teenage black meal, lives in a                                                   poor deprived area.
Relationship With Crime:   Was a criminal however wanted to get away from it. He tried to escape.



Character:                             Curtis (Luke Fraser)
Character Detail:                  Looks up to his older brother.
Relationship With Crime:



Character:                             Wisdom (Leon Black)
Character Detail:               
Relationship With Crime:    Pulls Ricky into his old criminal ways and encourages him to                                                                 participate.



Character:                              Rio (Rio Tison)
Character Detail:
Relationship With Crime:



Character:                              Beverley (Clare Perkins)
Character Detail:
Relationship With Crime:    Doesn't want her son involved in crime.



Character:                              Shea (Sharea Samuels)
Character Detail:
Relationship With Crime:    Didn't want to be involved in crime.



Character:                              Godfrey (Clark Lawson)
Character Detail:                   
Relationship With Crime:    Conflict between him and wisdom. Actually kills Ricky.

Messages and Values Developed later in the film

Message - Ronnie is Insane - He is uncontrollable and takes things to the extreme, for example he cuts into a member of his gangs mouth just to get Reggie's attention.

Message - Reggie Smothers Frances (male domination) - when she wears the gloves, she wears them because reggie likes them. She says she doesnt even know what she likes anymore.

Message -Mental Illness and crime can have catastrophic consequences - self harm (frances) and harm to others (Ronnie). (2 above)

Message - The failure of police to control criminal activity - The Kray's get away with so much even killing people.

Message - Ronnie is jealous of Reggie - When Reggie first met Frances, Ronnie Lashes out to get his attention.

Message -Brotherly relationships mean more than spouse relationships - When Frances meets Reggie's family, Reggie goes upstairs to a meeting with his gang rather than sitting with his wife. He then goes out with them and leaves her. Ronnie told his boyfriend to get out of the bathroom so that he could speak to his brother.

Message - The Krays were very ambitious - they always want more power.

Message - The Krays are invulnerable - they become more and more powerful and feel like they are
invulnerable.

Message - Ronnie Is homosexual - This is unusual for the time period, however it increases his vulnerability as he has a lack of care and his family also turn a blind eye.

Messages and Values in opening scene of the krays.

1. Message - The Krays believed themselves to be invulnerable - Even at a young age they fight against a crowd of children.

2. Value - When people fear you its good because you can do anything - Violet takes the twins home from hospital even though she is not allowed because the doctor fears her.

3. Message - The east end was a place of poverty - The housing was very poor furthermore there were big factories and the women were even scrubbing the steps outside etc. Furthermore they did have much.

4. Value - High value is placed upon family- Violet tells the boys that no one will harm them and they look after one another in times of need.

5. Message - Community looks out for each other - all the sisters come out to try and keep the constable away so that the father can hide.

6. Value - Women have had to work hard and struggle in a male dominated world - For example Violet says to the constable 'If you find Charlie, let me know i have hungry mouths to feed' This shows her place, she has to feed the children and look after them. Also she says that 'housework is a dangerous occupation'.

7. Message - Krays never had a male influence/ male dominant figure in their life. - They have a lack of relationship with their dad furthermore their Grandfather allowed them to fight one another which really upset their mother. He leads them astray.

Female And Male Representations (The Krays)

Females:

1.Outline some of the main female stereotypes that exist in the media broadly

There are both negative and positive stereotypes of females, however most broadcasted in the media tend to be rather negative. Such as; women are seen as sex objects and their purpose is to provide for men in the home by doing the housework, cooking and cleaning etc. Furthermore a very typical stereotype of women is that they are inferior and may need a man to 'look after them'. However in modern society there are much more positive messages and stereotypes being broadcasted about females, such as: feminism, many females are strong independent and believe heavily in girl power.

2.How are Frances and violets (and her sisters) represented in the krays? (give specific examples) consider how their gender affects their experiences.

Frances (Reggie's wife) is represented as an unstable person, she's not suited to the limelight lifestyle that she is thrust into by Reggie. She has her individuality taken away from her as Reggie metaphorically suffocated her with affection to the point where she didn't even know what she liked herself- only what reggie liked. She is a weak character and completely in contrast with violet, Reggie and his family attempt to mould her like Violet however it became too much as she was a completely different type of person. Violet and her sisters were completely different to Violet. Violet Kray was the matriarch of the Kray family, she mollycoddled the twins and instilled a sense of vulnerability into the twins, furthermore made them extremely close. She represents the 'rock' of the family, as the Kray's father wasn't very involved or much of a strong character in their life. Therefore violet actually took on both roles and was very well respected. Also the Kray twins Aunt Rose was another main mother figure in their life, much like Violet she was also a strong independent women who cared for their twins as though they were her own and empowered them by telling them that they're invincible.

3.How do the representatives challenge or reinforce these stereotypes? (or do they?)

Frances very much fits the old stereotype of females that they are inferior to men and need to be 'looked after', Reggie seems to think that showering his wife with so much love and affection and gifts that it will keep their marriage strong, when in matter of fact it actually weakens it, and actually weakens her, to the point where she actually takes her life. In comparison to Frances, violet is the complete opposite and challenges this stereotype as she is a strong matriarch in a patriarchal time era.

However she does fit the stereotypical housewife, violet covers both the female and male roles in the household, whilst bringing up her children and doing household chores she also raises the children single handedly and covers everything that a father figure should have done for the twins.

Males:(completed by Marnie)

1. Outline some of the main male and masculine stereotypes that exist in the media broadly. 

There are both positive and negative stereotypical views of males. One of these stereotypes is dominance, some people believe men are in charge and have power over females. Men are also seen as more likely to cause disruption and be involved in anti social behaviour as they are expected to be more violent, which is a negative stereotype of men. Men are often represented as strong and also involved in business. 

2. How are Reginald and Ronnie ( and other male characters ) represented in The Krays.

In the Krays, Ronnie is represented in different ways. Firstly, he is homosexual and has a boyfriend within the film yet is still represented as a strong, invincible man. Ronnie carries out violence in order to satisfy his needs, whereas Reggie carries out violence for business reasons in order to achieve something. Reggie again is represented as a strong, invincible man. During the film he smothers his wife, Frances Kray, and makes her unstable.

3. How do these representations challenge or reinforce these stereotypes. 

The fact that Ronnie is homosexual yet represented as invincible challenges the stereotypes of homosexuals as they are thought to be passive, gentle and friendly towards men however Ronnie is the complete opposite as all the people he shows violence towards are men. Although in other ways the homosexual stereotype is reinforced as he is represented as very fashion and image conscious in the film. Reggie smothers his wife, Francis, this reinforces the stereotype of dominant males.