Bullet Boy Questions

1. To which character do the title refer to? Explain your answer.

Technically the title could refer to either ; Wisdom, Ricky, Rio, or Curtis as throughout the film they all come into contact with a gun. Personally I think that the title refers to curtis, as he as actually just a boy. In my opinion the film is about him as nearly every decision made in the film affects him somehow, which his mum picks up on later on in the film when she kicks ricky out in order to protect curtis. I think he is the main character and the films about him.


2. What are the main messages, values and social issues in the film?

A major issue present in the film 'Bullet Boy' is conflict. Firstly the most obvious conflict is the physical conflict between the gangs, and as a result of this people end up killed such as Wisdom. This rivalry takes place throughout the film right to the end when a gang murder ricky. However, Ricky also faces an internal conflict, he battles in his mind between his loyalty to his best friend wisdom, and also doing whats best for himself and his family/girlfriend. His loyalty to wisdom gets him into trouble, furthermore he actually ends up dead because of it.

A theme portrayed all the way throughout this film is the deprivation, furthermore poverty. The area is poor, therefore youths have turned to crime in order to maintain their social position, and earn respect from other youths, rather than being valued for their achievements, they judge one another dependant upon their 'street cred'. They are deprived of opportunities to escape their poverty and area, furthrmore it appears as though no one can help , Ricky attempts to make his life better and to escape his life of crime however his loyalty (also another prominent theme) to Wisdom prevents this.


3.How are the people and places represented in the film? Consider:

In my opinion London is quite a diverse area, there is both the wealthy part such as Chelsea and the deprived areas such as those shown in the film, where crime is rife. The stereotypical view of London is that its a place of tourism consisting of things such as Buckingham palace, the London eye and parliament etc.This film explores the less deprived less talked about parts of london that are hidden by the media. Its a more realistic but negative view of London and is actually set in an area referred to as 'the murder mile' therefore I believe that the film is an accurate representation of what the area is like, two people (Wisdom and Ricky) are shot and killed in this film with not much time between the deaths, this also shows that some youths in that area don't place much value upon a life.

A stereotype that is fulfilled is that of youths in deprived areas. They look out for their friends, for example Ricky looks out for Wisdom and vice versa, furthermore Godfrey and his friends also watch out for one another, they all have an obscene amount of loyalty for one another and are willing to put their self in danger in order to look out for their friends. This may be due to the lack of family influence in their life.

Ricky both refutes and follows the stereotype of a black youth. He reinforces the stereotype that he is associated with crime as he has been in prison furthermore owns a gun. However throughout the film we see Ricky develop as he attempts to change his life around for the better, unlike many of the other black youths in the area.

-whether the film offer a realistic view of London. How this representation differs from other common representations of London.

-How the characters challenge and fulfil stereotypes.