Messages And Values in The Opening Sequence Of Harry Brown.

Value: The importance of human life.
Message: Criminality spiralling out of control, fractured community.
Message: Respect (lack of it)
Message: Loneliness of old age
Message: Appearence and reality, and people not being what they expected to be.
Message: No value of authority figures.

Bullet Boy Show Me Task;

How mise- en- scene shows deprivation and poverty;

• Windows boarded up.
• Flats, unfurnished and undecorated.
• Graffiti and smashed windows.
• Small cramped rooms (Curtis and Ricky sharing a bedroom).
• Council estates.

Male and Female representations in Bullet Boy

Beverley-          

• Strong mother.
• Cares about whats best for her children.
• Single parent
• Hardworking, determined to be a good role model.
• Surviving in an environment where she's not expected to succeed.
• Selfless. 
• Example: Kicks Ricky out in order to protect Curtis and prevent him from following the same life path as Ricky.

Shea-

• Cares for Ricky
• Wants him to stay out of crime.
• Strong.
• Cant cope with Ricky being involved with crime.
• Gives Ricky chance after chance.
• Not able to change Ricky.
• Example: At the end of the film she wont let Ricky in and is crying because she's so frustrated with him and his involvement in crime.

Comparison (Females): Both Beverley and Shea are strong characters, they both want Ricky to come away from his criminal past and start again. Furthermore both characters seem to shut Ricky out as they cannot cope with his constant involvement in crime- Shea wont let Ricky into her house and Beverley kicks Ricky out for the sake of Curtis.


Ricky-

• Ex convict.
• Involved in crime.
• Loyal to his best friend wisdom.
• Can't escape his life of crime.
• Reluctant to carry on participating in crime.
• Example: Keeps trying to persuade Wisdom to leave the conflict and stop getting involved in crime.

Wisdom-

• Depends upon crime subconsciously
• Can't escape his life of crime.
• Scared to lose face/ his reputation.
• He spirals out of control with crime.
• Vulnerable, as all he knows is crime.
• Retaliates to Godfrey.
• Pulls Ricky into his old criminal ways.
• Example: In the garage scene, Ricky tells Wisdom to get out and stop the crime, however he doesn't know how to because he doesn't know any better.

Comparison (Males): Wisdom and Ricky seem to have both come from a life of crime, however as Ricky was sentenced and let out of prison it seemed to have changed his attitude to crime, as he'd rather not be involved in it. His loyalty to Wisdom affects him and drags him back into his old criminal ways. Both characters die, however Ricky ironically dies whilst attempting to escape crime, whereas Wisdom dies from his involvement in crime.

Themes and Issues in; The Krays, Bullet Boy, Harry Brown.

The Krays

•       Organised crime

•       Gun culture

•       A life of crime (i.e. crime as a profession)

•       Honour among villains

•       Loyalty and brotherhood

•       Gritty and realistic depictions of crime

•       Failure of law and the police

•       Appearance and reality

Bullet Boy

•       Poverty and deprivation

•       Gang crime

•       Gun culture

•       A life of crime (i.e. falling unwillingly into crime)

•       Desire to break away from criminal influences

•       Access to guns, especially for youngsters

•       Youth, the pressures on youth and a lack of opportunity, especially for black working class youth

•       Gritty and realistic depictions of crime

•       Innocent victims

•       Breakdown of the family

•       Strong female characters

•       Failure of the justice system

•       Under-privilege/disadvantage

Harry Brown

•       Drug abuse

•       Gang crime

•       Gun culture

•       Housing estates and the failure of social housing

•       Age (old age in particular)

•       Honour among criminals (how does this compare to The Krays?)

•       Gritty and realistic depictions of crime

•       Fractured British Society

•       The professionalism of the police

•       Strong female characters

•       Innocent victims

•       Breakdown of the family

•       Ineffective law enforcement and the failure of society to hold it to account

•       Sexual Abuse