Essay Question; Living with Crime

How far are the circumstances and choices available to key characters in the films you have studied in this topic relative to their social class?

Both of the British independent films 'Harry Brown' and 'Wild Bill' are imbedded with social class. The British Social structure includes a "class system" which both films focus on, the extreme rich (upperclass) and extreme poor (underclass) - social classes are a convention in the genre of "Living with Crime". The choices available to the key characters due to social class is displayed through miss-en-scene and narrative. 

In the opening of Harry Brown the youths are immediately represented as stereotypical 'yobs'; by breaking the law through the use of underage drinking, and dealing/taking drugs. All of the opening sequence is filmed through the use of a handheld camera, possibly with a mobile camera. The use of a mobile camera shows how they like to document things they've done, and that this is a way of entertainment for them and self-appreciation. 

Essay Question; Lovers on the Lam

How far do the American films you have studied for this topic depend on well established narrative and genre conventions?

Badlands and Natural Born Killers are both films that fall into the 'Lovers on the lam' genre, which includes the genres, Romance, Crime and a 'on the road' film. Both show the genres through the genre conventions, which can be seen in the film narrative, such as the amount of time in both movies spent in a car driving away from police, on the run. 

Badlands is a film based on the true story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Annfuggate, and their killing spree in 1958 - they killed 10 people over a period of 8 days. In 1958 in America, where the film was based, people were poor and in a time of depression, and the 'American Dream' was big, everyone strived for fame. As the film clearly portrays Kip, who acts as Charles Starkweather was self obsessed and egoistic which you can see