Attack the Block: Textual Analysis

 Attack the Block: Textual Analysis

Summary of Shot Types/Music & Audio choices and imagery/symbolism of the first 12 minutes:

Moses: Main lead character of the gang (hero)

Sam: Women whom the boys attack (other hero/side kick/heroine?)

Group of boys: Separate protagonists 

Group of girls: Separate protagonists 

Main Girl from their group: Love interest/damsel in distress?

Old women: Possibly the dispatcher to the hero or the helper whom gives advice to the hero

• 1:30 - Dolly of the stars in a master shot - transition of music from extraterrestrial to fireworks going off - contrast from alien to human life
• 1:35 - Birds eye view/master shot of London Setting - establishing setting
• 1:53 - Medium Shot of audience meeting female, white character - interchanging with the the credits 
• 2:01 - Over the shoulder shot of character with cars flashing by - shown on the phone talking to another character possibly going to be introduced
• 2:08 - Dolly movement and long shot of watching the female character walking - slow pace establishes pacing and setting. Character is dressed in warm winter clothes and hat, connotations of winter and brisk weather. 
• 2:20 - Low, almost worms eye view of her walking - contrast from busy setting to dark street - example of mise-en-scene of eerie, unsettling neighbourhood as well as kids playing with fireworks establishing type of setting
• 2:25 - Birds eye view shot - establishing setting
• 2:30 - Music change to more high pitched audio, thus having connotations of danger - behind shot - no one in the shot but her (she is alone and possibly vulnerable)
• 2:36 - Pan movement to graffiti on brick wall - physical symbolisation of gangs in London (mise-en-scene)
• 2:38 - Fireworks still going off in the same rhythm of the music - flashes of light create tension - moving from a medium close up to a long shot of characters face demonstrates clearly she is scared
• 2:58 - Music change to a more dramatic tone - contrast to a close up of the female character and dark, shadowy figures in a long shot - sense of fear
• 2:59 - Huddle of dark figures in long shot - leading lines of street draw our eyes and attention to these new characters
• 3:03 - Change in mood of characters face - scared and worried 
• 3:05 - Whispers of audio heard from this gang - dark hoodies and jackets as well as face masks hiding their faces has strong symbolisation of danger and 'thugs' 
• 3:13 - Over the shoulder of women - we are on her side (in her position) as music gets more suspenseful 
• 3:24 - Music goes to an all high - shot quickly changing from female character to the gang circling her - gangster/animal imagery (stalking prey - predator VS prey)
• 3:26 - "Ah fuck" line is a strong connotation of danger - we know as an audience something bad is going to happen 
• 3:27 - Loud bang of music audio as the female character turns around to see one of the members of the gang (other main character) - Tall, black male with hooded clothes and broody features 
• 3:31 - "gimme the phone"/ "money" - we quickly understand this is a robbery - quick pase of camera movements symbolises fear from the female character 
• 3:42 - Close up of blade held in the male characters hand - connotations of danger/murder - the low shot of the shot two demonstrates the audience is the observer in this scene 
• 3:50 - Interchange of quick shots - tension built up as the female character falls to the ground in fear - looking down on her shot demonstrates the gang is above her in power
• 3:53 - Low shot, same level as the women, thus demonstrating we are on her side - the gang circles around her, consuming the square angle of the shot - taking up space - demonstrates there are many of them and she is outnumbered 
• 3:58 - The line "fuck the feds" is a demonstration of the films political stand point - possible underlying  theme of film 
• 4:04 - Quick interchange to long shot of the sky - music becomes louder and more dangerous - beam of star falling out of the sky 
• 4:07 - Loud crash and blaze off commit crashes and destroys car - the gang of boys run away out of shot (symbolism of law crashing down on them for their actions?)
• 4:20 - Young women runs away - this is what the gang of boys are focused on and not the explosion, thus demonstrating their priorities 
• 4:30 - "bare valuables in there" - fuelling idea that the gang of boys are broke that they willing to loot an explosion - need to steal
• 4:33 - dolly shot of the main gang character looking into the cars with out of focus parts of the car in the foreground - eerie music foreshadowing what will happen
• 4:49 - Close up high pitched scream of an alien - close up of its face screaming into the camera (almost like a jump scare) - design if monster possible intertextual reference to the movie 'alien' 
• 4:52 - Scream of boy screaming with the scream of the monster on top of the main gang character 'Moses'
• 4:57 - Close of switchblade we saw before but now in an attack on the alien that Moses attacks (mini version of Todorov's Narrative Stages already over e.g. hero kills monster)
• 5:02 - classic music high pitch fade as monster runs away 
• 5:05 - Circle of shape of the wire in which the monster ran through - evokes dangerous size of the creature - tunnel vision of shot - everything out of focus on the sides of screen but this
• 5:19 - Intention of the next part of the scene set of by the hero - he will kill the monster as music picks up again
• 5:22 - Music met with the pace of the gang walking towards the monster (low shot)
• 5:28 - Classic chase music met with eerie alien music when characters face and monsters face are shown
• 5:29 - Huddle of boys while the monster is in a corner - man VS monster imagery - light up of fireworks (red lights has imagery of danger) - throw a firework cracker into the aliens small space
• 5:50 - Alien has run into a dark enclosed space of an abandoned cabin - sympathy for the alien as it is scared 
• 5:55 - Enclosed space lit up with the light fo the firework in contrast to the faces of the gang
• 6:02 - Crying of alien - met with fireworks in dark and bright light imagery with close up shots of the aliens face - sympathy and empathy for the alien as it is scared and in pain
• 6:12 - Gang of boys run into the small cabin this being met with the screams of the monster - illusion that they are killing the alien 
• 6:35 - Long/master shot of the boys leaving the small cabin as the screams of the monster fade away 
• 6:49 - Speech establishes it was an alien from another world - all expressions of the similar side characters are the same childish looks while the main character (the hero) is in a serious, broody expression
• 7:03 - The gang of boys lift up the alien in the air - savage/barbaric imagery - the line "nobody fucks with the block" - possible slogan of the film? - this is met with gangster, London music of the film and audio of fireworks going off as the camera pans upwards to the sky 
• 7:13 - Night sky shot of the creates feeling that there may be another creature 
• 7:20 - Another bright light meets this question as we realise there is another creature coming down to earth
• 7:29 - Camera zooms in as music picks up to imagery of multiple comets/stars falling down to earth - symbolism of an alien invasion 
• 7:31 - This imagery is met with the title of the film - Star Wars intertextual reference as the font and size of the text is imposing and is much like the Star Wars style font - music is similar to the large, overbearing style of the font
• 7:45 - Interchange with the lights of the sky to a building with blinding lights
• 7:50 - Camera pans down to reveal a large building from the stars - mise-en-scene of the setting as a sign reveals the setting name, this being 'Wyndom Tower'
• 8:00 - Music calms down as we pan right to see the women from before walking home
• 8:02 - Close up of an old women seeing if the other main female character is okay - she is out of breath and has a terrified expression
• 8:12 - Old women invites her to her flat - long shot of them walking together - theme is comforting and safe from a woman's point of view
• 8:13 - Instant change to close up main female characters hands shaking holding a glass of water (demonstrates impact of gangs in London)
• 8:24 - Imagery of flashing fireworks and audio reminds us of earlier scene 
• 8:34 - The line from the old women "If there were a war out there you wouldn’t know the difference" - ironic what just happened in the narrative
• 8:45 - Commentary of Police - political stand point of the film - the police do not help
• 8:49 - The old women makes the comment about the gangs on the streets, "great big dogs like they own the block" - ironic as a dog like alien is taking over the block
• 8:54 - Again the line, "monsters" is ironic (dramatic irony)
• 8:58 - After this line there is a immediate change in shot to the gang of boys dragging alien in a close up - shape and form of alien is gritty, slimy and unearthly
• 9:09 - High pitched sound - music is unconventional and almost irritating 
• 9:26 - The line "Beast of Brixton" is heard - sense of irony
• 9:35 - Contrast between characters phone calls - one gang member is on the phone bragging about the murder of the alien and one is calling his mother - demonstrates they are nothing but little boys at the start of the film - line "I'll be back by 10"
• 9:59 - Change to more electronic music - behind shoulder shot of the group of boys entering a new setting
• 10:08 - Contrast to group of girls in a circle commenting on the alien
• 10:19 - Comments about the creature are not scared but almost grossed out by it - desensitised to horrific things - maybe because of the brutal area they are in
• 10:30 - Sexual/childish comments from the group of female characters demonstrates their demeanour 
• 10:49 - Conversation between main male and female character of both group has an almost romantic quality - setting up stereotype she is the 'princess' needing to be saved
• 11:03 - Switch to longer/medium low shot of boys walking over a bridge - one character saying he can jump a height but fails - seemingly pointless scene but may be a reference to something that may happen later 
• 11:11 - We switch to a close up of two young boys throwing things in a lit up trash can 
• 11:41 - The young boys are wanting to be apart of the gang - the group fo older boys are a bad representation for younger children (significance for age rating?)
• 11:43 - Change in music - more scary and powering in quick shots of worms eye view of audience looking up at the building 
• 12:11 - We switch a pan/dolly of a white, young man listening to music - pan up from his feet to his face - listening to a conventionally 'black' song - stereotyping black and white culture.

Camera work:

The camera work of the first the minutes of the film consist of many long/master and medium close up shots, these vary from birds eye view and worms eye view angles. These are used to establish the setting and characters within the narrative, many of them hold emotion of the characters facial expressions and tone of the dreary setting. Moreover, the Director uses many pans and dolly's throughout the opening, establishing symbolism form the alien invasion in the upper sky shots to, panning to symbolic graffiti on walls, the forms of the characters and alien as well as moving with the character to establish the pace of the film so far. 

The camera technique's change from the robbery scene to the flat in which the character 'Sam' is invited too by the old women. The robbery scene is fast paced and filled with tension and action, the camera shots and movements consisting of mash cuts, cutting and extreme close ups, close ups, medium shots and long shots, all always directed towards the characters. I find it interesting the Director chose to use a lower works eye view from the women point of view when looking up at the gang of boys, demonstrating subtly she is lower than them and not treated as an equal; this is also done to the audience to create a sense of fear of them. In contrast to this, the flat scene is much more calm and slow pased, this is because we see the 'Sam' and the old woman having a conversation on a sofa, this having connotations of safety and security compared to the outside setting of London.

Editing:

The editing of the first the minutes is build in small acts, first used to establish the female, white character 'Sam' and then the group of boys, the main character being 'Moses'. The editing is used to show fast paced action between quick moving shots and keep the flow of the narrative going; from watching the opening three times over I understand there was no conjunction break between scenes as there was always an action/speech happening. As well as this the setting of the scenes are all at night, as filming at night can produce pixelated, unclear footage, the filming must have been done during the day and then in editing a filter of dark, blue tones must have been overlaid on the footage.

Mise-en-scene:

Within the first 10 minutes of the film there is various demonstrations of mise-en-scene, this including the fashion and outfits of our characters. The first female character we meet is dressed in typical winter clothes, easily conveying the setting is cold and in the season of December; as these are typical clothes we do not see her a threatening character but more relatable and average. Next, we have the group of boys, they are displayed to be in dark, hooded clothing, from track pants and hoodies with caps and masks hiding their faces; these have connotations of danger and 'gang' like fashion. Through this, we understand the characters are threatening and the possible villains or antagonists off the narrative. Moreover, we see the main character of this group 'Moses', holding a switchblade, this having obvious connotations of death, murder and violence, evoking the idea that they are a dangerous group. To add to this, most of these characters talk in stereotypical London slang, conventionally we can label this group as 'road-men' type protagonists. The setting gives us an easy idea that they are in a dangerous part of London as there is many uses of audio of fireworks and screaming teenagers; this evokes the idea that the target audience is meant for teenagers also. Lastly, the appearance and design of the alien like creature is very much similar to that of the 'alien' movie, this could be an intertextual reference to this and or the movie 'Gremlins'. 

Sound/Audio:

The majority of the music is used to build up tension within each scene, ranging from stereotypical London music to orchestra theatrical of loud, booming music when there is an action scene. Also, the music changes to more electronica, extraterrestrial music when the images of the alien or the sky is shown on screen, both of these are an example of 'diegetic music'. Other audio is used for the dialogue of the characters, this is similar to most films and doesn't vary; however, from the beginning of the narrative most fo the dialogue consists of slurs and swears, thus creating an unsettling and mature tone. We also hear sounds of fireworks throughout, these boom across the screen and create a tension within the narrative when there is a dramatic action scene. 

There is also a great use of sound effects, this being when the alien crashes down onto the car, the audio of an explosion is used as well as the sound of fire crackling; this is commonly used in action scenes that involve explosions and bombs. 

Working and Middle Class: 

Throughout the first ten minutes of the film, we understand that each of the characters shown are either middle or lower class in terms of their geography, this can be evidenced through the dreary setting London and the possible council houses shown, as well as the clothes that they are wearing which is typical of this behavioural geographic. 

London:

The setting of Brixton, London is stereotypical of the mix of the 'gangster' type groups and wealthy groups of individuals, thus creating a great contrast between different geographic's and behavioural of characters. London is a central symbol of the UK and is used commonly is film as a stereotype for the UK. Brixton, however is a commonly known lower class burrow of London, it's stereotypes involving 'ravers and rioters'. Many online quotes from the internet entail it to be, “It's south London's living-it-large capital,” claims Lewis, “It's got so much from a music and clubbing point of view that the well-paid Australians are leaving Clapham and graduating here.” 

Youth:

Youth is a strong theme within the narrative so far, nearly all characters are teenagers and or young adults, this is then a direct reference to the target audience. Youth is a common trope within London and establishes some of the themes that may be set up for the rest of the narrative, this being: drugs, partying, alcohol, sex, crime, friendships/relationships and more.

Race:

Race is also a large part of the narrative so far, the main character being British black, as well as many of the side characters being this also. There is a contrast between the white female lead who is stereotypically well mannered and behaved, this then could be a problem for the film racially profiling people as those of different race are demonstrated as thugs and gangsters.