Adulthood Opening Sequence

With the opening long shot of sam and the police officer, you get an idea of the situation sam has been in and the malice between sam and the police officer, the use of the dialogue by the officer "its been emotional" further signifies how hard and "emotional" the 6 year jail experience has been for Sam. With the Rule of thirds with Sam and the officer at each side of the screen, you get an idea of the bridge between officer's and inmates. This is a very good opening sequence for a youth culture film as police usually play a major part in them

Kidulthood Opening Sequence

Straight away opening with a panning long shot, the audience is given an idea of the setting and current situation, from this the audience is also given the point of view of a student walking over to different groups in the school to see what everyone's saying. Each group with a unique look, Using the rule of thirds, you can see the more important characters in each group but the rule of thirds is not as important in this films opening sequence. This is not my favourite opening sequence of the one's i watched as it is not unique or very interesting.

\/ What I learned \/

From my research, I've learned from the youth culture synopses that I studied that...

• The most popular youth culture films focus around at least one character and there is a recurring theme of surviving (Them trying to survive their surroundings). e.g ADULTHOOD  "Six years after Sam Peel is released from jail for killing Trife, he realizes that life is no easier on the outside than it was on the inside and he's forced to confront the people he hurt the most."
• The main characters always seem to go through some sort of hardship. e.g KIDULTHOOD "This British drama follows a day in the lives of four poor youths living in an impoverished neighborhood in West London"
• It seems quite common  that the main characters are from underprivileged backgrounds of some sort such as raised by a single parent (dysfunctional) , raised in a working class neighbourhood or they have someone (usually a sibling) in their family who is a gangster of some sort. e.g BULLET BOY "BULLET BOY tells the story of two brothers growing up in one of London's most volatile neighbourhoods, where a minor street clash escalates into a cycle of violence that has tragic repercussions."
• Another common factor of these films is the bad guy (villain), it tends to usually be someone older than the main character who is somewhat more developed. e.g ANUVAHOOD "When our boy starts selling weed to get himself out of trouble, local badman Tyrone is VEX, opening up a world of hurt for Kenneth and his misfit crew."
• There is a common aspect of a character with a struggle for identity. e.g BULLET BOY  "When 18 year old Ricky is released from a Youth Offenders Institute he desperately wants to avoid falling back into his criminal past. However, his claustrophobic world and the huge pressure to conform proves inescapable."
• Prison is usually a key aspect of youth culture films. e.g ADULTHOOD "Six years after Sam Peel is released from jail"
• There is usually some sort of violence involved as well as drugs of some kind. e.g ANUVAHOOD "When our boy starts selling weed to get himself out of trouble"
• There always seems to be a common break in equilibrium, an argument between family/friends. e.g MY BROTHER THE DEVIL "One eventful summer, Rashid's sexual awakening forces Mo to confront his own fears and phobias and threatens to tear the brothers apart."
• A common character is one desperate for change. e.g THIS IS ENGLAND "Finding a new lease of life; girls, parties, Ben Sherman shirts, Doc Martin boots and shaven hairstyles"
• Sometimes the main character is trying to get away from something they regret. e.g TRAINSPOTTING "focusing on Mark Renton and his attempt to give up his heroin habit"

Trainspotting Synopsis

A wild, freeform, Rabelaisian trip through the darkest recesses of Edinburgh low-life, focusing on Mark Renton and his attempt to give up his heroin habit, and how the latter affects his relationship with family and friends: Sean Connery wannabe Sick Boy, dimbulb Spud, psycho Begbie, 14-year-old girlfriend Diane, and clean-cut athlete Tommy, who's never touched drugs but can't help being curious about them... Written by Michael Brooke

This Is England Synopsis

This is England: Mods, New Romantics, and Skinheads are the major youth sub-cultures of this very English summer of 1983 and young 12-year-old Shaun is left wandering aimlessly alone and lost during the start of his school holidays, until his chance meeting with Woody and his fun and friendly Skinhead pack. Finding a new lease of life; girls, parties, Ben Sherman shirts, Doc Martin boots and shaven hairstyles young Shaun is welcomed, life during this summer holiday has got a whole lot better. That is until Combo arrives on the scene bitter, dangerous, racist, militant and psychotic life for young Shaun has just approached his first major crossroads. This is England is a look back at the early eighties of British working-class life through the eyes of young Shaun and his new gang, and dealing with the bitterness of outside influences such as racism and xenophobia, of mass unemployment and the fall out of the Falkland's War; Thatcher's Britain: Did we ever have it so good...

My Brother The Devil Synopsis

Mo is a young boy growing up in a traditional Egyptian household, but beyond the front door of the family's modest London flat is a completely different world - the streets of Hackney. The impressionable Mo idolizes his handsome older brother Rashid and wants to follow is his footsteps. However, Rashid, a charismatic and shrewd member of a local gang, wants a different life for his little brother and deals drugs hoping to put Mo through college. One eventful summer, Rashid's sexual awakening forces Mo to confront his own fears and phobias and threatens to tear the brothers apart. Written by Anonymous

Bullet Boy Synopsis

BULLET BOY tells the story of two brothers growing up in one of London's most volatile neighbourhoods, where a minor street clash escalates into a cycle of violence that has tragic repercussions. A powerful and moving tale of young men on the edge, it reflects an emerging modern reality within Britain's inner cities. The film explores themes of friendship, rivalry and revenge amid a generation of boys to whom guns have become a fact of life. When 18 year old Ricky is released from a Youth Offenders Institute he desperately wants to avoid falling back into his criminal past. However, his claustrophobic world and the huge pressure to conform proves inescapable. Ricky almost immediately gets caught up in a road rage incident involving his best friend, Wisdom, and a local rival - all for the sake of a broken wing-mirror. This minor confrontation quickly develops into a series of tit for tat reprisals that spiral out of control. Ricky's 12 year old brother Curtis is battling his own pressures and is caught between this world and his mum Beverley's competing aspirations for him. Ricky is at a turning point - his mum and girlfriend Shea are struggling to help him stay out of trouble but he owes a debt of allegiance to Wisdom who has already crossed that line. It seems inevitable Ricky will be dragged down with him, but it's also only a matter of time before Curtis - in thrall to the allure of his older brother - will be drawn in too. Bullet Boy inhabits a volatile world where friendships and loyalty are tested to the extreme, the interchange of fate and circumstance seems as casual as a coin toss, and the slightest flare of emotions can set off a devastating ripple of events. The film takes these two boys, their friends, families and enemies through a heady and emotional three days as one gun changes hands leaving in its wake a trail of destruction.