Introduction To Kidulthood
The film starts with credits, by naming the producers and distributors of the film. When the screen shows “a Stealth films/Cipher films production” the mood and atmosphere of the film itself begins. The text phases in, slowly moves across the screen and phases out again. More importantly sinister music begins in the background, along with the diegetic sound of school children playing. These two contradictory sounds create a sinister atmosphere. The director’s rationale for this is to show the audience that school life is not innocent and that this film explores the darker aspect of teenage life.
The text then cuts to the title of Kidulthood, which has a unique font, in the sense it is designed to represent youth. The cracks in the title signify rebellion, but it could also signify knife crime amongst youths as the cracks give the title a sharp, jagged effect. The significance of rebellion and knife crime are that they are two features often linked to youths, therefore the director is telling us that these themes are a major part of the film, and that this is the representation created about teenagers in today’s society.
The music and children shouting act as a sound bridge to the first sequence of the introduction to the film. The first image we are shown is somebody playing with a football. The shot is a close up and is edited to be shown in slow motion. This is so that we have a better view of how the football is controlled, which is a statement on how society is constantly trying to control youths. The next shot is showing two girls (Alyssa and friend), and they are in (good) focus and they are shown in fast motion, as opposed to the previous shot where everything is blurry and shot in slow motion. The director’s rationale of the first shot is to show the audience the school atmosphere. This is done through the use of costume, as we can see the figure playing football is in school trousers. The shot of the two girls is in fast motion, however due to the focus, we can see they will be key characters. The costumes they are wearing are significant, as their ties are not properly done up, and they aren’t wearing proper school jackets. This links back to the theme of rebellion which is also shown by the editing as the contrast of fast and slow motion is supposed to show how some teenagers comply with society’s laws, whereas others choose to disobey it.
The following shot is of another two girls (Katie and friend), however this is once again shown in slow motion. There is also a zoom up to the characters, showing that at least one of the characters is vital to the rest of the film. This shot is also a huge contrast to the previous shot of the two girls, as the costumes they are wearing is more formal and less rebellious (as they are only wearing uniforms, no hoodies or piercing), and the slow motion contrasts to the fast motion. The synthesis of these two elements represent the type youth who doesn’t try to cause trouble, and breaks the stereotype of knife crime. This representation leads us to believe the director does not agree with the negative portrayals shown to us by the media.
The next shot in this sequence shows three boys, who are not in school uniform talking to each other. Their costume suggests that they are in Sixth Form, and are therefore instantly given more authority than the other characters we have already seen. The character on the left (Sam) has his hood up, which holds many connotations of youth violence, knife crimes and general crime. The hoodie also gives him authority, as well as the assumption that he is in sixth form, as it instantly conveys danger and rebellion. His representation is key to the film because it is the representation most commonly given to us by the media, meaning his role is vital to the film as he is the stereotype teenager of today’s society.
All of these shots are medium shots and are hand held. This creates a sense of realism in the shots, as it appears as though it is just another student observing the characters. The shot also feels as though it is news footage. This effect combined with the speed of the shots creates a hectic mood, which is something that reflects the mood of a real school, and the news footage element leads the audience to believe that the director is representing school to be something bad enough that it could be in a news report. However, nothing negative is happening in any of these shots, so the director’s rationale is to show that it is perhaps the way that teenagers are viewed that is causing there to be an apparent upturn in youth crime.
For the start of the next sequence we see a close up of school equipment being used to make something. More precisely we see a drill making a hole in something, which leaves us with a sinister mood, as the drill accompanied by the dark, edgy music leads us to believe that whatever is being made isn’t out of good intentions. The fact that no one else is in the shot and that the person and object being made is unclear causes a sense of paranoia.
The following shots are of Alyssa and her friend, and it is the first time we hear proper speech in the film. What they are saying isn’t particularly significant, however Alyssa is looking directly at the camera in this shot, which is significant. The director’s rationale for this is to make her stand out from all the other students around her who are acting in the usual hectic manner. Her non-responsiveness to the students around her suggests that something is troubling her. The speech of her friend is important, but it isn’t what she says it’s how she says it. Her mode of address is quite stereotypical to the representation the director has already given her, through the use of her costume (which is informal jackets that are clearly not part of the school uniform). Furthermore her accent and speech pattern is what most people would associate anti-social youths with.
The camera then pans to two boys handing out invitations to a party. The characters themselves are not so important, as they do not explore any new representations of youths, and they weren’t shown in the earlier sequence. But the fact that the director has chosen to highlight their conversation suggests that the party will be a key event later on in the film. Furthermore, this snippet of conversation shows that parties are a key part of many teenagers’ lives, which is quite negative, as parties are often associated with underage drinking, sex and drugs. This shows us the director believes that youths are out of control.
Momentarily, we are once again exposed to people playing football, and then we see a low angle close up of the boy (Trife) who is using the school equipment to make something. In the close up we see Trife put on safety glasses, which creates a sense of danger in what he is doing. There is then a close up of a drill. The director’s rationale behind these two shots is to show the audience he is doing something dangerous, and the low angle suggests he is in control of what he is doing, meaning he is fully aware of his irresponsible actions. However, this sequence also shows that Trife is clearly gifted at some aspect of his education, so perhaps the point of this is to also show how he is wasting a useful, professional talent by doing something irresponsible.
The next shot is back to Alyssa and her friend talking. Alyssa is once again looking at the camera, suggesting her disinterest to what is happening around her. Furthermore, she is looking into the camera to show the audience that something is troubling her, hence the reason she isn’t acting like the students around her. During this time, her friend is talking to her, and she says “brush your teeth after you lick me out”. This is a sexual reference and the way she delivers the line is as if its normal conversation. This is quite outrageous coming from a teenager, who would be underage for sex anyway. The director rationale for her saying this is to show audience that youths are exposed to too much at an age too young, and that things that are bad are a large part of many of teenagers lives. This representation is meant to shock the audience into realising that youths are doing things considered beyond their age.
The camera then cuts to a POV shot of a boy (Moony) playing on a gameboy. Alyssa’s friend then says “Moony’s buff”. This type of speech pattern once again reinforces the stereotypical image of today’s youths that the director has already previously represented. The camera then cuts back to Alyssa and her friend. Her friend says to Alyssa “you got a spare ‘grette” to which she replies, “I’m giving up”. This short dialogue shows the audience that Alyssa is the more mature out of the two, as if she is trying to break the stereotype.
In the following sequence, Katy and her friend are talking, and her friend asks, “did you finish their coursework”. This shows that Katy is getting bullied at school. The camera then cuts to a shot of the boys, who are obviously the bullies, as the quick editing clearly establishes a link from the victims (Katy and friend) to the bullies (the boys). The director’s rationale of this is to show that bullying is another key element to school, and its important enough for him to refer to.
The camera then cuts back to Alyssa and her friend, but this time they are approached by the boys holding a party. The significant line of this dialogue is, “Mum and dad are away, so anything goes”. This significance of this line is that there is no sense of authority at this party, and people could do anything without consequence. From this line we can infer that the director is trying to say that teenagers are quick to take advantage of any situation, which will lead to a party. This is perhaps because teenagers feel too sheltered and protected as they are always bound by rules at school and at home. This is shown by the two boys eagerness to do something anti-social and potentially illegal
There is then another short football sequence, followed by Sam asking someone, “Pussyhole, you seen Claire around”. The director gets to this shot by having the two boys handing out invites, go out of focus into the background, and Sam comes into focus. The camera then cuts to a boy (Jay) and a girl (Claire) making out behind a tree. This shot is a close up, as opposed to the other shots, which have been medium and handheld as if it was someone at the school observing these events. This shot is different to show that what they are doing is less hectic than everyone else, but they are also getting more attention, because it is revealed that she is cheating on Sam. She then asks him, “are you scared of Sam” and despite his answer his reactions in the close up show he really is. The director rationale of this is to show that in school there is almost a hierarchy, that has to be obeyed by, and in this film Sam is top of the hierarchy.
The camera then reverts back to the shots of Trife making something. The shots are a series of close ups of Trife and the machine at work. In these shots, Trife finally begins to drill something by pushing down on a machine, and at this moment the non-diegetic music becomes tenser, sharper, louder and has more clarity. This is to signify that what he is doing is of some importance, and that there is pressure on him not to get it wrong. The director has purposely had Trife by himself in these shots to tell the audience that what he is doing is completely secretive, but it could also convey that he feels what he is doing needs to be completely secretive, and that he doesn’t have strong enough relationships to tell anyone about the seriousness of what he’s doing.
In the next shot of significance we see Sam bullying Katie and her friend, and asking after Claire. This scene is shot in mediums and close ups, the transition between to the two occurs when someone walks across the scene, this is meant to seem as if many people are watching the event, as the camera is still handheld. This puts emphasis on this sequence, as it shows that bullying is something people are aware of, but would rather distance themselves from it (shown by medium and close up transitions), as opposed to actually helping out the victim. This links back to the idea of there being hierarchies in school, in the sense that no one will stand up to the one who is a rebel in a hoodie.
All of the shots (excluding those that have been listed as a close up) are done in medium shots, and the camera is handheld. The speed at which the cuts change from sequence to sequence is also significant. The director’s rationale is to create a sense of realism, by making the camera seem POV (This realism is enhanced by the naturalism of the mise-en-scene, such as natural lighting, natural school environment, appropriate costumes etc. as well as the speech pattern being very true to what we hear from some teenagers). The director is also trying to convey, through the speed of the shots, that a lot can happen in a few minutes of school, and he is also trying to shock the audience by the content of what can happen in these few minutes.
The final sequence shows Trife finishing off whatever it is he’s making. However, there is a sense of urgency this time as the close-ups show Trife momentarily looking away from what he is doing, to check no one is around. There is then a close up of the drill coming away from the object, signifying its completion. At this point the non-diegetic music eases up to a slower pace, but it still has a sinister feel to it, showing that his whatever he is doing isn’t quite finished. There is then a medium shot of Trife walking around the back of his school, and contrasting the other parts of the scene, the camera isn’t handheld meaning there is no longer a sense of POV, suggesting that whatever he is doing, he doesn’t want to be watched. Finally there is a close up shot of him hiding the object in a yellow bin, and a momentary close-up reaction shot to put emphasis on how secretive he has to be.
Finally the macro meaning of the entire scene is to raise awareness of the issues that go on inside a school. The director has made it in such a way to make the audience realise school is a dangerous place, that has its own rules, besides those is society. It could also be interpreted (by other youths) as something that just happens in day-to-day life, and shouldn’t be made into such a big deal. Furthermore, the director has made school seem a bad place, by the use of natural lighting throughout the scene, which makes everything seem darker, desaturated and more drained of colour. This leads the audience to believe that school is a much tougher place than previously perceived, and that the environments have as much of a say in the way the media portrays teenagers as the actions of the teenagers themselves.
