Differences between AYBS and The Inbetweeners

1. Are the jokes being aimed at the same groups of people?

The jokes are not being aimed at the same people anymore because of in AYBS the jokes were aimed at a wide range of people to try and attract a bigger audience with more mature jokes and jokes after each line so they can get lots of jokes to attract a lot of people. However in The Inbetweeners the jokes being used were different as they are being aimed at a much younger audience from the ages of 13-20 as the jokes being used are all reflected to being teenagers. The groups of males and females who used to laugh at separate jokes in AYBS have been converged into laughing at similar jokes.

2. Are stereotypes still being used for non 'PC' comedy?

Stereotypes are still being used in the inbetweeners which is an non PC comedy and this is shown with the stereotype to Neil's dad being a pedophile as he is homosexual which puts it out that all gays are pedophiles which is obviously wrong, also there is other stereotypes like the Dutch girl is addicted to sex as she is from Holland, which puts the stereotype out that all Dutch girls are addicted to sex which is also wrong. Another one is the stereotype that people are boring unless they do something stupid and bizzare like when Will eats a Bonsai tree to prove he is not.

3. Has our sense of humor really advanced?

Our sense of humor has partially advanced; for younger people it has advanced by having not a lot of uses of inuendo's and instead that actual thing being said which can be shown as the pure sickening things that they say on the inbetweeners. However for older people the sense of humor has receded with jokes becoming more mature and harder to find out.

Draw similarities and differences between the style/ use of humor in the "inbetweeners" and AYBS

Are jokes still being aimed at the same groups?

The older generation were the main audience for AYBS so the humor is aimed towards them. Where as in inbetweeners, the comedy side is aimed at the younger audience (late teens to late twenties) although, the parents in inbetweeners have the same sense of humor as parents today.

Are stereotypes still being used for non political correct comedy?

This type of comedy is still used today as although some things are still quite sensitive (homosexual), not all of them are an issue anymore (sex).

Has our sense of humor really advanced?

Our sense of humor has stayed the same over the years, it has just been desensitized, so the jokes are having to become more crud for it to shock and humor people. The humor is much less subtle, things are just said out right.

Questions

Draw similarities and differences between the style and use of humer in 'inbetweeners' and 'Are you being served'?

From watching the Inbetweeners and Are you bring served theirs clear similarities within the humor used. The similarities i noticed was the constant  punch lines. Whats interesting is that inbetweeners use more offensive and sexual themes in there jokes, due to our tolerances today to what classed as acceptable. Both shows share the use of witty jokes. These have obviously been well thought of previously. In both shows they have stereotypical roles, for instance Are you being serves has a very stereotypical homosexual. The inbetweeners does the same thing, where theirs a stereotypical ' Bully '.  Inbetweeners uses the style of humor that  appeals to its audiences, for instance the childish yet offensive humor is what today's youth use and relate with. Are you bring served uses humor a lot of generations would find funny by not pushing boundaries but using comic misunderstandings.

Are jokes still being aimed at the same groups of people?

i think that today their is still a devide, the women makes jokes about men and  

Questions on The Inbetween and Are You Being Served?

Draw similarities and differences between the style/use of humour in 'Inbetweeners' and 'Are You Being Served?'

- Are jokes still being aimed at the same groups of people?
 No, the jokes in Are You Being Served are aimed mainly between males and females e.g the jokes made by the males are about the women and visa versa and their references towards sex are in innuendos. However, in Inbetweeners the jokes appear to be thrown at anybody and there is no specific group that it is targeted at whilst the sexual references are blatantly obvious with the addition of swearing.

- Are stereotypes still being used for non 'pc' comedy?
 In some ways yes as the 'smart' guy of the group is stereotypically boring and poshly accented whilst portrayed as a kill joy for the other males. Whilst in Are You Being Served Mr. Humphry's character is show to be camp with the way he walks and talks. This is stereotypical for a gay man to be portrayed like this but this character being gay is never openly admitted in the show but it is constantly inferred.

- Has our sense of humour really advanced?
Our sense of humour has regressed in terms of what we are meant to see as humourous by the TV companies. It has gone from subtle and whitty hints to painfully obvious 'jokes' that are can be considered inappropriate for a wide variety of people e.g. children. Whereas, in Are You Being Served it is more of a family show

The Inbetweeners + AYBS

Are jokes still being aimed at the same groups of people?

The inbetweeners is aimed at the same group of people as "are you being served". The charecters in the Inbetweeners are aiming the jokes at the teenage population, you can tell this through the grammer and lanhuage which is used. For example the direct use of sexual language and swearing.

Are strereotypes still being used for non 'PC' comedy?

when they call neils dad is called a gay and a peadofile this is no polically correct in today society. The reason is this is that some people may take offence to this. Also in AYBS there is a gay man in this but it never refers to him being gay, this is the differnce between the two.

Has our sence of humour really advanced?

Since AYBS the british sense of humor hasnt changed to a great deal. You can see that the jokes are still basicly the same but the ounch lines are much more obviious and have more swear wordds in it.

Similarities between Inbetweeners and Are You Being Served?

1. I believe the jokes are still aimed at the same people. The teenagers in inbetweens are aiming their jokes at teenagers of today. This is done through the language and grammar they use. Where as in Are you being served the jokes are aimed at males and females of middle age. Inbetweeners links with this when the dad makes jokes. These are aimed at men of this age.


2. Where as in are you being served where the used a gay person for the politically correct jokes in inbetweeners they don't do this. They don't use any characters meeting stereotypes and this may be because the world is so politically correct and therefore they are scared to make any jokes related to this as it may be deemed racist, sexist or homophobic. However neil's dad is deemed as gay and yet he doesn't meet the stereotype of this when seen visually.

3. I believe the sense of humour has changed. There are less punch line jokes but more anecdotes used throughout the program. This can show that we are harder to make laugh in this modern day and need more of a build of mature jokes as a pose to predictable jokes that are deemed as unfunny and immature.

Questions on the Inbetweeners and AYBS

Draw similarities and differences between the style and use of humour in the 'Inbetweeners' and 'Are you being served

Are the jokes still being aimed at the same groups?
Jokes now still tend to be heavily sexual. However, in AYBS the male jokes are aimed at women and vice versa. This is still evident in the Inbetweeners. The Inbetweeners however, being modern, is much more blunt and crude. It is definitely aimed at a younger audience than AYBS and this is shown through both the jokes and the age of the characters.

Are stereotypes still being used for non PC comedy?
In AYBS, one of the stereotypes is of a gay man but it's never mentioned that he's gay. However in more modern shows, like the Inbetweeners, it is made more obvious and the stereotypes are exaggerated.

Has our sense of humour advanced?
We are more open about things, such as sexuality and race, but we still make fun of them as we find the same things funny. It's more that our way of expressing the humour that has advanced, as opposed to the humour itself.

Collective Indentities and Theorists

1) It is hard to argue that there are any strong collective identities in the modern day as there is so much variety and options that people can choose to dress with and the invention of the Internet makes many identities get old very quickly.
An collective identity that is quite strong today are people who play computer games such as World of Warcraft or Call of Duty, they are usually portrayed as being quite nerdy, not really caring about their personal appearances. However a fashion movement that has come out of this is geek / sheek, people who dress similar to a stereotypical nerd eg big glasses vests and make it look stylish and 'cool'.
Another Collective identity that has become quite popular are emos, people who are emos generally dress in black with black hair etc this fashion movement was derived from punks however emos are more often then not quieter and less misbehaved than punks.

2) Stryker's would say that all the nerds/geeks will be more likely to group together because they have similar appearances so they think that they will be the most likely to get along with people who look the same.
A key scene from Fish Tank that shows this is when Mia goes out with the gypsy because they have similar dress senses and moral values so they are drawn to each other because they feel more comfortable around similar people.

Althusser's theory dictates that the mass media turns the acts of an individual or group into how the whole collective identity is represented, for example many people believe that all emos are self-harmers however this is not the case but the majority of people believe this because a very small minority of emos do. This is called interpellation when somebody makes a decision on someone because of the ideology connected with their appearance/ race or gender.
A key scene from Alfie that shows this is when Gilda asks Aflie what time he will be home and he becomes angry and says "I'll be home when I'm home!", this and other scenes throughout the film especially when Gilda is with Alfie being told what to do would make us believe that all women in the 60's were just bossed around by men and that they just stayed at home however this wasn't the case. Through the media of film we could easily believe that this was true as it is shown as being the case so many times in the film.

Marcuse's theory tells us that the mass media forms our opinion of a collective identity so how we react to different people won't be based on our own experience but on the sometimes twisted reality that the media portrays them. For example adults will try to avoid teenagers especially if they are wearing hoods even though they might not be doing anything wrong and even if they have had no previous bad experiences with teenagers, they avoid them because the mass media represents them in a bad light.
A key scene from Kidulthood to show this is when a teacher is telling all the kids to go back inside for lesson, one of the kids gets up in his face but instead of confronting the kid he backs away and does something else because he believes that all kids/ teenagers carry knifes or are violent even though the vast majority aren't.

1. Are there any cultural or fashion movements taking place in Britain now, that you think would be strong enough to form a collective identity?

Indie - revolves around music, moving away from mainstream
Emo - Emotional and deep, musical, don't tend to mix with other social groups
Preppy - Middle class mimicking upper class. E.g Jack Wills, Joules,


Nerds/Geeks - socially inept,

2.

Styder : In Fish Tank, the girls at the beginning that are dancing dress the same, act the same and talk the same. This helps to identify their social group.

Althusser: In Kidulthood, all the characters in the act in the same way, the boys coming across as badly behaved, members if gangs and into drugs, and the girls are represented as being "slutty" and treated as property of they boys. People who are not involved in things such as this, and don't live in areas where this kind of thing is normal, will get the impression that everyone from places such as this e.g London, behave in this way.

3. Films such as Alife and Mia do this, as they present males and females in specific ways. Both films show masculinity as being about sleeping around, drinking and providing for their "family". This image is then forced upon the viewer and taken in as being the right way to be.

Blog Task

1. Are there any cultural or fashion movemnet taking places in Britain now, that you think would be strong enough to form a collective identity.

Currently there are a number of cultural and fashion movement taking places in Britain for example Emos and Goths who wear black clothes, black or very dark hair, where make up and eye shadow even males and in general everything about the way the choose to show to others is very dark. Also young people mainly males in London choose to be in a gang and wear iconic clothes such as baseball hats, hoodys and sneakers/ trainers.    


2. Argue ways that you could relate each theorists argument to one of our case study. 

A scene from kidulthood when Trevor, moony and jay get started on in ally way at the back of oxford street and one of them pulls out a knife to defend him self. this action can reflect on a lot of kidulthood viewers and also the way they talk and dress. many young viewers can relate to the situation and behave in the same way after seeing the film.   

the music in kidulthood is mainly hip hop, grime and gangster rap, which is very violent, sexual and discriminative towards surtan

Blog Task

1) Are there any cultural or fashion movements taking place in Britain now, that you think would be strong enough to form  a collective identitiy?

A fashion movement that is taking place in Britian now which is strong enough to form an collective identity is the Indie's. And this is a group of people who dress similar, listen to similar music, they like to hang around with people from the same collective identity too.

2)Argue ways that you could relate each theorists arguement to one of our case study texts?


Stryder:

The film that uses the theory of Stryder is definatley Fish Tank as it shows us behavior which shows the identity of people being poor, less educated and living lower qualitys of life which makes the audience have social expectations/stereotypes of people living in lower quality areas.

Althusser:


Althusser theory is also used in fish r

1. Are there any cultural or fashion movements taking place in Britain now, that you think we be strong enough to form a ' Collective Idenity'.

Football Hooligans - they all wear casual clothing to fit in with the public, stone island for example. The may change there fashion sence and public behavour to fit in with there crew! They fight in numbers which     is another trait of the hooligan life. Many people join these gangs to fit in with there football teams and feel safe in numbers. Additionally, there a particular football teams which are associated with Hooligans for example West Ham and Millwall.

2. Argue ways that you could relate each theorist arguments to one of our case study texts. ( use key scenes to support your answer)

In the film Fish Tank, Stryker's theory of behaviors that become social expectations, are visable in the way which Mia dresses and the way in which she composes her self. Mia's behavior is common on most council  estates in Essex, the  scene where you see her headbutt another girl on the estate is normal and does not look like it is throwned upon by the other characters. Additionally Mia dresses like other people on the estate, for example in cheap clothing such as trackies and strappy tops ( Chavy clothes).

altheusser

Collective identity questions and theorist arguments.

1)Are there any cultural or fashion movements taking place in Britain now, that you think would be strong enough to form a 'collective identity'

 

  At the moment there are no strong cultural or fashion movements that justify being called a collective identity in Britain.The cultural and fashion movements taking place in Britain have changed since the 60's, this is due to the advance of the internet and other media technologies. Because of how instantaneously news is circulated and the fashion world is using blogs and other websites such as twitter and facebook, this makes it easier to spread a certain trend thus rendering the older trends redundant.

2) Argue ways that you could relate each theorists argument to one of our case study texts. (use key scenes to support your answers)

      Stryker's theory of identity negotiation can be applied clearly to An Education. These elements relate because there is a clear division between role and social expectations of men and women at that time. For example, in one scene her father displays his disapproval of her education once she becomes engaged to David, he then goes on to reveal that she will not need an Oxford education if she is to be married. This shows that Jenny's role has now changed from becoming a highly educated and high earning woman to someone's house wife. This was very typical back in the 60s as it was not seen as appropriate for a married woman to have a career as their 'jobs' were supposed to be being the wife and mother.

      Marcusse's theory of mass media...to be continued...

       Althusser's

Interpellatoin

If members of the public have heard bad press about young people of London then this may autimatically set a persons view on these people through what they have heard in the media and not through meeting them. For example, in Kidulthood Trevar tries to help the girl who commits suicide but when trying to get a taxi, they get turned down as they have been stereotyped that they will jump it and won't pay.

labeling and identity

In the film Fishtank, we have a representatoin of a lower class youth called mia. The sterotypical behaviours associated with the youth culture today reflect crime, little respect for adults and 'yobish' behavouir. In the film the directer pertrays Mia with these trates but also shows reasons for this. This ties in with Stricker's theories that certain groups are labelled and have there own identity. In Alfie people follow the trend of what he says as he is a very confident person. This means that people are scared to question him and trust what he says. This backs up Strykers view. In An Education you can tell what people are like and their behaviours by the way they dress. For example, Dave is always dressed in a smart suit and speaks with with good levels of vocalbulary and this reflects Strykers therory.

Are there any cutural or fashion movements taking place in britain now, that you think would be strong enough to form a collective identiy.
Indie movement
skinny jeans and plimpsoles
Gypsies



Argue ways that you could relate each theorist arguments to one of our case study texts.

Stryker

Copy the behaviour to be similar or the same as somewhere else this is shown in kidulthood in the scene where the boy pulls out a knife to defend himself , this has caused an increase in knife crime in london, and more teenage people living in London now carry a knife.


Althusser

Marcuse

Kidulthood is a film which reflects the way britain is 2005 onwards, in the scene where Trifes mate is trying to get a taxi to trifes house, every single taxi driver just drives past him , this is because of racism.
The papers portray the black population of london as being hoodies and youths and being part of gangs and being most commonly the reason for stabbings and street fights.

 1. Initially do you think Mia see's Connor as a father figure?

Initially Mia see's connor as an fatherly figure because from the actions you see that she looks up to him. Additionally you see that Mia goes to him about advice and money which shows that she looks apon him as fatherly figure. As the movie drew on you saw that she looked apon him as more of an sexual object than a fatherly figure for examlpe when she videos him while changing.

2. What does the film say about family in Britain today ?

This films shows that familys of today have issues that might not have been present in older Britain, for example the dancing, and the pedofillic acts that were present. Furthermore in this film you see and middle class man having an affair with an lower class female. This shows that there is not as much of a gap between classes.

3. have your opinions of the charcters changed since watching the film?

Fish Tank.

1) Initially do you think Mia sees Connor as a father figure?

I think that Conner is a father figure for Mia, his is because he helps her with her problems, gives her money, talks to her in a nice way and also looks after her for example when her foot started to bleed and he put a bandage on the foot. 

2) What does the film make you think about the current state of British families?

Over all i think that the film doesn't show how all of the families behave. However I think that a lot of British families are in this current state, especially the ones who live on council estates.

3) Now you have seen the film, have your opinions of the characters changed?

What does the Film say abut Family Unit today? / Have our opinions changed from what we read in the article?

1. What it seems like from this film is that single parent family's have no boundries and are more common in this film. However Connor's family, which we only discover at the end of the film, are seemingly a 'nuclear' family. However, even this family are unconventional in some way, as Connor is cheating on his wife with Mia's mum AND Mia :/ This shows that there is no such thing as a 'conventional' family unit.

2. At the beginning we all thought we didn't like her. However now, we see her selfish and jealous out of control behaviour was due to the lack of love from her mother. Therefore, it appears to be less of her fault, however, being human, we all have choices and luckily she chooses to turn her life around at the end.

Initially, is Connor a father figure for Mia?

Mia see's Connor as not her father figure, but one for her younger sister Tyler and that of his own child. The way Mia see's Connor is that of a lover, at first Mia saw him as just a money tree and then her feelings grew.

When Mia found out Connor in actual fact had a family of his own, she became jealous which is the root of her anger and other emotions.

Fish Tank Questions

1) Initially do you think Mia sees Connor as a father figure?

From only seeing the first half an hour of this film it does come across that Connor takes on the fatherly role within Mia's family. This is shown by his kindness and playfulness towards Mia's little sister Tyler in the first scene we see them in together as he is trying to get out of the house but still has time to play with Tyler and give her some money to pass through the doorway while Mia was watching the whole situation. The next fatherly act Connor does is when Mia is 'asleep' on her mother's bed after the house party and Connor gently moves her to her own room and puts her to bed. Their trip to the river shows a fatherly relationship between Mia and Connor as he helps her catch a fish, then tries to help her with the cut on her ankle and gives her a piggy back to the car. The could be seen as Mia seeing Connor as a father figure as she actually listens to him and is relatively pleasant towards him whereas she is violent, verbally and physically, other close around her.
However, I think that there is more than just a feeling of having a father figure for Mia and I believe that through the duration of the film she will go past the relationship of 'father daughter' and she will see him in a more romantic light, which could cause further problems between her and her mother.

2) What does the film make you think about the current state of British families?

This film has a very negative view towards family as there are signs of, physical, abuse towards Mia from her mother while Mia is abusive and violent towards others (the girls dancing-headbutted one of them) and her sister but that verbal confrontation is reciprocated by her sister. Mia lives in a broken home with no father present and her mother having alot of male 'friends' around is not a great environment for a teenage girl let alone her younger sister to be in with the inconsistency at home.
If I was watching this from another country then I might believe that all British families are like Mia's and I could base futher opinions of Britain by what I have seen in this film and my opinion would be affected by the violence, broken homes and the abuse shown in this film.

3) Now you have seen the film, have your opinions of the characters changed?

Even though I have only watched 30 minutes of this film I think that Mia's behaviour is not just down to being violent for the sake of it, I still believe that her mother plays a huge role in the way Mia has turned out as now I have witnessed the kind of family environment Mia was bought up in.
My opinion of her mother has changed in the sense that she is a worse role model than I thought she was, she appears to not care for her two girls and is more concerned with her love life and party scenes.
I believe that Tyler will go the way Mia has with her life if no intervention was given to her. She acts like a miniature version of Mia and has pretty much no positive relationship with her mother either.

Article from 'Sight & Sound' - The international film magazine
This article is an interview with Andrea Arnold (director of Fish Tank) and it shows her opinion of her work ad her ideas of the film storyline.

• Whereas I have inferred that Mia is disruptive (-does not go to school) Andrea says that she skips school to the empty flat to escape to an alternative world - hopefully dancing will be her way out.  "she swims fustrated circles, like a shark in a tank"
• The run down estate that Mia lives on was not to highlight her violent tendences but it was set there because Andrea likes estates - "They're full of people, they're full of life.'- She wanted to tell her story in a real life situation.

The scenes that show similarities are when he is told to say hello to Mrs Hector in Kidulthood, When Jenny in An Education asks her parents if it's ok for her to go out and when Alfie accepts to give a lift home to his roomates wife. All of these scenes show that the younger generation still respect their elders, even to this modern day. This goes against the stereotypical views of today and proves that no matter what environment you live in, it is important to respect your elders. Scenes that shows differences are in Kidulthood when they steal alcohol from the shop, Alfie sleeps with a married woman and in An Education when Jenny sleeps with a bloke alomost twice  her age. These all have a negative view on the Bristish values and show a different side to the culture of Britain.

One review i found critised the film of being false and that the youths of today are not like that at all and that the majority is made up. As well as this, they feel it stereotypes the black people of Britain as all wannabe gangsta's. They also feel that too much is happening throughout the film and this can confuse certain audience members. On the other hand, another review claims that they were hooked by the film and couldn't look away for one second! They also claim that for a cast of young adults, the film was beautfully acted with all the right emotions and the right time. As well as this, this person claims to live in London and believes this to be an accurate representaion of some school in his area. This shows that the production team had done sufficient research to make the film as realistic as possible. In conclusion, I personally favour the second review showing a positive reflection on the film. I believe that this is more accurate as the person actually lives in the area and this means he/she can relate to the film more. Moreover, I also feel that I agree with their comments more about how the film is gripping and action filled.

Fish Tank Analysis

Initially is Connor and father figure to Mia?

Connor acts as a father figure however she doesn't know how to react to a father figure and became attracted to him.
Mia never had a father figure growing up, so never knew what a father figure was like, Connor was very complimentary and supportive of Mia, Mia did not know what to do with Connor as she had never experienced a guy being like this to her without a sexual relationship outcome.

What does the film make you think about the current state of british families?

That they no longer follow the conventional values of having father and mother for the children and no sex before marriage. Mia's father is not mentioned throughout the whole film.
In Fishtank Mia's mother shows little concern for her well being and education. Its as if parents are letting their children run free with no boundaris and get away with what ever they feel like.
Due to the way a family is in the Fishtank, there is not much family bonding or connection, Mia is mostly out of the house and doesn't really talk to her mother. Mia seems to be closer to her mothers boyfriend then to her mother.

Now you have seen the film have your opinions of the characters changed?

Mia : Our views on Mia have not really changed after seeing the film, as we predicted there were reasons to why she acted so outrageously. She is quite a complex character, and perhaps has more odd behavious and sudden mood swings then we thought from reading about her before watching the film.
Mother : Her mother is perhaps worse then we originally thought she would be, she could be labeled as the main cause for the families dysfunctional behaviour.
Sister : At the beginning her sister appears to be a little brat, but towards the end of the film you realise how she is a little kid and doesn't want Mia to leave.

Fish Tank Questions

1) Mia lacks a father figure in her life so when Conor comes along she isn't sure how to react, she struggles to let her guard down and accept him into her life but I think she did see him as a father as he was always there for her when she needed him being very fatherly.

2) The portrayal of the family in this film is a broken family, there is no sign of a Dad and the Mum is always drunk and neglectful to the children. This shows that the value of marriage has gone down, and the middle class is portrayed as being worse then lower class as Conor has a better life then Mia and her family as he is happily married with a child yet he is not content with this life so he goes and cheats with Mia's Mum.

3) After I had seen the film I realised that Mia her Mum and Conor are much more complex characters then what we see to start with, for example Mia is conflicted by her emotions for Conor whether she wants him as a father or a lover and it is not always obvious what her feelings are towards him. Also it is unclear what Conors motives are being involved in Mia's family and what role he wants to take on within the family, father, friend or lover.

Questions on Fish Tank

1. Initially is Conner a father figure Mia?

Yes Conner is portrayed as a father figure to Mia when he is first introduced as when he comes into the family they start to interact as a family and this is like when they go on a car trip and Conner fills the father spot in this. Also the fact how he gives her piggy back and gives her generous sums of money emphasizes this but as the films narrative develops more her feelings for Conner start to develop too and this takes the father role away from him due to him being portrayed more as a lover and this is shown by how she recorded him and played it back when he is topless and how she gets angry when she watches her mum and him having sexual intercourse.

2. What does the film make you think about the current state of British families. 

The film makes you think that the current state of British families are poor due to the family in Fish Tank having constant arguments which shows how as a family unit they are not connected. This is because of a arrogant argumentative young girl called Mia and her mum who is also a irresponsible parent, this causes prolonging arguements throughout the film between them while the sister to Mia called Tyler sits inbetween there bad relationship and gets along well with both of them. The mums bad attitude may be caused by the fact she is a single mum. The use of a single mum is used to portray how single parent families have become more common in Britain. Also it portrays the growing number of husbands that get bored of their typical family life and cheat on their wives like Connor with Mia's mum.

Fish Tank.

http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/86764/fish-tank.html

After reading this review, we think that the article is encouraging us to think that the main character Mia is of a lower status to us, with her personality, attitudes and background. For example, she calls her little sister  a 'Fuck face.'   In addition to this, the article brings across the idea that Mia come across as someone who has very little respect for herself. However, it might not been her fault as the reviews tells us that Mia's mum brings home a man who 'promises her the riches' even though we think it might be false promises as he might just want a 'bit of action.'


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3086235/bio
We also looked a little bit about the actress herself, we think that this presence her as a rude, 'drop out' who the media are always convincing us is bad;

Was 'discovered' when she was having a heated argument with her boyfriend across the platforms at Tilbury Town railway station. She had dropped out of school and was unemployed when she was cast in her first film.

She gave birth to a daughter, Lily Mae, on 9 May 2009.

Turned down an unspecified part in Shank (2010).

Was set to play a female thug in Harry Brown (2009), but had to back out of the production as she was pregnant at the time.

After looking at this review and a learning a little bit more about the character it does not give us the best impression of both the character and the actress, as she seems rude.

The review of the film gives the impression to the audience that the girl called Mia is lonely and her life is full of misery which shows how the audience will feel sad for her throughout the film. The article states that Mia lives in a council house which represents to the audience that she will be a lower class poor girl and this will reflect her attitude too.

The review gives us the impression that her mum don't care about her too and this is shown by the way she don't want to spend time with her and gives us the impression she is selfish,

Fish Tank reviews

Crucially, we’re there, alone with Mia, when she regularly decamps to an empty flat and practices her hip hop dance moves. We know there’s more to Mia than antagonism and kneejerk violence and we’re curious about what’s going on in this girl’s head.

Most reviews seem to portray Mia as a typical product of council estate Britain, violent, rude and often making poor decisions however all reviews also talk about a more complex character and that there is more to her then what meets the eye 

Fish Tank Review

"Fifteen-year-old Mia (newcomer Katie Jarvis) is the film’s heroine, and rarely has a more scowling, stroppy, wilful teenager had the whole forcefield of a movie at her disposal. She lives on insult. “Call me back, you bitch!” may not be the best-chosen words to patch up a blighted friendship; there’s even less love lost between Mia and her single mum (Kierston Wareing), who wants to pack her off into juvenile care."


In this extract from the Telegraph, Mia is described as a 'Heroine'. This makes Mia's character seem positive. Mia's relationship with her mum makes the reader feel sympathetic towards her and suggests that maybe she is neglected and misguided. The quote "Call me back, you bitch!' shows Mia has a lack of social skills and doesn't understand how to behave properly. I expect that in the film I will feel empathy for Mia as it is not entirely her fault for the way she behaves. However, I will take into account social boundaries and when her behaviour becomes out of line.

review of fish tank

In this film, Andrea Arnold has demonstrated her mastery and fluency in the social-realist idiom, and simply makes it fizz with life. Having now watched Fish Tank a second time, I am more exhilarated than ever by Arnold's idealism, and in a movie marketplace where so much is vapidly cynical, this is a mistral of fresh air. Arnold finds a way into the fashionable notion of a "Broken Britain", but in place of the pundits' dismay and contempt, she offers tenderness and hope. If Ken Loach were ever somehow called on constitutionally to nominate a successor, it would surely have to be Arnold. She's got the grit; she has Loach's humanism and optimism and she has a happy knack of getting great performances out of her cast, particularly from Michael Fassbender, who proves that he's not just sex on a stick – he's complexity and vulnerability on a stick as well. Added to this, Arnold and her cinematographer, Robbie Ryan, conjure some glorious, almost Turner-ish images of the Essex countryside, with its racing summer skies.

1. Fish Tank
2. Production year: 2009
3. Country: UK
4. Cert (UK): 15
5. Runtime: 124 mins
6. Directors: Andrea Arnold, Andrea Arnold
7. Cast: Harry Treadaway, Jason Maza, Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths
8. More on this film

At the centre of the story is newcomer Katie Jarvis, playing Mia, a tricky, lairy 15-year-old in trouble with the social services for breaking a girl's nose after a contretemps in one of the windswept municipal canyons lying between tower blocks. She has inherited from her mum, played by Kierston Wareing, a stroppy insecurity and a nascent fondness for the booze. The family dog is actually called Tennent's. Mia has a feisty younger sister, Tyler – a scene-stealer of a performance from Rebecca Griffiths – who is always winding Mia up with shrill threats to "tell on her". There is no dad in the picture. Mia has just one interest in life: urban dance, and she isn't too bad, but the moves she practises are moody, introverted and subdued, rather like the dancer herself.

Their torpid lives are disrupted when Mia's mother miraculously gets a new boyfriend, Connor: and Fassbender gives his best performance yet. Connor is funny, sexy, confident and utterly relaxed where everyone else appears clenched with resentment. Noticeably articulate, Connor appears to come from a marginally more middle-class world and he is also, tellingly, a breadwinner. Mia rifles through his wallet while he's upstairs with her mum and instead of immediately nicking the cash, she gazes fascinated at his payslips: a man who actually works for a living. How many of those has she ever met?

Without consciously realising it, Mia is hoping that Connor could be a father-figure, and both sisters are secretly thrilled when he takes them all out for a drive in the country, and shows them how he can catch a fish with his bare hands. While her mother and sister cringe on the riverbank, Mia wades out into the cold, slimy water to help him and Tyler squeaks: "Is it minging?"

No, it is not minging. It is sensual and exciting, an exotic experience such as Mia has never known. And it marks the decisive point at which Connor and Mia's relationship drifts past being that of a quasi-father and daughter. Connor even takes an interest in her dancing, and casually lends her his expensive camcorder to tape an audition for a local competition, trusting that he will get it back. "You dance like a black," he tells her, with studied, flirtatious insolence. "I mean it as a compliment."

Mia has an enormous, poignant capacity for love, but she has never received any, certainly not from a damaged mother, whose one moment of intimacy with her daughter comes when she ferociously tells Mia that she was thinking of having her aborted. So she has no idea how to express or manage love and it is her muddled, suspicious longing for the safety and comfort of a father's care that makes the situation so explosive. As for Connor, it is far from clear how much baggage he has: he moves in to Mia's mum's flat because he says his own mother has thrown him out and often has to take calls from his "mum", but what is really going on? It becomes all too clear that if Mia has her own issues about family, then so does Connor – whose secrets are shabbier and more poisonous than either Mia or her mother could have realised.

The situation heralds an unwatchably tense finale as Mia's adoration turns into anger and then a determination to survive, to outgrow her surroundings, and to forgive. Arnold shows us that what makes the relationship between Mia and Connor so transgressive is not their obvious sexual attraction but their quite genuine, if thwarted and delusional longing to be father and daughter.

Jarvis has given a wonderfully honest and open performance to be compared with David Bradley in Kes, or Émilie Dequenne in the Dardenne brothers' Rosetta. Her relationship with Fassbender is what gives the film its beating heart.

this review gives the audience an excitement to watch the film. The review praises the main character for her performance in the film, being an unknown actor she equipped herself very well. Also the review praises the director for the whole film saying she is renowned for getting the best out of her cast.   

what judgement's does an article on Fishtank make about the characters

http://www.trespassmag.com/review-fish-tank/


This review praises fish tank in its success and cinematography. From reading the review I've made a few judgments on Mia's character, some one who is that has the stereo-typical trates of a lower class teenager but also suggested the film shows sympathy and reasons for her actions. suggesting struggle's at home which is reflected in her mums character. I feel judgmental towards her mums character as she isn't sympathized with in the review suggesting she's a negative and troubled character which has a direct result on Mia's character.

Fish Tank Review

Full Guardian Article Here

 

"At the centre of the story is newcomer Katie Jarvis, playing Mia, a tricky, lairy 15-year-old in trouble with the social services for breaking a girl's nose after a contretemps in one of the windswept municipal canyons lying between tower blocks. She has inherited from her mum, played by Kierston Wareing, a stroppy insecurity and a nascent fondness for the booze. The family dog is actually called Tennent's. Mia has a feisty younger sister, Tyler – a scene-stealer of a performance from Rebecca Griffiths – who is always winding Mia up with shrill threats to "tell on her". There is no dad in the picture. Mia has just one interest in life: urban dance, and she isn't too bad, but the moves she practices are moody, introverted and subdued, rather like the dancer herself."

What judgements does the articles encourage you to make about the characters? 

Mia comes across as violent, angry, and always in trouble. By the sound of this article the way Mia acts is not entirely her fault, it seems to be a reflection of her upbringing and where she lives.

Mia's Mum sounds like she is not a very good role model for Mia and her younger sister as she has past on her insecurities and this article indicates that she may be an alcoholic. Mia's mum doesn't seem to have much control over her daughter, this could be because there is no father figure involved to help out and take control over disciplinary matters.

Mia's Sister seems to be a fairly normal younger sibling, by always trying to get her older sister into trouble by threatening to 'tell on her' 

Fish Tank review

I can understand why some people might recoil at the thought of another British film set on a council estate. Is it worthy? Condescending? Grim? Is it more evidence of a young filmmaker awkwardly exercising their Mike Leigh/Ken Loach fetishes? Well, banish your fears: Andrea Arnold’s follow-up to ‘Red Road’ is a film that brilliantly and sensitively buzzes with life and offers its very own take on our world and our city. It delivers in spades attitude, humour, sadness, love, anger and hope – all wrapped up in a way of telling stories that is very much the director’s own. It’s realism, but it has an intimacy, an immediacy and a dash of poetry that offers a new spin on familiar territory.
Arnold has a keen eye for the border between danger and fulfilment when it comes to sexual feelings, and here she trains that eye on one vulnerable but strong adolescent teenage girl, Mia (Katie Jarvis), who you can’t help but feel for and understand – even after we watch her call a friend’s dad a ‘cunt’ and headbutt another girl so that the blood pours down her face. And that’s just the first five minutes.

Mia lives in a flat in Essex, near the Thames estuary, with her mum Joanne (Kierston Wareing) and her little sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffith). Mia calls her little sis ‘fuck face’ and little sis calls her ‘cunt face’ back. The TV blares out reality shows and makeover programmes. Outside, Arnold’s camera sucks up the territory on which she films; flats, busy roads, flyovers, scraps of land and suburban shop parades all lend a strong sense of place without any sense of gawking or romanticising. This is Mia’s world and there it is: it can sometimes look ugly, sometimes look beautiful. Arnold and DoP Robbie Ryan shoot in the unusual 1.33:1 aspect ratio, so the screen is almost square, but ‘Fish Tank’ feels more like a series of personal Polaroids than TV, the glare of the sun often dancing across the lens in the manner of home snapshots.

Nothing about all this feels miserable. It helps that Arnold tells her tale at the height of summer so that the sun is always shining. It also helps that Arnold’s way of presenting Mia to us is to stay close to her at all times, to show us her world from her point of view. Crucially, we’re there, alone with Mia, when she regularly decamps to an empty flat and practices her hip hop dance moves. We know there’s more to Mia than antagonism and kneejerk violence and we’re curious about what’s going on in this girl’s head.

We’re there, too, when her mum brings home a man, Connor (Michael Fassbender), who is soon living with them, doing the washing-up with his top off and taking them for a drive. Mia’s smiles show that she likes him, while he pays her more attention than anyone else in her life, praising her dance moves, giving her a piggyback, even tucking her up in bed when she pretends to be asleep. Their relationship takes unusual, even alarming turns, but always Arnold avoids obvious judgements, obvious explanations. Hers is an intimate drama of grey areas and all the better and more thoughtful – and thought-provoking – for it.

After reading this article we came to the conclusion that Mia is rude and could come across as negatively outgoing, however the artical also suggests that there are reasons behind her behaviour such as her environment and upbrining.

In the movie, we expect to see rude and abusive language and behaviour that is socially unacceptable. We also think we will find out the reasons behind her behaviour and why Mia has become the way she is.

1. how typical is jenny of a british teenager?
Jenny is a typical teenager by having a relationship with an older male who has a nice car and a good job, smoking cigarets, drinking, enjoying life not worrying about education. This relates to allot of teenage girls in Britain today. Another way it is shown that jenny is a typical teenager is that in the film she goes to clubs, bars and abroad.  this shows that she is very out going and want to travel and experience new matters of life. a lot of teenagers in britain want to do the same things as jenny travel and go out having fun.

2.

Questions in class

1) Jenny has some similarities and difference to teenagers today, in the film An Education she dreams about being in a sophisticated environment with well spoken people, this is quite unlike teenagers today as they like partying and think that being well spoken is uncool. She also works hard to go to university and actually really wants to go, again this is quite unlike most teenagers today as most people aren't bothered about university and most people feel forced to go instead of wanting to go like Jenny.
She argues with her parents about everyday problems, school etc and she is quite sarcastic towards them as well which is quite similar to today's teenagers.
She waits until she is 17 until she loses her virginity and even then she waits until the moment is right with David and she loves him, this is very different to today's teenagers as most of them want to lose their virginity as soon as possible.

2) In all three films women are treated like second class citizens, in An Education Jenny is treated badly when David and his friend go to steal the map as they speak down to her and tell her to stay in the car, in Alfie he shouts at Gilda for asking what time he will be home "I'll be home when I'm home!" and in Kidulthood

All the films have different portrayals of abortion and how it affects people in Alfie abortion is a very serious thing and is a decision not taken lightly as it is illegal and very expensive, whereas in Kidulthood the teenager gets pregnant and they just joke about at getting and abortion and make light of the situation e.g "mabye if I get drunk enough this baby will kill itself". 

3)
Positive:
Unfortunately, as the repercussions of their on-the-fly life catch up with them, the film morphs into public service announcement territory and an OTT ending that shuns subtlety for "Just Say No" sermonising. All of which is a shame. As, until then, in refusing to ask whether the blame lies with the government, society or the parents, Kidulthood works just fine as a snapshot of Brit teen life. After seeing it, you'll never look at the kids on your bus in the same way again...

Verdict:

Give them all ASBOs! An ultra-realist snapshot of Britain today, let down by a preachy ending, but maintained by its punchy dialogue and kids.

1. How typical is Jenny of a British Teenager?

Jenny could be seen as mature and grown up but she is also easily led and naive when she meets David. When David is meeting Jennys parents she says "why are you drinking, it's not christmas. " This shows Jenny is shocked by her parents drinking alcohol, which would not be a big deal nowadays.

2. Draw similarities and comparisons between the britain you see in Kidulthood ands Alfie?

In both Alfie and Kidulthood, the girls are treated almost as second class citizens and as the "property" of the males. For example, Gilda in Alfie is treated not as a partner, but just as a bit on the side along with the other women, even though he has a chid with him.

3. Similarities in British Values
4.Differences in British Values

Bad Review
Kidulthood tries so hard to be cool it hurts. Mostly it hurts the senses of the audience who have to sit through another torrid attempt to bring the vernacular of Britain’s streets to our cinema screens. In a 24-hour period, every teen problem imaginable – drugs, unwanted pregnancy, prostitution, violence and bullying – are rammed down our throats in what is supposed to be a comment on the state of our youth. Ironically, Kidulthood suffers precisely because it doesn’t keep it real. 


Good Review
Kidulthood is a sharp reality. The reviewers and newspapers simply cannot handle the pure honesty of it, its gritty, British and true. The upper class society have been doing this for years, ignoring exactly what they know is going on. But they still avoid the gangs wearing their hoodies up and jeans round their knees. Kidulthood, although slightly drastic and exaggerated depicts exactly how the teenage generation does business. The name is catchy but could be better. You cant ignore the strength of the acting, and the realness of the language and use of sex references. Because its all honest, the writing is genius and comical at times, with an amazing editing and film structure. 

Negative review of Kidulthood

Negative Review of Kidulthood

"Could first-time screenwriter Noel Clarke cram any more sordid, spiraling misery into his slice-of-life script about schoolkids and street life in west London? Clarke and first-time director Menhaj Huda spin a frenetic story out of the lives of a group of 15-year-olds who attend the same west London comprehensive. There’s no need to recount here the manic ins and outs of Clarke’s busy plot other than to say that it’s defined by suicide, drugs, murder, unwanted pregnancy, casual sex, knives, guns, Yardies, bullying and fights. All of which certainly have their place in the kaleidoscope of experience of many young Londoners, but Clarke tries so hard to shoehorn every potential teenage pitfall into his overloaded screenplay that the effect is numbing, barely credible and sometimes quite laughable." 

 See full article here

Positive Review of Kidulthood

Positive review of Kidulthood.

Kidulthood (2005)

Ignore the contrived and unappealing title, because behind it lies an impressive film about British teenagers on that cusp between irresponsible adolescence and responsible adulthood. Set over 48 hours among a group of black and white teenagers in West London, the film comprises a compendium of urban corn and cliché, encompassing everything from gun crime and school bullying to teen suicide and underage pregnancy. But the predictability of the storyline is more than offset by the dialogue, which has a genuine feel of the real about it, and by radiant performances from a young cast which includes such “next generationers” as Jaime Winstone, daughter of Ray, and Rafe Spall, son of Timothy. It's powerful and entertaining — and British to boot.

Comparison of Alfie, An Education, and Kidulthood and Their Representations of British Values

Choose Key scenes from an Education/ Alfie/ Kidulthood
choose one which shows similarities in british Values
Choose different ones which show differences in British values.

Alfie
Key Scene 1
Gilda is pregnant and does not want to be shunned by society for having a child out of wedlock because this is what was expected in Britain at the time. No sex before marriage, and children should be born into a family.

Traditional family values conventional of britain in 1960s. Grow up > Marriage > Kids > Grow old 

Key scene 2
Alfie Goes over to ruby the Americans for sex, and find hers with a younger man in her bed. the only difference between the man in her bed and Alfie is that he is much younger then alfie.

Ruby is an unconventional women, this could be because she is American and  seems to be different from other women in the film, she has her own business and has business cards.

Key Scene 3


Kidulthood
Key Scene 1
Sam pushes over the girl who is being bullied as she walks out of school, and the helps her up as her dad comes along so he looks like a gentlemen, he then whispers in her ear to not say a word to her family.

Men still have control over women but only because they are much stronger then women although it is not socially acceptable to  hit women, Sam feels he is exempt fromt he rule as everyone is scared of him.

Key Scene 2
A 15 year old main character sleeps with her 17 year old boyfriend, she admits to him that she is 15 and he says he already knew and that he didnt care.

An Education
Key Scene 1
Jenny is Made to stay in the car while her boyfriend and another man go into a house to handle business.

This scene shows the power Men have over women and that women must obey, men have the control
 in relationships.

Key Scene 2
Jenny loses her virginity to a 30 year old man whilst off on one of her adventures with him.

Dating an older man is unconventional of the time, especially when she is still in school and he is almost twice her age, and the only people who show it is unconventional is the school, her parents only concern is the class of the man. In both Alfie and An education they show that value that people are more likely to settle down if they are with someone of a higher class.

Key Scene 3
Jenny Has dinner with her parents every evening until her BF comes along and she is in bed by 10 every night. Routine on school days and abides by parents ruling.

Key Scenes

Similarities in British values - Male Domination

An Education
       The key scene we chose to illustrate this British Value is when Jenny is ordered to stay in the car when she attempts to follow Danny and David to their business meeting. This shows male domination as it was unseen of for a woman to be in the business, also Jenny obeys them by staying in the car showing that men are seen as the dominant sex in this society.

Alfie
      The  key scene we chose to illustrate this British Value is when Alfie is at home whilst Gilda is doing the housework. This shows male domination as women were deemed the weaker sex and it was expected of them to please the man. Alfie is portrayed as in control over Gilda even though his speeches tell her to do what she wants Gilda is only doing what is expected of her at this time by men in that society.

Kidulthood
       The key scene we chose to illustrate this British Value is when Katie is tripped over by Sam. This shows male domination as Sam physically overpowering, but he frightens Katie by not just his actual presence but also with his comments towards her, this means that he is capable of emotionally damaging her (she later hangs herself) as well as physically.

Differences in British Values - Pregnancy

An Education
       The key scene is near the end of the film and Jenny goes to confront David, however, his wife is there. This then leads to the admission of David's former affairs and it is revealed to Jenny that he has been in the same situation before, however, the last girl ended up pregnant. In An Education pregnancy is seen as something unfortunate and frowned upon, and a relief when Jenny reveals she isn't pregnant, Also in this film the school girls openly talk about sex.

Alfie
       The key scene in Alfie is when Lily aborts the child. This portrayal shows the British society at the time as Lily could not keep the child without social stigma and without Harry finding out about the affair. The abortion was done in a manner that implies it was unacceptable as the doctor leaves the house after doing what is necessary to Lily to rid her of the child, and also he was paid in cash which suggests that this procedure was illegal.

Kidulthood
        The key scene in Kidulthood we chose to illustrate British Values on Pregnancy is when Alisha and Becky are in a bedroom when Alisha reveals that she is pregnant. In reaction to this news Becky is not overly surprised, this implies that pregnancy is quite common and not a taboo subject anymore. Unlike in An Education and Alfie the father of the child does not want anything to do with the pregnancy or the mother.

An Education, Alfie and Kidulthood.

Similarities in British Values.

The Hotel Scene, The Phone call to Trife and Where Humphrey proposes to Gilda.

Pregnancy is a huge topic in all three Films. Where as in An Education contraception is hinted at in the scene of the Hotel where David brings out the banana. However, in Alfie set only a few years later, contraception wasn't shown in any of his relation scenes. We also know that even though it's not shown, it isn't used because Alfie gets two people pregnant. Comparing these two films to the present day film these two values are mentioned in Kidulthood, Trife mentions the morning after pill which is used after using no protection.

In Alfie, Gilda wants to marry because she's pregnant, in An Education it is hinted David got married because he got a girl pregnant, however in Kidulthood, Alisa is pregnant, but marriage is not mentioned which shows that marriage is not valued as highly as it used to be.

Even though all three films show people from different backgrounds of London, pregnancy is still a huge issue.

Smoking.

In An Education, Jenny does not smoking front of her mother and father, but with her school girl friends she smokes like a chimney, including her fancy cigarettes from France. We see her mother smoke alot and her father not at all. It seems a very casual thing for older generationals and in the 60's it was considered sophisticated and was sociable. By the end of the film, 17 year old Jenny has been turned into a incredibly mature and sophisticated woman who could be mistaken for a 25 year old, goes into Davids Glove box and casually attempts to smoke in front of her parents, going from being scared of smoking in front of them to not caring.

Alfie and Ruby smoke like a chimney , here class and sophistication is not shown, it's more of a everyday thing to smoke.

Kidulthood shows smoking as more of a habit and a necessity of the Urban culture.

An Education Questions

1. How is Jenny typical of a British teenager?
She shows the typical conventions of a teenage school girl, she lives with her parents and goes to school.
like a typical teenager she shows love interests with a boy his age who is much less mentally able then she is. her and her parents show interest in her future talking about universities which too is typical for a girl of her age. She is Sarcastic to her parents. we see jenny hanging out with her friends a lot at the beginning of the film , and if she is not doing that she is studying at home or with the parents.
her educational school is very present through out the film for example showing her progress in tests and her struggles in latin.

2. Draw comparisons and similarities of the britain you see here and the representation in alfie?
In An /education we see Britain from the side of a young female whose focus is on school and university, where as in Alfie we see Britain through the eyes of an older male. In Alfie it is based in the capital so the representation is more from a city angle but an Education is more of out of the city and is more of a countryside angle.
Alfie's story is based after school where he is out in the working world as a handy man, he did not get grades and qualifications which is what jenny in an education is striving to achieve.
The family values of the time are the same, both expect no sex before marriage and no children out of marriage, the woman is very much the one who stays at home and keeps the house tidy does the cooking etc and the man is the working one. In an education Jenny's partner is much from the upper class, upper class go to concerts, and fancy restaurants with a classy singer, showing that they have a much more exciting life then people from the working class which is represented in Alfie where they go the pub or sit at home with the family.

Alfie and An Education questions

1) How typical is Jenny of a British teenager?

In many ways Jenny is a typical portrayal British teenager, she is argumentative and manipulative towards her parents, about certain situations of her life like quitting the youth orchestra and going to Oxford, and other adult authoritative figures such as her teachers. She is interested in getting out of education, travelling the world-mainly France, and growing up or at least to be seen as a grown woman by her peers. She does this by smoking and drinking whatever was put in front of her and with her relationship with David. She uses her relationship with an older man to gain more status from her school peers, it could also be seen as an attempt to rebel against the life both her parents and the school want for her.
Yet Jenny is not a typical portrayal of a British teenager today as she make is very clear that she wants to stay a virgin until she is seventeen whereas these days it is not something that girls, especially, talk about. Also her aspiration to travel to France is not one that is alive today for the same reasons. These day's teenagers want to travel the whole world whereas Jenny's aspirations were to go to the sophisticated land of Paris, these aspirations are also the cause of her seemingly random french outbursts in her conversations. To her is seems normal but teenagers today do not really do that kind of thing but to Jenny is makes her more sophisticated than her peers. Also her asking her teacher for help in getting back into school work would only occur in a small number of teenagers today, and no one would get into a total stranger's car, even one who claims to have a great love of the cello.

2) Draw similarities and comparisons between the Britain you see here and the Britain in Alfie.

There are alot of similarities between the Britain's in 'An Education' and 'Alfie', for example the theme of men and relationships. In both these films the male lead is in charge of the relationship and the idea of male authority over woman is also clear in both films as; Jenny is ordered about by David and her father, and pretty much all of Alfie's woman are under his command at some point. Both these films pick up on the society at this time with the men being the more dominating, Alfie chooses who he wants to see, when, if they will live with him and are they going to do jobs for him, and Jenny's life is decided by either her father or David. The films also picks up on characters wanting to improve their status within society. This is shown by Gilda getting married to Humphrey, and Jenny wanting to go to Oxford and Jenny's father being OK about marriage as David had a high status within society- or so he thought.
These films contrast in the fact that they show different prejudices. In 'Alfie' the idea that Ruby had a younger man on the go whilst seeing Alfie would have been scandalous but as Alfie did the exact same thing there was no sign of social prejudice against him. Whereas in 'An Education' the elements of social prejudice is shown not only against the same kind of thing but it includes comments against Jewish people, black people and other foreigners, like the French.

Comparing Alfie with An Education

How typical is Jenny of a British Teenager?

At the start of the film Jenny is quite ruled by her father and acts well behaved by getting good grades and playing the cello. However, as the film progresses she becomes much more rebellious and stops trying to please her father so much, this is typical of a lot of British Teenagers because a lot of teenagers try to rebel against their parents . Jenny also doesn't know what she wants out of life, even though she wants to go to Oxford and get an English degree, she then feels later on that life experiences are more important than an education. However, she then goes on to regret this. This is very typical of British Teenagers because a lot of the time, Teenagers go through school not caring so much about their education and once they leave they regret this and wish they had tried harder.

Draw similarities and comparisons between the Britain in An Education and the Britain in Alfie.

Both films take place within a few years of each other, however there are clear differences in the way Britain is portrayed. In 'An Education', we mostly see Britain from a school girl's perspective; the locations are school rooms and suburban roads. However in 'Alfie' we see Britain from the point of view of a man in his twenties, with no steady job. The locations include different apartments, back streets, cafes and bars. Both are set in London, one in the suburbs and one further into the city. This reflects the characters and the mood of the films as Jenny, in 'An Education', is fairly naive and innocent, whereas Alfie is 'experienced' and more knowledgeable about urban life.

Questions on the movies watched

1. Jenny is typical of a British teenager at the start of the film as she is a typical schoolgirl who enjoys to learn and has the occasional boyfriend too like Graham. She is also shown as this by the way she has good connections to her family which represents how most people will have good family units. But as the film's narrative starts to develops she starts to become an unconventional teenager because of how she meets a old man called David who she starts to date which is not typical of a British teenager in this film and especially marrying somebody while studying in school is highly unconventional of a British teenager in this film

1 b. While Jenny dating an old man and marrying an old man may be unconventional and bizarre in An Education, in Alfie the views of young marriage were a lot different as Alfie dated two young women who both were eager to marry him which shows how young marriage is represented differently in both films. Another difference is the role of females in both films as in Alfie females are mostly shown as a tool for Alfie, they are used to satisfy his sexual needs and they did not get a say in their relationships in Alfie and were forced to do a lot of things like not being able to get married when they wanted to. However this is portrayed much differently in An Education as women have a much more unconventional role for the time period of the film because they were allowed more freedom of speech with the husband and were able to argue with things the husband more and act more like a family unit rather than a one sided relationship and showed how the males were not as dominant in this An Education. Of course another similarity is the family unit's in both films as in Alfie families are hardly shown except for his baby which he soon leaves which shows how family's are not valued as much in Alfie however in An Education they are valued due to the film evolving around Jenny and her family and her family get a lot of screen time which shows they are valued a lot.

2. Scenes that show similarities in Alfie and An Education is in Alfie the scene where Annie walks out on Alfie because of how bad he treated her when he complains about her over-caring him which results in Annie storming out and this is similar to in An Education when Jenny finds out that David is already married and storms out of their relationship and makes him drive her home on the wedding. And both of these are very similar due to the girls both leaving the boys which was shown in the time period as very unconventional of British values and they both show a change in the narrative because of how it leads Alfie to believe what he is doing is wrong and wants to settle down with someone and allows Jenny to continue to study at school and go on to university. so what is happening which is the girls walking out is very similar but the reason why and what they will do after is a lot different.

Scenes that show differences in the films of British values is in Alfie is the gender roles and marriage when every girl he meets he is dominant with and this is shown with all the girls he dates and especially Gilda because of how he cheats on every girlfriend he has which makes him seem dominant as it shows he can do what he wants also the fact he chooses not to marry is showing he is dominant as he is dictating how the relationship is going however in An Education the Dad and the wife are equally as dominant as the husband is loyal to his wife and has happily married her and he also gives his wife more dominance as he allows her to have more freedom of speech by her being able to jokingly  criticize  him which is not shown in Alfie and is a clear difference.

3.

'The fact is, while Kidulthood tries to be raw and gritty, it's really just a mish-mash of events that's missing characters that you genuinely care for or even begin to understand.'

that is a negative review of the film kidulthood and that review could influence a person due to the fact it could make people not want to see it due to the fact the film review perceives the film to be confusing and doesn't allow the audience to identify with the characters a lot which wont trigger an emotional, physical or intellectual response which will make the film seem bad.

'Despite being rather graphic and unflinching in its subject matter, there is a genuine humanity toward its characters.'

That is a positive review of the film Kidulthood and it shows that the film is graphic which will mean it has violence, drug use, sex scenes which will attract a lot of audiences due to the fact it will be a unique film that represents the British society and it wont be a cliche film due to the fact it has a lot of detail in the film. And the last part of the small review shows how there is humanity to the characters which conflicts with the other view as it shows how the audience will identify with some characters and make the film better.

In my opinion i believe that the second review which is the more positive one is better due to the fact it tells people what the film involves which will attract more people and after watching the film i did identify with some characters which made the film have a bigger effect on me and the negative reivew sounds like nonsense due to the fact the film is cleverly linked together and there is no mish mash of events there is events that show the true harsh side of the teenagers which adds to the surreal and unique effect of the film.