First of all, we set out to make the mob leader to be that of a specific character: who would be typical in this genre of movie. A way in which we achieved this was through mise en scene, with the character wearing an expensive suit and shoes parading his look throughout the shoot. This kind of establishment through costume allows the audience to quickly understand the hierarchy within the story line, and this is what the youth of today (or what is perceived to be the youth of today) should aspire to. Furthermore, the camerawork shown in the scene below further establishes the power imbalance from the young to the older generation: with the height advantage of the boss in correlation with the eye line looking up towards him also.
We have also embodied the stereotype of the older generations taking advantage of the youths naivety within this character, this supports the idea of the youth of today being easily persuaded into illegal activity for hopes of a better/wealthier lifestyle. To add to this point, the older people in today's society believe that this is what the typical teenager is involved in, so our thriller is backing this point with the character of Charles- but, in turn, challenging it with the homeless character. A movie that I can liken the characteristics of the boss to is 'Hatchet Harry' in the movie 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', where the character throws money at any situation to let youngsters run around doing the dirty work for the company. This stereotype of criminality in Britain is very well documented in many different movies, and is perceived by the masses to be the obvious characteristics of an older mob boss.
Next of all, the character of 'Charles' is represented to be willing and naive: ultimately roping his old friend into a world of illegal activity that he wasn't prepared for. The naivety is represented through editing, when it cuts back to his facial expressions during the dialogue from the boss we see the character hooked onto every last word that he has to say. This was a trait that was discussed when creating this character as it portrays the difference in stature and how youth are easily lead into violence.
Furthermore, the mise en scene of this character helps to paint a picture of a casual teenager with the clothes that he is wearing, nothing fancy like the bosses suit- but clearly not in poverty. This character also confirms the stereotype of the criminal scene being predominately male- as the three characters in 'Integrity' are all male. This was also discussed when creating the characters, as we wanted to play on the stereotypes of gender and not play on them too much: so that the audience wouldn't become confused with the plot. A movie that I can liken this character to is 'Essex Boys' where the first character is forced to drive the criminal around to do his dirty work, doesn't really understand the danger or situations that he is headed for.
Moreover, the final social group that we aimed to establish in 'Integrity' was the vulnerableness of those less fortunate, homeless, from the outset of the film we used sound and camerawork to represent this character as unstable and isolated. Firstly, we have challenged the stereotypes of the age range of the homeless, making the character 'George' a lot younger than those that live on the streets in society. We chose this situation to quickly establish George's social status within the opening. This challenge of the stereotype is also a juxtaposition of the youth today, as they couldn't live on the streets without social media or the protection from their parents.
Finally, this characters vulnerability and will to earn money just to survive is ultimately his downfall, failing in his line of illegal work it shows how the youth can be taken advantage of and have no place in 'a man's world'. A movie series that is a clear inspiration for these younger characters is the 'Kidulthood/Adulthood/Brotherhood' films. These films have a clear representation of how the modern crime seen in Britain is perceived to be run by the youth that want to prove to the older generation that they have what it takes to be in the 'game.'
Our Thriller overall challenges and embraces stereotypes within British gangster movies, giving our piece a sense of uniqueness but not straying too far from the majorities perception of social groups. It also connotes ideas of how criminality is exploited through the vulnerability of youth and class, but enhanced through editing and camerawork to add tension.
Good, effective exploration of stereotypes and representations. Strong response.
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