Bullet Boy Social Political Study “Living with Crime” LO: Identify how crime is represented in Bullet Boy

Bullet Boy - RECAP PLOT a Todorov diagram for the main events in Bullet Boy Equilibrium Disequilibrium Attempted Repair New Equilibrium

Equilibrium – Ricky released from prison, Curtis happy to see him, Mum throws party Disequlibrium – Wisdom smashes gang members car wing mirror Wisdom gives Ricky the gun Wisdom shoots the other gang’s dog Rio gets shot Disequlibrium – Wisdom smashes gang members car wing mirror Wisdom gives Ricky the gun Wisdom shoots the other gang’s dog Rio gets shot Attempted restoration – Ricky tries to make peace with other gang member Curtis apologises for shooting Rio Attempted restoration – Ricky tries to make peace with other gang member Curtis apologises for shooting Rio New equilibrium – Curtis throws gun in river Ricky is dead New equilibrium – Curtis throws gun in river Ricky is dead

So how is crime represented in Bullet Boy? What crimes are evident? Make a list

CRIME IN BULLET BOY Gang culture One parent families Gun crime Low income household, estate living Revenge Hierarchy and reputation Crime out of boredom – Curtis & Rio Crime out of poverty Never ending cycle of crime – no choice - Winston

How are these crimes represented through the micro elements? Really Useful Website… 36/

Costume – To compare Kidulthood and Bullet Boy, the costume used in both films is very similar to one another. Verisimilitude is created as the audience can relate to this as this is what teenagers are more likely to wear. It fits the film’s genre. Lighting – Low key lighting is mainly used to portray the mood and atmosphere in the first scene where Ricky’s house is getting raided. The film mainly uses low lighting, this could be because of the budget the film was made on or this could be on purpose.

Make Up – The make-up used within the trailer is very brutal due to the fact that there is a lot of violence being shown which gives the make-up artists the chance to create make- up which is very detailed and full, for example, the characters show a lot of cuts and bruises. Props – Throughout the trailer, there are many props used such as guns, torches, handcuffs etc. This connotes that the film will be based around crime as there are many scenes in the trailer which show the males in the characters being arrested or put at gun point. This allows the audience to be familiar with the genre and also have an idea about the narrative of the film. Setting – Bullet Boy's improvisatory methods and use of non-actors enhance its verisimilitude, the black characters and the urban setting illustrate this. The settings and locations of Bullet Boy play a major role in the plot. This setting contains very dark lighting.

Representations – Bullet Boy represents teenagers in a very stereotypical way, it fulfils the stereotype that the media portray of youths. The trailer starts with the main characters house being raided this implies that he is the criminal rather than the victim. This is exactly how the media portrays young black boys. Later on in this trailer you see Ricky’s sibling, Kurtis, holding a gun, confused and curious. This suggests that black people get into the whole criminal vibe at a young age. Language – Bullet Boy uses a lot of modern day slang, this is mostly used by teenagers in society. Target Audience – The target audience for this film is mainly aimed at people aged between 15-24, the film itself attempts to represent a serious number of issues of what some teenagers growing up in today's society have to go through; this explains why so many people who are in this age group may watch it. There is also a very realistic approach within this film as most of the actors and actresses are within this age group and therefore know what others their age go through.

Sound – First scene is shouting the words "Get on the floor now" are heard "Hands behind your head" and "Is there anything in this room we should know about" can also be heard. This has already represented Ricky as a criminal for the fact that his mothers house has been raided. The music doesn't begin until several seconds into the trailer. Music begins with a foreboding piano until the trailer picks up visual pace, the music then escalates into hip hop Camera Shots – The use of hand-held cameras to capture a real flavour of the streets and the council estate ambiance. Realism is created through the use of camera angles. Close ups and establishing shots were mostly used during the trailer. The close up shot was used to show the emotion of a character, hopefully creating a bond, while the establishing shot was used to represent the are in which the film was shot.