Semiotics in Action: This is England (Opening Scenes)

In This Shot:

• There is central framing, which puts the words "THIS IS ENGLAND" within the middle third.  This is to give the audience a focus point and a very clear message...

• The writing is white with black smudges on it so as to seem grubby and neglected, signifying poverty and hardship.

• The words are also positioned directly in front of shoddy looking council houses; this connotes that the film is about working class people, but also has a greater reading that (coupled with the statement-like capital lettering of "THIS IS ENGLAND") has been anchored to show us that this scene is about what England is really like... 

• Poor, unkempt, and desperate.

In This Shot:

• Just as in the first shot, again there is the use of central framing. The face of a young woman is in the middle third, making her the focus point; however it's to be denoted that she is being lead by two large male police officers. Given the binary opposition of these front three figures, (and the angry looking civilians following behind,) it's clear that this scene is some sort of protest/riot.

• A narrative enigma is created though, as the audience (particularly younger members) are unlikely to know any information about the protest/riot. This mystery is furthered through questions over why the young woman is being  arrested, why there is a barbed wire fence in the background, and what it's protecting. 

Analysis of "This is England"

In today's lesson we spent time looking at the facts and figures of the production behind Shane Meadows' film "This is England" (a Warp film.)

With the financial help of EM Media and Screen Yorkshire (both of which are regional wings of the UK Film council (which has now become BFI,)) and the support of Optimum Releasing (now Studio Canal, and owned by NBC Universal,) "This is England" had considerable success; grossing $82m worldwide (a figure that is rather impressive, given that the budget was only £1.5m.)

The director of "This is England", Shane Meadows (as pictured below) has also directed films such as "A Room for Romeo Bass", "Dead Man's Shoes", and "Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee" (among others.) Due to Meadows' distinctive, social-realist style, he is very much the Auteur. 'Social realism' is a naturalistic form of realism that focuses specifically on social issues and the hardships of everyday life, and Meadows' certainly has the knack for this type of film (as evidenced through "This is England".) Another key feature in a social-realist style film is the protagonist, who's usually of the lower class or a minority; in the case of "This is England", the protagonist is 12 year old boy called Shaun Field, who lives in a poor area with his mum, and who's dad died fighting in the Falkland Wars.

Despite being from an Indie company such as Warp, "This is England" managed to gain significant success; 5 weeks of running time in the UK, shown on up to 151 UK screens, and earning £1.3m in the UK box office. Add that to the rest of the success and earnings from around the world, and you'll see why "This is England" has spawned three mini series continuing the story, and a sturdy fan base.

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