Super 8 vs. Attack the Block – Representation of Youth
The key points that I have chose to discuss really show the different types of youth and how we are seen in people’s eyes. The scene in which Super 8 opens with, the children are all dressed up in smart attire as they pay respect at Joey’s Mother’s funeral. The camera angle, which is a wide angled lens, shows the main protagonist Joey looking content and timid as he holds his Mother’s locket in his hand. This illustrates that he is an innocent young child, who is involved in one the kindest friendship groups as you can see them paying respect in his home for his Mother. This contradicts the way society we live in thinks of us youths nowadays, we aren’t all bustling through the streets causing havoc, however, when you look at the opening scene of Attack the Block, it shows that a few teens can be very disrespectful and rebellious. The main reason why we think this is because the first thing the gang do is mug the nurse; also we notice that one of the gang members is carrying a knife on them. Also, we notice straight away, that the first thing they do when the aliens arrive on earth, they beat the baby alien inside the crate, with a variety of sticks and metal poles. Showing that they are the stereotypical youths of society. Showing that they are thugs. The nurse was utterly defenceless when they were threatening her, there was nothing she could do and in this opening scene, we notice the difference in dialogue as well. In Super 8 the youths are well educated and have perfect diction, then when you look at Attack the Block’s gang members dialect, you notice that they are very chav’ like and don’t seem well educated. Also, another difference is the clothing, from smart attire to a gang of tracksuits and scarf’s, which cover their mouths, resembling the look of the people in the 2010 riots. At the time in which Attack the Block was made it was around the time of the riots, when gangs were going around and stealing from shops, etc. The gang members in Attack the Block mirror the individuals in the 2010 riots. Wearing snapback caps, tracksuits, hoodies, scarfs around their mouths, this can also mirror the way in which terrorists’ look like. This reinforces the way in which Society perceives us all.
Furthermore, the next two scenes that I have decided to analyse in more depth are the alien’s arrivals in both films. Firstly, in Super 8, we actually didn’t know whether they were aliens or not, all we knew was that there was a train crash. The youths thought exactly the same as what we did. Joey and his group of friends simply ran when the train crash happened, this is a normal thing for any teenage group to do, because in reality, no-one would stand still during a train crash. Although, when it came to Attack the Block it was a completely different story. Joe Cornish used a lightning speed effect so it looked like a comet had crashed to the earth, but instead they dropped crates to the ground, inside those crates were the aliens. The black, bear like aliens that in-fact were killing machines. Unlike normal youths, Moses and his gang went into crates armed with metal poles and Moses is seen carrying a knife, the gang collected the metal poles from around them and went into the crate and smashed the baby alien to pieces. They didn’t know what was in there until they came out, there could have been anything in there and it may have not done anything to them. This inevitably conveys that people who look like Moses gang would definitely cause damage or harm to people that are either around them or in the way.
Once again, Attack the Block links with what the society and media think of youths and then Super 8 contradicts this because they acted in the same way in which any person would do. Overall, the representation of the youths in these two scenes suggests that kids will be kids and some may act in a smarter manner and some may be completely ludicrous and self-centered. When looking at Attack the Block, you could say that the estate in which the gang live in has influenced them to be this way. They are living in an unhealthy environment in which is full of drug dealers and old rusty buildings. However, just because you live in such a place, does not mean that you are a thug, chav, gang member etc. If Attack the Block was written differently, they could contradict society by saying that not everyone is stereotyped by the place in which they live in. The colours in these two scenes are also very significant when representing the youths. In Super 8, the colours are earthy and there are some really dark browns and some reds in there, this to me, implies that it’s quite close to home. In a way, it’s as if there is a passion in those colours, a passion for filming their own film, a passion for Joey and Alice. As we explore the scene from Attack the Block we notice the cold colours of blue and black, this represents the feeling in which Moses and his gang feel towards the aliens that have landed on their ‘territory’ and this can then again their damaged, criminal side, their cold blood towards their area and people. The colours put forth the differences between the two groups of youths from the two films, the browns and reds show heart and the blues and blacks show their coldness! To look at the films both in more depth, from background information, we notice some aspects of the films relate back to the film E.T. by Spielberg. The dull colours from E.T. are seen in Super 8; also the visuals of the alien are also seen as less scary and more innocent, just like E.T. Both films were actually influenced by E.T.; however, one is schmaltzy like Spielberg’s original.
Lastly, I will be discussing the relationships between the main protagonists and how the friendships they shared gave them strength and will power to fight on and show how the representation of youth has contradicted society in Super 8 and that although Moses was a hero in Attack the Block, he still is a criminal for the way in which he saved his estate. Firstly, when looking at Super 8 and we see the scene where Joey saves Alice’s life from the alien underground; we notice how much strength and courage he has when he goes to speak to the alien. Joey got up there because he knew that his friends were behind him and they needed saving and he just had full courage and if you were to look at the alien, you can see almost innocence. You may be thinking, that’s slightly strange for an alien to look innocent but the alien has a resemblance of ET. Originally, JJ Abrams wanted to work with Steven Spielberg on Super 8, which is the alien has resemblance of ET, the features are innocent looking and less alien like more toy like. It was almost like Super 8 was a love letter to Steven Spielberg, thanking him for working on it with him and for being a generally amazing film director/producer. With Attack the Block it’s a completely different story, once again, Moses the main protagonist out of the gang takes things into his own hands. He musters up the courage and strength as well for his friends, to be that heroic person in the film; he jumped from a multi story building, blowing up the aliens inside the flat. Bearing in mind that we just found out that Moses in 15 years old and has the courage to do that, it’s pretty impressive. However, again, this shows that the Attack the Block gang do things in a different way, a way in which terrorist attacks are done (blowing things up) and a way in which most of the older generation perceive. It’s basically saying that no matter what way they become heroic or save the day, it’s that strength comes through friendship and that no matter what happens, friends and others come before you do. This is representing youth because a lot of people who are involved in gangs are always sticking together, they become more like family less than friends. They grow up together. Being in groups can cause people to stereotype you though, as being a gang or someone who would cause some sort of havoc.
All in all, both directors have represented these youths as being brought up into broken families. Moses doesn’t have a family; his family is his gang members. Joey has a family, but he lost his mother, the main person in his life. Then Joey’s friend Alice is shown as having a broken family too as she is seen arguing with her Dad. Throughout the films, you see these youths progress and grow up as they are their own individuals through most of the film and they needed to be strong and mature to ensure safety for others around them and to save their estates. This evidently shows that both films are challenging the stereotypical youth conventions as they are both contradicting how society feels about youths. They are a lot smarter and mature then they think, they may act differently and they may be alarming or innocent, but they are still challenging youth conventions by taking on the parental role (the main protagonists/antagonists of both films) for them and others. You could say that Attack the Block reinforces this idea of broken families causing disruption in the youths, because Moses and his gang members are more corrupted and Moses being without parent’s shows that he hasn’t had a good upbringing, so he wouldn’t have manners etc. Super 8 challenges youth stereotypes, whereas, Attack the Block does both challenging and reinforcing.
All in all, after analysing the two films in high detail, I noticed that youth was represented through the way in which the actors and actresses were portrayed. Example one, in the independent London situated film Attack the Block, we notice that the main characters in the film are a gang of ‘chav’s’. The way in which they speak and dress are the main give away as to who they are inside, personality wise. In society and media usually any youths that are dressed in this way are in-fact addressed as troublesome people; they would usually be seen mugging people or inflicting pain on others, etc. We first see this happen in the beginning of Attack the Block when it all starts out negative, however, as the film progresses we notice a change of heart in the gang of youths, they end up helping people and a lot of positive attitude is spread throughout the characters. The time period in which this movie was made in was in 2010, when the London riots were happening, the movie obviously can relate to this devastating point in history and the director has given us a sense of nostalgia as they are showing that if this is happening now, what would it be like in the near future? Furthermore, when we look at Super 8, the gang of youths that are involved in this film are the opposite of what youths are thought of today. The film depicts this by the youths involving themselves in something that is harmless and creative; they wanted to make their own Super 8 film away from the rural area. During the time period of when Super 8 was filmed, it was set in the time of the 1980’s. The kids in the film had to make do with what they had and they took it upon themselves to make a movie to spend their time, rather than causing problems. This film evidently goes against what the older generations think of us and they do it by their use of language and positive attitude to their elders who are involved in the film. The representation of youth in both of these films have their negatives and positives, for example, a negative could be that no matter what, people are constantly stereotyped for what they look like or for how they speak or the place in which they live. Positives of youth in these films are that, youths will stick together always to help each other out.
And show that we should never, ever, judge a book by their cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment