An Analysis of Representations in 'The Selfish Giant'.

Today I will be analysing seven different social representations from the film The Selfish Giant , I will also summarise a few points on how I will be using these representations in my own production work.

Regional Identity

(At 19:35 we are shown a grotty public area.)

At 19:35 we can denote a wide shot showing some graffiti and a few broken stores as well as your regular postbox.This connotes that the area is a place where most people would go because the postbox would be used by local people and its still habited due to the still present national lottery sign.The graffiti highlights this type of area is ran by your typical ASBO's and the buildings are dingy and natural lighting is used to show you the natural greyish tint of this area, however a grey blue overcolour used.The national lottery sign in the shot suggests this area is full of lowerclass and working class people who try to win the lottery to escape this lifestyle.This represents the characters who are in need of money and a better home , for example, Swifty's mother fits the archetype of  the lost woman , she is an example of a person who would benefit from winning the lottery as she owes people money,which Swifty covers from doing dirty work in the scrap yard.

Age

(At 11:08 , Arbor is calling attention to his young age.)


Age is represented harshly through the characters of both Arbor and Kitten.At 11:08 we denote Arbor acting like a normal boy his age should.He is in class messing around trying to call on his friend Swifty,this contrasts to 39:30 where he earns money from working at the scrap yard.Kids of his age shouldn't be working in such a dangerous environment,yet the scene where Arbor earns some money shows him acting much older than he is.Arbor does not value education due to his poverty situation,he is thrown into the process of making money at an earlier age to make ends meet at home.Kitten is at least double his age and is a grown man,he allows Arbor to work for him which is not responsible.This takes away the fine line between an adult and a child because they can do the same work and Kitten may act like a dominant man,but he is not respected or admired.In fact,Kitten takes advantage of the fact that Arbor is younger by taxing him when he is still under the age of 16!

Disability

(ADHD is shown at its worst through Arbor and depression is shown through Swifty's mother)

At 1:07 to 1:30 we denote Arbor banging furiously under his bed,his face is contorted with rage to illuminate the idea he is aggressive.This connotes that his disorder,ADHD is not controlled because he seems to still be suffering the symptoms quite severely.A little bit later on in the film,Arbor's mother briefly talks about Arbor's medication,there is little attention to his illness and his medication is taken and given very casually.I believe Bernard uses this to represent how different families cope with different types of illnesses and how this lowerclass family in particular do not provide enough for Arbor.At 9:18,Arbor acts abusive towards his mother which further shows how his ADHD is not under control , one symptom Arbor is showing here is oppositional defiant disorder.Disability is represented to be brutal and Arbor's disability is not sugar coated.Another example of disability is explored through Swifty's Mother.She is represented as someone who is weak and failing as Swifty has to pay the debt collectors because she is too hopeless to provide for her and Swifty herself.

Social Class

(Poverty is shown through Arbor's ripped clothes and through the selling of the sofa at 13:34)

Through out the film ,we denote Arbor wearing nearly the same outfit throughout with tears and holes.This connotes that Arbor's family is unable to afford proper clothing for him and he is living a slum like life.Lower class children such as Arbor are often targeted to be bullied because of their background ,this is shown at 14:51 where fellow classmates of his are saying his housing area is "disgusting" and when Arbor tries to retaliate they call him a "tramp".The director uses the lost boy archetype in particular to make the audience sympathise with Arbor's poverty and show you a first hand perspective on what its like living in these poor conditions and how he differs from even the middle working class people.The selling of the sofa at 13:34 exaggerates the extreme lengths family households have to endure to make ends meet.Price drop is represented as the failing man and his name simply exuberates his lack of value.He is seen selling things at a discounted price which not only reflects the lowerclass society,but also him as a character and how as a man he fails to provide.
Another powerful representation of a lower social class is at 18:12 when Arbor's mother is talking to the headteacher.There is a great contrast between their intellect as the headteacher represents a higher social class and Arbor's Mother as the lower.She complains that he is using much more intellectual language to intimidate her which determines our view that poor people are seen as irrelevant and looked down upon. 

Gender

(Men are represented as manual workers and women are represented to be weak)

One key location of the film is the scrap yard.The scrap yard exhibits male manual workers doing quite laboring jobs to earn money,highlighting the theme of masculinity.Arbor also teases Swifty for being too soft and tells him to toughen up,thus representing the male gender to be more dominant and brutal.The horse racing is an act of bravado between Kitten and the other workers to see who is the 'alpha'.Women are seen as weak and useless,this is shown as Price drop shouts at Arbor's mother to get back inside and he bosses her about and Swifty's mother is weak suffering from depression.The only strong female in this film is Kittens love interest as she works at the scrapyard, but even she is seen as  'weak' as she only does the money work rather than the heavy lifting.The director has represented gender in a much more old-fashioned way because the men are the only ones doing the tough work and women are seen as weaker and are objectified.On the other hand,when Swifty dies,Arbor looks to Swifty's mother for comfort,representing women as the more maternal role (refer to 1 hour 23mins)

Sexuality

Sexuality is not particularly explored in this BSR film,but homophobia is strongly seen.Casually they will call eachother 'gay' which hints at homophobia being engrained in their culture and from their society.There are no characters who are gay or lesbian but the subtle homophobia suggests that if one was to be gay or a lesbian then they would be discriminated against.This illuminates the old third-world type of society because gritty areas such as this are not as open with sexuality.This also acts as surveillance for the audience as they acknowledge what it is like living in these areas that are homophobic and for personal identity if they feel sensitive to the controversial issue.

Ethnicity

(Characters are all predominately white,only one other minority group (asian) is shown which is at 11:52)

(White people are seen as chavs)

All the stock characters used in this film are white,with the exception of one Asian boy at 11:52.This connotes Bradford to be ran by white people in particular.The white familes are often big,which is denoted at 12:58 when they had to all line up to get their dinner and sit down.These white families are the ones facing poverty and they are shown to be quite rowdy as the kids swear in the street which gives the impression they are not taught any manners at home.In conclusion, white people are represented as chavs because all they wear is cheap accessible clothing which is often dirty or ripped like Arbors or just a simple tracksuit.Kitten is also referred to as a "pikey" which means a traveler so we know that most of these white people may be gypsies rather than your traditional Christians.