2. Genre
The form for this film is British Social realism. Social
realism is a film that focuses on topical issues in a
modern society which is represented by different
ideologies. The most common type of themes include
money, drugs, gangs or sex. The genre for this particular
film is teen drama.
Cubs have a stereotypical take on the genre teen drama.
For example, it highlights gang culture and different
stereotypes within a gang for example, it has a gang
which younger boys want to be in and try to be in and are
willing to do anything to be accepted by.
Another genre that we can see from this film is crime. For
example, the gang leader ‘brings in’ younger teenagers
into to the gang however the initiation includes hunting a
fox and killing it, in the film the gang leader pulls out a
gun to start the hunt.
3. Representation
As mentioned within the genre of this film that characters are
represented in a way that conforms with stereotypes of todays
gang culture. For example, the gang leader is represented as
stereotypical teen boy for example he is wearing a baseball
cap and a big coat which has connotations of violence. In
addition to this he follows the stereotype of being a gang due
to his ethnicity as most films that deal with gang violence tend
to make the majority of their characters black in order to
conform with stereotypes.
Following from the gang leader Karl, there is also
stereotypical representations of the gang, for example when
they all meet before the fox hunt starts and we see a variation
of shots that show close ups of the gang members drinking
and taking drugs again, conforming with stereotypes that the
society have on gangs who take drugs and drink alcohol and
probably underage. This shows that Tom Harper is trying to
represent todays take on gang culture as well as underage
smoking and drinking.
When it comes to stereotypes of teenage girls they normally
presumed as chavs who wish to be older especially within this
genre for British Social Realism, For example, Davis is a very
boyish name and she also has no makeup on with her
scraped back wearing baggy clothes and is also called a ‘boy’
within the short film showing that she is represented to be this
‘laddette’ which is a girl who is acting like a boy.
4. Audience
I believe the intended audience for this are
teenagers which is very similar to ‘cherries’
audience, I am guessing the reason for this is
because Tom Harper has written and directed films
towards people within this age. Another reason why I
believe the intended audience for this film are
teenagers is due to the genre of crime especially in
relation to gang crime. The reason for this is due to
gang violence being a very modern thing and is very
real in todays society, the vocabulary used such as
‘fam’, ‘bruv’ are words associated with the younger
culture in todays society, so this would relate more
to a younger audience rather then an older
audience.
5. Narrative
The film follows the idea of peer pressure for example the film starts off with all the teens playing
football which is a very innocent opening sequence for the film however, it goes on to reveal that a
gang leader Karl is essentially recruiting members and the teens who are playing football line up in
hope to be chosen to assist with the fox hunt later on that evening. The reason that it plays on peer
pressure is due to the fact they wish to part of the gang for example Davis says ‘he never picks us’
and Ben replies ‘He will this time’ showing the hope of being picked as part of the group. In addition
to this there is raw emotion from the characters for the longing to grow up and break out from this
innocence, there are several connotations of coming to age which is shown in the contrast from the
opening sequences of the group of teens playing football in the opening sequence to then the last
sequence showing Ben with the blood on his face from the fox called.
Throughout the film there are several connotations to country sport fox hunting. For example, the
film is essentially about hunting the fox which is a new hobby for them and is also used as an
imitation for new recruits. As well as the dogs being used as connotations for the dogs used to
search out foxes, as well as the use of costumes being used such as the red coat and flap hat
having connotations of the barber jacket and normally seen on countrymen.
We can see that the narrative is of a linear technique as it begins at the point of them playing
football however it then progresses through events to build towards a climax being when Ben
shoots the fox, however, this ‘fourth wall’ is essentially broken as Ben looks directly at the
audience. This has several connotations the first one being that he has definitely lost his innocence
and looks at the audience in a passive aggressive nature almost to make the audience ‘bow down
to him’ and to give him respect as that is essentially wants. Either that or he has realised what he
has done and now he cant get out of due to the peer pressure the potential danger that comes with
it, for example if he is under peer pressure and has already shot a fox maybe this foreshadows
what danger he could get him self in the future.
Either way it seems that he has lost his innocence especially when his friend Davis leaves, for
example at the start of the film Ben gives Davis his gloves in order to keep her warm but it does
have connotations of him trying to protect her especially from Karl, however, after Ben kills the fox
Davis gives the gloves back and goes home on her own which has connotations her not needing
protection anymore again reflecting the idea of innocence being no longer.
6. Institution
As shown at the start of the film in the opening sequence it has the institution
which is the UK film council, it is very similar to cherries which was also
written by Tom Harper, however the font is very similar which I believe has
connotations of it being a British Social Realism film aimed at a younger
audience due to it being quite ‘young’ font. The logo also has red splatters
behind it which foreshadows the blood from the fox.
The second institute linked to Cherries is Film London. Film London is
known as the capitals film and media agency. It was set up to promote and
develop London as a major international film-making capital. The
organisation is supported by the BFI and Mayor of London and was
established in 2003.
It has also been funded by the UK lottery fund which helps to promote young
talent.
7. Technologies – Camera Shots & Angles
This shot a ‘over the shoulder’ shot, this used to show the
authority that Karl (the gang leader) has over the younger
boy who he is trying to intimidate, this angle makes it looks
as if Karl is intimidating Ben which he is. It is also a close-
up shot of Ben showing the audience how scared he is,
however in the film he is trying to prove himself to Karl
which is that he is ready to be initiated into the gang which
also emphasises the fact that Karl intimidates him.
This is a ‘long shot’ which shows the gang leader
Karl with his friend, It looks similar to a ‘point of view’
shot as we can see the two characters walking
towards the park, we can also feel how Ben and
Davis feel as they must feel intimated and slight
scared, Karl is also wearing a red jacket which
connotes danger. The shot also shows what the
characters are wearing for example, they are both
wearing barber jackets and Karl is wearing a flat cap
which is similar to what country farmers war when
hunting for foxes as a ‘country sport’ .
8. Technologies – Camera shot & Angles
This shot is a ‘low angle shot’ normally when we see low
angle shots it often tries to represent the character as
superior then others however, in this case I think it shows
that she is in power of her choices. What I mean by this is
the theme of the film is peer pressure and these
characters deal with it , and they all want to be a part of it,
once they show this and we get to see Davis looking
down the camera quickly shifts to high angle shot from
the point of view of Davis for us to see what she is
looking at, we can see the gang in a graffiti ridded tunnel
and we see this moment in Davis whether she wants to
be a part of it or not however, in the end she decides to
go home, showing she is in power of her decisions.
When it goes on to see other members of the gang we
see close ups of the teenagers drinking and smoking and
what it looks to be ‘rolling a cannabis cigarette’ this shows
the stereotypical views that society has on teenagers,
especially the boys as they seen seem to showed a lot
rolling and smoking.
9. Technologies – Camera shot & Angles
I think these two shots are very interesting, the reason for this
is because they are both very similar shots however they are
for two complete opposite characters, for example the shot on
the right is where the gang leader Karl is taking it out of his
pocket, we see him very aggressive with it, whereas Ben was
frightened to use it. This also has connotations of peer
pressure. For example, you have a close-up of Karl taking it
out of his pocket but not actually using it on anything where as
Ben uses it on a fox showing that Karl has intimidated and
peer-pressured him into it. The gun itself has several
connotations, as it represents danger and really highlights
stereotypes of teenagers being in gangs and using guns.
I also felt that this shot was very interesting as well, the reason
for this is because we see a close up of Ben just after he shot
the fox and killed it and Karl wiped the blood on his face as a
reward and recognition that the done it, he looks scared as it
he looks a way however, just before the film finishes Ben looks
directly at the camera which instantly ‘breaks the fourth wall’
which makes it much more interesting for the audience
because they will probably think more about it. However, I think
the reason that they do this shot in particular is because it
highlights how the innocence is broken and how now the
audience should feel intimated in him rather then Ben being
10. The next shot that I fount very interesting was the
wide-shot of the gang members underneath the
tunnel where it looks a lot like silhouettes so we
don’t really get to the characters however we can
see weapons that they will use on the fox hunt.
What I fount interesting of this wide shot was the
fact it looks very similar to countrymen men lining
up before they go on a fox hunt which was then
classed as a sport which strengthens the idea of
what the film is based on.
When Ben attacks the fox we see a close up of the
cub which I see as a really disturbing image as we
see the blood and guts of the fox which was
foreshadowed by the title as there were splatters of
blood surrounding it , as well as Karl wearing a red
coat which both has connotations of danger and
blood. The cub is still alive at this point which
could potentially make the audience feel sad and
sympathetic towards the cub. Although it is evident
that the film symbolises the sport of foxhunting and
the raw reality of it I do believe this cub symbolises
Ben and what could happen to him in the future for
example, he was easily peer-pressured into and
could foreshadow that if he carries on then he
could potentially end up dead like the cub, which
also highlights gang culture.
11. Technologies - Editing
For the opening sequence it starts of with the teenagers
playing football in the park and then cuts to the opening title to
show the institution of the film and then back to the football
then back to the title. This is very fast editing which works
good with the hectic sound of the teenagers playing in the
park. When the open credits are shown the scene turns red
which connotes the danger within the film as when we see red
we firstly think of danger and it has connotations of blood
which fits within the narrative.
There is continuing editing throughout the short film to ease
the audience through what is happening which could be done
to make the audience have a deeper understanding due to it
being a short film, however, Tom Harper uses a handheld
camera in the majority of the film in order for the audience to
be in the middle of the action and to make the audience
understand the characters because he is has used invincible
editing to show close ups of the gang members of them drink
and smoking which does conform with the stereotypes that the
audience have of the characters.
12. Technologies - Sound
In the opening scene we start to hear the teenagers within the
playground playing football, this scene starts of at being very
innocent however, the sound of the boys kicking the football
foreshadows the diegetic sound of the gang leader, Karl
shooting the gun to start the fox hunt as well as the sound of
someone hitting something which we later see the main
character hitting the fox.
Throughout the film the diegetic sound of the group of
teenagers talking shows the slang that they use such as terms
as ‘bruv’, ‘fam’, ‘man’, ‘pussyhole’, ‘big man’.
When the gang leader talks to the main character there is a
low sound which sounds like a strong wind in the background
however it used to create the tension within the film to
connotation the violence that will happen on in the end of the
film.
The non-diegetic sound of the music in the end credits is a
typical sound used for British Social Realism films dealing with
gangs and violence as it is grime and rap music.
