The document analyzes representations of the North in the film Get Carter. It discusses three key scenes: 1) The train journey sequence contrasts sunny skies in the South with a dark, industrial North that Carter journeys to, representing the North-South divide. 2) In the pub sequence, Newcastle is depicted as cold and sinister, with unfriendly locals viewed with suspicion. Carter sees himself as superior to the northerners. 3) The marching band scene juxtaposes decline of community and moral values with Carter and Edna's relationship, criticizing the loss of working class solidarity and portraying a closed-off culture instead of a warm community.

2. Starter Task
What associations are brought to mind when you think about Newcastle?

3. Starter Task
What associations are brought to mind when you think about Newcastle?
“Why-aye-
man!”

4. Look at the pictures on your handout and:
Write a short paragraph answer to this question:
How is the North represented in Get Carter?
(You must cite specific examples from the film to support your points)
What does this mise-en-scene tell us about Newcastle/Gateshead in the late
1960’s/early 70’s?
Starter Task

5. The locations used in Newcastle add a grim sense
of despair and decay to the film
This is achieved through naturalistic camera work
Long static camera shots have been used to
position the audience within the film
We get the sense of being present, as a bewildered
bystander as the gangsters go about their
“business”
The long tracking shots of people walking/talking
may be boring and monotonous at times, but this
has been done to emphasise the down to earth
realism of the film
The North

6. Learning Objectives
Analyse the representation of Location
Newcastle/Gateshead
“The North”
Analyse key scenes and link the representation
of location to social issues
Evaluate our findings and link them
to social issues of the 1970’s

7. Watch the ‘Train Journey’ sequence from the opening of Get Carter
Analyse the use of micro elements and make notes on the
following:
How is the ‘South’ represented?
How is the ‘North’ represented?
What does this sequence tell us about Carter?
The North

8. Carter sits in a train carriage reading Raymond
Chandlers ‘Farewell my lovely” – a reference to
how Jack see’s the south
Is this also a subtle hint that he will never return?
Outside the windows we see sunny skies and green
skies – an idyllic and pleasant representation of the
south
Carter also dines in the first class carriage - he is
used to the finer things in life
He see’s himself as sophisticated - a theme that
runs throughout the film
“Farewell my Lovely”

9. As Carter journeys further north industry begins to
appear and the sky turns black
Jack has travelled from the Bright & Sunny South to
the Dark, Industrial North
The man in the carriage with Jack is reading a
tabloid newspaper, seen as ‘low brow’ and
appealing to the masses, rather than the elite
Jack disembarks in to an unappealing, bleak
representation of Newcastle
This sequence acts as a visual signifier of the North
/ South divide which is a major theme of the film
“It’s Grim up North”

10. Watch the following sequence and makes notes on
the representation of location
Consider:
Characters
Settings
Use of the Micro elements
Pub

11. Rather than emphasising the warmth and good humour
conventionally associated with Northern Urban life, Hodges
represents Newcastle as a cold, sinister landscape
The people are suspicious and unfriendly
When Jack enters the Bar he is immediately framed above
the others
Jack clearly see’s himself as better than the locals and looks
down upon them
His request of a pint in ‘a tall glass’ informs us of Jack’s
perception of himself as more sophisticated than the locals
The Six-fingered man at the bar is also a visual signifier of the
northerners lower status – they are genetically inferior
PUB

12. Learning Objectives
Analyse the representation of Location
Newcastle/Gateshead
“The North”
Analyse key scenes and link the representation
of location to social issues
Evaluate our findings and link them
to social issues of the 1970’s

13. Marching Band
Watch the following sequence and makes notes on
the following:
What does the Marching band potentially
represent?
By cutting between Carter & Edna, what comment
is Mike Hodges making?
What does the mise-en-scene tell us about
Newcastle?

14. Marching Band
The marching band scene is key as Hodges criticises the loss of
working class communities
Parades and marching bands are often associated with working
culture (In film & TV) and usually suggest old traditions
The Marching Band scene is clearly not meant to be seen this
way –
It is a brash and hollow spectacle
The background mise-en-scene depicts destroyed buildings let
untouched since the war – no attempt has been made to rebuild
them
In the distance we can see the new concrete buildings of the
1970’s

15. Marching Band
Cutting between Edna (unmarried) and Carter sleeping together
and the Marching band juxtaposes the two scenarios and is a
comment on:
The decline in moral values and standards in the UK and its
direct impact on community and society

16. When representing the working class, British filmmakers often
use humour and community spirit to off set the hardships of
life
Coronation Street for example associates working class culture
with warmth and good humour
Marching Band
Is the same true of Get Carter?
Get Carter depicts a Working Class culture with no sense of
solidarity or community – instead it is a cold and insular
environment
Carter has noisy neighbours who watch everything
Instead of a community we see a small minded, suffocating
culture of distrust

17. Exam Practice
How is ‘The North’ represented in
Get Carter?
Complete an analysis of ‘The North’
Include:
Train sequence
The Pub Sequence
The Marching Band Scene
Your work should take the
form of a poster or mind map
that you and other students
can use when you revise for
your exam