Get Carter - Representation

In Get Carter, men are active and often aggressive participants in the narrative, driving the plot forward. They are represented as feared and violent, as recognised in the scene involving Albert Swift and Carter; Swift visibly terrified at the prospect of being interrogated by Jack outside of the betting shop. They are also represented as dominant, especially to women, Carter using women to advance his investigation – never entertaining the idea of a relationship, simply a series of flings.

To the men in Get Carter, family and co-workers come first. They are shown committing serious acts of violence for their bosses and to save themselves from further violence, while Carter values his brother and niece in his investigation. He is provoked after seeing his niece Doreen in pornography from Glenda’s apartment, sparked by the fact that his own family is involved even more so than he first believed. That they would intervene in his family affairs sets Carter off even more than just his brother’s death.

Newcastle as a location is represented as secretive and conspiratorial, protective against Carter as ‘the outsider’. When Carter enters a building and around the streets of Newcastle, he is immediately observed by others, provoking a sense of paranoia in the character; as if his actions are being noticed.