How is the North represented in Get Carter?

Hodges represents Newcastle as a cold, sinister landscape and the people are suspicious and unfriendly towards Jack Carter. Jack sees himself as higher class than the Northerners, he sees them as lower status and even genetically inferior which is suggested during the beginning of the film. The locations in Newcastle that are shown 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 bystander as the gangsters go about their business. The long tracking shots of people walking and talking can seen very monotonous and dull, yet they have been used deliberately to emphasize the pathetic realism of the film.

Whereas we see the North as very distinctive for accents and outgoing attitudes, Get Carter shows a very negative side to this view as it reflects the view of the people living in the South who think the judgmental towards the lower class people of the North, however Carter is seen reading Raymond North is very dull and similar to a wasteland. In the train journey sequence at the beginning of the film, Carter begins his journey in the South. The atmosphere is very bright and welcoming and the are is very open and green, representing the idyllic world of the South. Carter is sat reading a book, which suggests that he is well educated, but this is ironic as the book is used to show how Carter is Chandler's 'Farewell My Lovely' which is seen as a 'trashy novel'. However it could also be a reference to his view on the South and foreshadowing the face that he will never see it again.

The closer he gets to the North, it progressively gets darker. This passing of time connotes how he feels towards the North, and presents it as dark and dangerous. When they pass through a tunnel, they ride into darkness. This suggests that the North is the underworld of England, it is dark, depressing and unsafe. Out of the windows we see industrialization and a world that belongs to poverty, Carter begins to clean his spoon as he sees the North as dirty and lower class. He reads his book whilst the other passengers read tabloid newspapers. These are considered to be very low brow, suggesting that the people of the North are less educated compared to those in the South.

The pub scene shows how the Northerners feel towards people such as Jack Carter. As Carter walks to the pub, the camera follows him, this creates a sense of paranoia in the scene. It is clear that Carter has no respect for people in the North. Firstly, when he arrives at the bar he does not sit with the other men, he stands over them making him stick out more in the shot. As it tracks out to a wider shot, it is as if someone is watching Carter from the bar or outside, emphasizing the sense of paranoia. When Carter clicks his fingers at the bartender and asks for a drink in a thin glass, this shows how he is very patronizing towards the men in the bar as he believes he has higher status over them. The shot of him standing over the men whilst clicking his fingers establishes Carter's dominance within the scene. There is also a Northerner with six fingers in this scene, this suggests how from Carter's point of view the people of the North are genetically inferior or 'inbred'.

During the marching band scene, this tells the audience a lot about working class culture in the North. Whilst Edna and Carter are in bed after having sex, there is a sign saying "what would Jesus say?", this suggests that there is a lot of moral corruption in the North and the religious residents frown upon the actions of women such as Edna who is having sex outside of marriage. This is also reflected later on in this scene when her neighbor sees Carter naked outside Edna's house and becomes shocked, also reflecting the decline in moral values. The children's marching band suggests that the North has a lot of very proud, close knit communities, however there aren't many people out in the street, such as Carter and Edna who would rather be up in their own private space. This hints at how the 1960's lead to a decline in culture and community. The mise-en-scene in this scene depicts an untouched, war-inflicted Newcastle. There are destroyed houses and monotonous buildings surrounding the area and the sky is very grey, suggesting that this is a very dull and depressing place.