How is ‘The North’ represented in Get Carter?

How is ‘The North’ represented in Get Carter?

The north is represented as a dark, grim and paranoid place with many of the citizens being working class.

For example during the train sequence and the transition from the south to the north we get a sense of divide between the two visually. The south is depicted as bright, sunny and prospering with green fields and an open countryside. This appears to be the idyllic place for the typical Englishman. As we move down to north the sky becomes darker, more industrial buildings start to appear as the environment becomes more deprived.  Carter represents the general idea the south had on people from the north; he sees himself as sophisticated and is a bit of a snob because he looks down on the working class. While everyone else in the carriage is reading tabloids he is reading a novel, this visually shows that he sees himself as sophisticated. Carter also dines in the first class carriage, it shows that he is used to the finer things in life. Carters journey from the bright and sunny south to the dark, industrial south acts as a visual signifier of the North/South divide.

Moving to the scene of Carter going to the bar the first shot is a POV, this shows that someone is watching Carter from a distance. Inside of the bar he is viewed with suspicion and is seen as an outsider, the people there appear to be unfriendly and potentially hostile. Carter stands while all the other drinkers are sitting down; he is framed above them as it perceives himself as such. Carter represents a southern mentality that people that lived there had at the time towards those from the North. The people in the bar are old and appear to be worn out; they look like they have drunk since they were young. There is a man who has six fingers, this is meant to visually display that the people in the North are ‘mutants’ and are of lower status. Carter asks for his drink in a tall glass, this shows a sign of sophistication and being more civilised. The costume connotes wealth and taste in contrast with the clothes that the other people in the bar are wearing. Carter is shot via a low angle; we look up at him and shows he thinks he is sophisticated and superior. The experiences Carter has had in the South has developed an ego and this is displayed in how he walks, he walks in an arrogant and ego centric way which makes him come off as over confident. Rather than emphasising the warmth and good humour normally associated with the northern life, the director Hodges represents Newcastle as a cold and sinister landscape.

The marching band scene shows how moral values have started to decline in this community, for example in the room Carter and Edna are in there is a sign that says ‘what would Jesus say?’ and this is a comment on sex outside of marriage. Most working class communities tend to be religious and since the 60’s there has been a decline in moral values. The marching band in the scene is meant to promote community and working class values; however it is shown in front of a destroyed neighbourhood which shows a decline of the working class community and values. The marching band scene is used by Hodges to criticise the of the working class communities. Parades and marching bands are typically associated with working culture and usually suggest old traditions. The scene itself is clearly not meant to be seen this way as it is a brash and hollow spectacle, it’s just there as a backdrop for the sex scene and has no real value.

Get Carter as a whole depicts a working class culture with no sense of community and is a very cold environment. Carter has noisy neighbours who watch everything and instead of seeing a community we see a small minded, suffocating culture of distrust.