SSC Film Studies

In the film get Carter the North is represented negatively. The director of the film depicting it as boring, industrial and glum.

The opening scenes of get Carter are a visual signifier of the North south divide which is a major factor in the film. The first few scenes as the train leaves the south shows green fields, blue skies and sunshine- presenting the South to be serene, upper class and idlyic, where as when the train enters the North the sky becomes darker and the location is more industrial showing nuclear power plants and smoke. This clearly potrays the south to be lower glass, depressing and unkept which reflects what it would of been like in the early 1970's after WW2.
Carter lives in the south and shows clear distaste for new castle throughout the opening scenes, he believes he is too good for the city and belongs in the south. Carter is reading a book on the train ride, the book entitled "farewell my lovely" the camera then tracks across to show another man reading the sun newspaper, this is considerd low brow and is used to potray how Carter feels he has more intellet and class because he is a reading a novel, the director has purposely used irony in this scene because the book Carter is reading was considerd "pulp fiction" which signifies to the audience that in reality Carter is not upper class but apart of the mass, not the elite.

After Carter leaves the train station he is shot walking to a bar. When he arrives in the bar he immediately is framed above the others. He sees himself to be upper class as he ignorantly clicks his fingers at the barman demanding a tall glass, tall glasses are used in the south. When jack enters the bar the people are suspicious of him, the director challenges the Newcastle stereotype instead making the people seem unfriendly. The man who cater glares at after demanding a tall glass has six fingers which is empathises through the medium close up. The six fingers is another visual signifier that the people of New Castle are of lower status to carter, they are genetically inferior.

later on in the movie there is a scene that cuts between carter in bed with Edna, to a marching band outside. Marching bands are associated with working class culture and suggest traditions but the marching band is not meant to represent this, instead the director is criticising the loss of working class communities. the background mise-en-scene depicts destroyed buildings left from the war, no one has made an effort to  rebuild them, instead we see bleak modern 1970's buildings.
The director cuts from scenes of Edna and carter to the marching band scenes which is a juxtaposition of the two scenarios, above Edna bed is a picture asking "what would Jesus do", Christian believe it is a sin to have sex outside of marriage. Although because the pill was around Edna is able to have sex with carter. The camera acts as if it is patronising the situation  by empathising the picture. the director is making a comment on the decline in moral values in the UK and its direct impact on society.