Major Themes Within the Opening of Bullet Boy and Get Carter

How Are The Major Themes of both Bullet Boy and Get Carter

Introduced and reinforced in the opening sequences?

By Michael O’Neill

The opening scenes in both Get Carter and Bullet Boy touch upon numerous themes, which reflect the general feel of the entire film. These themes are: ‘Living with Crime’, crime and location. I will be writing a detailed analysis analysing all of themes and comparing both films.

The first theme I will be discussing is ‘Living With Crime’; the opening scene of Bullet Boy sees Ricky being released from prison. The idea of prison suggests to the audience that crime plays a big part in this film and is probably a factor that highly affects Ricky’s life and also the lives of people around him.

Whilst in his cell the only shot the audience sees is a shot of Ricky’s eyes through a small opening in the door to his cell. This shot is used to represent the belief that Ricky is trapped, not just by the justice system but also by his own actions and the actions of those around him.

Some would argue that the film tackles the harsh subject of racism, this is because throughout the film the only people Ricky chooses to be involved with are black and everyone who holds some form of authority are white the police officer and the probation officer are white. However the film also ventures deeper and comments on sexism, in Bullet Boy Ricky’s probation officer is a white female suggesting to the audience that women’s rights have increased greatly and led London/England into a new age. However in Get Carter women are treated as second-class citizens and are only there for the benefit of/to be controlled by the male characters.

A similarity in location for both themes would be the usage of the countryside. In Get Carter Jack is shown travelling first class on a train through the countryside. The view gives out a peaceful feel to the audience due to its undisturbed natural feel. The same applies for Bullet Boy as when Wisdom is on his way to collect Ricky from prison his journey is disrupted by Curtis who has been in the boot of the car the entire time. Wisdom orders Curtis to leave the car but Curtis replies “I don’t know where I am” implying that the boy isn’t vey well travelled, this could be due to financial troubles or the belief that kids in rural London have no purpose leading the perks of the “big city”.

As the countryside scene progresses for both films the audience and the characters are introduced to the “home” of the characters. Both locations are cities that seem rundown and forgotten (1970’s Newcastle and rural London). Both cities are towered with glum looking concrete buildings that block out the sun (a possible indication that there is no hope for the people/communities of this city).

A lot of the shots in the opening of Bullet Boy are point of view shots by Ricky, this is to show the audience his general disgust of the town he once called home. For Get Carter however the audience are shown a series of shots focusing on Jacks facial expressions (these are often unhappy ones as he is clearly unhappy with the fact that he has been forced back here and would rather be living his fancy life up in London)