How far do the opening sequences of the films you have studied for this topic introduce their key messages and values?

Section B- Living with Crime (Bullet Boy, Get Carter)

·         How far do the opening sequences of the films you have studied for this topic introduce their key messages and values?

Both Bullet Boy and Get Carter introduce similar messages and values, such as the nonchalant attitudes towards crime and law breaking.  Get Carter shows this in two ways; drugs and porn. Carter is first introduced in the company of crime brothers as they all leer at pornographic images. On the train Jack is seen taking what looks like speed and acid. The unconcerned attitudes towards drugs in this film parrots the real life ‘Swinging Sixties’ fallout as in the seventies people moved onto more hard drugs such as heroin. This is seen, in Bullet Boy, through Ricky and Wisdom openly smoking marijuana in front of Curtis who is a young boy. Curtis is totally desensitised by this display and so shows his lack of a positive role model.

A key message in Bullet Boy is how crime is a continuous cycle. The opening scene of the film draws parallels between Ricky and Curtis, for example they are both seen lying down in an enclosed space with no escape, the message is reiterated when Ricky is smoking pot and Curtis places hay between his lips, copying his older brother. This act is also seen as children copying their elders and so hints at Curtis following in Ricky’s footsteps in a life of crime. In Get Carter a key message is how crime doesn’t always pay, for example, the tight framing begins to show how the environment is difficult to get out of and so can be seen as foreshadowing Jacks fate and demise.

Both films have travelling scenes from countryside into the city. The mise-en-scene in both films are similar, for example, as both parties head towards their intended destinations low key lighting becomes more prominent and framing becomes tighter, creating an illusion of entrapment. In Get Carter this is used to show differences between the North and South such as the people shown more intelligent in the south such as reading books instead of the newspaper. The lush green fields of the south as the train gets closer to Newcastle transforms into industrial power plants, the scenery becomes duller and grittier. Once he’s off the train there is an obscured shot of Carter this is of someone else’s POV. This reinforces the idea of being trapped and being watched. However in Bullet Boy the countryside brings to light the themes of being trapped in the city and so no escape from crime. As Ricky, Curtis and Wisdom make their way through the countryside shots are a lot wider and the sky takes up much of the space. Nevertheless, as they get into the city there are more close ups of Ricky and one shot is of a building with no sky seen. This connotes that in the city there are barriers and no way out.

In summary, Get Carter and Bullet Boy have multiple similarities and their openings portray this. Both films were no made for entertainment and more for speaking out about the dangers of getting involved with crime and the criminal underworld. Where Get Carter portrays the realities of the ‘Swinging Sixties’, Bullet Boy shows the rise in gun crimes in recent years with in London.