This Is England Analysis

The introduction to ‘This Is England’ is a short montage that flicks between positive and negative images of stock footage from 1980’s England that help set the scene, time and feel of the film. The style of the letters when credits appear on the screen look old and almost rusty which also help set the tone. Many of the clips are funny or entertaining to watch, which appeals to a wide audience and helps get people interested in the film. However, much of the footage is of iconic events, breakthroughs or events that took place during the time in which the film is set, in the 1980’s. This is targeted at a niche audience, of who can remember such events taking place, such as Princess Diana’s and Prince Charles’ wedding or the introduction of video games. This will give this part of the audience a sense of comfort and will help trigger some of their memories from that time. The upbeat music clashes with some of the dull images of England, which suggests that even though it was a dull place at that period of time, a lot of things happened that were fun and upbeat.

The immediate shot of a cartoon character singing brings a sense of humour to the film, which will surprise the audience and make them really think of where it is going. The grainy picture ensures the audience that this is not modern footage, which will also interest them. A black screen with the name of ‘Warp Films’ and ‘Shane Meadows’ (the director) appear after the first two clips to show their importance and status. However, this bold screen soon dies down, but names still appear on screen to show that they are too important but not as important as the first names listed. The fact that the font and style of letters in which the credits appear are old and worn away, give the impression of lack of control and cleanness. This is also enhanced when the shot of Margret Thatcher appears driving a tractor. She is an iconic and famous face around the world for being the prime minister of England during the 1980’s. However, the almost confused expression she is making straight after the shot of the cartoon character, and the fact that she is driving a tractor really show the ‘out of control’ feel. However, just from this one clip, the audience will start to bring suggestions into their minds of exactly where and when the film is set. The dull weather shown in the Margret Thatcher shot is extremely stereotypical weather of England which will also help represent the setting.

The next few clips also help set the scene as there are images of bands and computer games, in particular a man playing the rubix cube. These are two major breakthroughs in which the 80’s era is renowned for. The stereotypical 80’s band, with guitars and long hair, and the massive gaming boom, which also give the feel that England was changing rapidly at the time. Most people know that the ‘rubix cube’ was first brought out and was extremely popular around the world in the 1980’s. After viewing all of these clips, almost giving hints and clues, the audience must have a rough idea of where the film is set and the time period in which it is in.

The scene then changes dramatically when there is a long tracking shot, perhaps from out of the window of a car, of old, scruffy houses along a dull street. The title of the film appears clearly in large white writing. This gives a sense of humour, but also of realisation to the audience. This shot takes away the glossiness of the previous clips and brings the audience down to Earth. The following shot introduces the gang culture and skin head culture of England during the 1980’s. It shows a group of school kids with shaved heads walking up stairs. This will start to excite the audience as this image will start giving ideas of crime and violence to the audience. The scenes of fights and riots following, ensure the audience of this. Some of these scenes are shocking as they are extremely violent. However, the cool and layed back song playing at the same time, suggests that this was not ‘out of the ordinary’ and this was the normal thing to do.

The closing clips are of soldiers fighting at war. The immediate thought the audience will get is of the Falklands war between England and Argentina. This is the most extreme violence that can happen, and the fact that it is involving England is almost warning the audience of what’s to come in the film. It is clear that a war is not a very nice place to be, as it is extremely dangerous. The fact the scenes of war follow the clips of England suggests that England during the 1980’s was almost like a ‘war zone’. The final clip is of a dead body being picked up and driven on the back of a jeep. This almost works as a shock tactic to prepare the audience for what is about to come. That the film is not going to be fun and laughs, but a real view of violence and death.

It seems, at first glance, as if all the different clips are just a fun montage that the director and editor have put together to make a ‘cool’ introduction to depict life in England in the 1980’s. However, every shot has a specific meaning in order to represent all the things going on at the time. And for anyone who has actually seen the film, can really start to link the introduction with the storyline and plot of the film. The film starts off with gentle humour, much like the introduction, soon followed by the gang culture and ‘skin head’ culture of England in the 1908’s. Followed and ended by death. This suggests that the introduction is almost a summary of the film before it is already started by showing original and real life footage of England at that time. This could enhance the fact that the director really wanted to get the message across to the audience that the film is so real, its actually real life. This clearly shows that the clips from the introduction were carefully chosen and edited in order to get this message across.