Analysing Fish Tank
Theme and situations
We see a young girl trying to fulfill her dream of becoming a dance, but unluckly grown up in a bad area which stops her from achieving her dream. The block she lives in doesn't give much hope as well her mum trying to put her in a private school. We see this kind of situation in social realism movies as the estates sums up reality, once your in, your stuck because your dream becomes harder to fulfil. Its an unvarnished picture of the struggles people in this situation face. I would use the location as it makes the story more real and gives it verisimilitude.
We also she the topic of underage relationship, between the Mia and Conor. Mia is only 15 which means she is still a child. We see Conor and Mia get closer, as she has no father figure she turns to him for comfort but this escalates into an un-natural relationship between the underage girl and older man. This is a situation that happens to some young girls, as they get stuck in an imagery world of feeling special, social realism highlights this situation. If i had this in my movie i would use it show the affect of the relationship in a negative way so people become aware of underage relationships. As we see Mia getting to involved in the relationship.
We also she the topic of underage relationship, between the Mia and Conor. Mia is only 15 which means she is still a child. We see Conor and Mia get closer, as she has no father figure she turns to him for comfort but this escalates into an un-natural relationship between the underage girl and older man. This is a situation that happens to some young girls, as they get stuck in an imagery world of feeling special, social realism highlights this situation. If i had this in my movie i would use it show the affect of the relationship in a negative way so people become aware of underage relationships. As we see Mia getting to involved in the relationship.
This storyline is a typical social realism as it deals with many different point that happen to people in everyday life, especially in Britain. We see Mia not getting along with her mum which leads to her out burst, The sister fights, under age drinking and anti social behaviour which is seen when see's peeing on the floor and breaking into the area with the horse. This film is not an escapist movie, but the topics the film deals with is how some young girls who have grown up in a rough area may deal with. The film doesn't cover the situations up, they show it how it is. I would use this due to the fact that the audience then can identify and taken in from the situation that the film deals with.
Representation (stereotypes and archetypes)
The little girl challenges the common stereotype of a little girl who are meant to be sweet and innocent, we see the little girl smoking and swearing breaking the ideology of little girls. Children are meant to be innocent and hopeful, due to her area of growing up she has been shaped into her character. This is common in social realism due to the fact that it shocks the audience that children act in this manner. I would show this due to the idea of showing children are not innocent and copy what they see.
Conor fits the dominate ideology of a typical man which is being very sexual, as we see him and Mia get very close. This idea of men being very sexual is shown through a underage relationship. He breaks the trust of Mia's mum to sleep with Mia. Social realism show different sides of genders, but deal with issues that happen. I would us this to outline the difficulties in a relationship.
Conor fits the dominate ideology of a typical man which is being very sexual, as we see him and Mia get very close. This idea of men being very sexual is shown through a underage relationship. He breaks the trust of Mia's mum to sleep with Mia. Social realism show different sides of genders, but deal with issues that happen. I would us this to outline the difficulties in a relationship.
The stereotypes of the mother is challenged very much in this movie as we see her abuse Mia. We see her hit Mia and tell her she nearly aborted her. This is a challenged stereotype of a mother as we expect mothers to be a safe place and caring. This is common in social realism movies because it shows how a mother and daughter relationships work in different situations. I would us this because it shows how different environments can affect someones life. Mia has to look after her self at such a young age.
Mise en scene
The mise en scene is very low key and dark as we denote estates which connotes no hope for the younger generation. Also the mise en scene is very run down which is typically as Fish tank is made by an independent company who lack budget unlike hollywood. Social realism tries to keep the colour natural to get a real feel of life in the world of the story. This is common convention in social realism due to the whole idea of them not be varnished and non escapist. I would use this as it creates a sense of lost hope and no way to escape reality.
The costume that the character wear are very cheap as we can see that the family struggle for money as Mia steals and tries to get a job. The costumes are very basic and are made to appeal realistic to the storyline. We can see they are working class which means the costumes are very realistic. Mia is shown in simple joggers and a top and the mum in very basic non branded clothes. This is common in social realism films because they try to make the story and characters real as possible. I would use these costumes to make it look as real as possible.
Conor's actions in his performance makes the audience connote him as a life saver to the family but over time we see him abuse his level in the family as him and Mia betray the mother. We first she him trying to bring the family together and looking after Mia but then its escalates. This is seen in social realism movies as it happens in life to families. I would use this to show the seriousness of letting a stranger take so much control in the children's life. We denote the little girl to be very sad when Conor leaves as she is unaware of his action, His is also married which was hard to see during the middle section.
The costume that the character wear are very cheap as we can see that the family struggle for money as Mia steals and tries to get a job. The costumes are very basic and are made to appeal realistic to the storyline. We can see they are working class which means the costumes are very realistic. Mia is shown in simple joggers and a top and the mum in very basic non branded clothes. This is common in social realism films because they try to make the story and characters real as possible. I would use these costumes to make it look as real as possible.
Conor's actions in his performance makes the audience connote him as a life saver to the family but over time we see him abuse his level in the family as him and Mia betray the mother. We first she him trying to bring the family together and looking after Mia but then its escalates. This is seen in social realism movies as it happens in life to families. I would use this to show the seriousness of letting a stranger take so much control in the children's life. We denote the little girl to be very sad when Conor leaves as she is unaware of his action, His is also married which was hard to see during the middle section.
Music and sound effects
Most of the sound in fish tank is diegetic, due to making the story look more real. Social realism are made to represent reality in Britain. I would make all my sound diegetic because it adds to the reality of the story being told.There is a lot of foley sound in fish tank which adds more verisimilitude to the story. We hear the sounds of babies crying, people and cars, this adds to the reality of the story because these are the normal sounds you hear in the story. This is common due to making social realism sound real, most social realism are shot in urban area which have these common sounds. I would add these sounds because they make the story more real.
We hear mia's music when shes listening to it on her headphones to take us into her world. The music helps us understand her, the music that is played is very un-beat which could suggest her actions. The music in social realism movies are mainly made to match the action, normal very fast to represent bad actions. I would us a very up-beat to show violent situation.
Camera work and editing
There are a lot of long takes within fish tank, which makes the story seem like its flowing and flows the action. The long takes also make the story seem more real as it adds parts of the story which may are not needed. This is used in social realism due them not being varnished, but also because it makes the story more real. I would use this because you can add little parts of make the film appeal to British audience. We a long take when Mia is crossing the road on the way to Conor's.
The editing is continuity editing, this as well as long takes makes the story follow, as reality does. This makes the storyline look more real to the audience because it doesn't cut out any bad bits. social realism use these because allows people to see the hardship and un-varshied life some people live.
We also see a lot of long shots of the area, this shows the audience where the characters are being brought up in and allows us to see how some people live in Britain. We see a long shot when Mia is looking at the horse. The long shots of the area create the sense of reality, which is shown a lot in social realism movies.
The editing is continuity editing, this as well as long takes makes the story follow, as reality does. This makes the storyline look more real to the audience because it doesn't cut out any bad bits. social realism use these because allows people to see the hardship and un-varshied life some people live.
We also see a lot of long shots of the area, this shows the audience where the characters are being brought up in and allows us to see how some people live in Britain. We see a long shot when Mia is looking at the horse. The long shots of the area create the sense of reality, which is shown a lot in social realism movies.
Dialogue
The dialogue used in Fish Tank is very uneducated, as they have a very poor RV and use slang. The Dialogue between all the characters is very rude as we hear the little girl swearing and the mother swears to her daughter. This is common in social realism movie as it allows the audience to see how all ages and gender are effected by the area you grow up in. We don't see Mia or the young girl attend school or show any interest in school.
Secondary research
Fish tank won a Bafta award for Outstanding British Film, they also won 2 independent British film awards for best director and newcomer. Also at the cannes film festival they won the Jury Prize.
Fish Tank made £103,180 in their opening weekend and grossed £598,162. The amount made wasn't that much but did do well with the critics, which independent movies rely on to market their films.
Fish Tank was released on DVD which is different for an independent movie to be released on DVD due to lack of money. Fish Tank used music from all over the place not just UK on the soundtrack.
In the trailer we see a lot of critics quotes, helping with the marketing, if critics like the movie then they (film company) believe that the audience will watch it in cinema.
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