Cubs

These issues in the film cubs link to the representational areas of age and class/status. The boy receives peer pressure from the groups surrounding him. He has a need to be chosen by the gang in order to gain respect from them. You can see that there is a hierarchy between the boy and the gang leader. The reason why he wants to be chosen is because of the peer pressure building up towards him. The mise-en-scene shows the gang leader wearing a bright red jacket. A hierarchy is established between the protagonist and the antagonist. The antagonist, gang leader, is filmed from a low angle shot. The camera starts from the bottom showing his trainers, and pans to the top of the screen revealing his face. It shows that he is in power and appears as though he is looking down on the audience. In the mise-en-scene, his red jacket is emphasized in this shot. Red is a colour that is associated with danger and so reveals an aspect of his personality which he didn’t need to reveal with speech.

Specific shots are used to differentiate the association between the two characters and their backgrounds. There has been a large use of different camera techniques to highlight these points. There is a scene in which the antagonist and the protagonist are speaking to each other through a fence. When seen from the protagonist’s point of view, it appears as though the gang leader is locked away behind bars. Also, the placement of his hands on the fence shows that he has been locked away and has no way of getting out. This represents gang crime, and the world that teenagers such as those in the film have led themselves to live in. The silence between the two creates an uneasy feel and adds to the tension in the film. All you can hear is the diagetic sound of the busy streets surrounding them. There is no speech included in this particular scene, only a look given to the protagonist by the gang leader which intimidates him. This is another technique given into peer pressure.

Every now and again we can hear a high pitched sound which is very uncomfortable. It’s slow and haunting, almost like a bad omen. The fast editorial pace, with lots of cuts in a short space, is employed to contrast with the longer sequence shots which again create texture in the film.

The colours in the film are dull. Colours such as grey, black and brown have been used in order to create a sense of emptiness. A lot of the film has been shot inside a tunnel. A tunnel has two different exits. This is significant within the film because it represents the choice the boy will have to make. He can either choose to exit one way, which means running away from crime and violence. However, he looses his reputation within the gang. The other choice he has is to choose the other exit, this means giving in to the peer pressure and committing crimes, which he would in future, regret. The proxemics between the two characters are quite close when they are talking to each other. When filmed in a wide shot, their height difference is emphasized and therefore shows the gang leader with more power. The closeness of their proximity shows a constant power struggle between the two characters which the antagonist consequently wins. The fast editorial pace of the film builds tension, especially in the scene where they try to catch the fox. The quick camera movements create an uneasy feel and atmosphere.