Living with crime

What social scenarios are explored within each film?
'Sweet Sixteen' - the partnership between Liam and Pinball when selling thier drugs is what keeps them close friends. But when Liam joins the new gang, a strain is put on their friendship, which Pinball deals with by creating havoc and trouble. It seems that there is a lot of gang culture in his area and they all make money by selling drugs; this could be why Liam thinks it is okay to make his money this way. They live in a very run down area; it very bleak and grim which gives people living there a negative attitude.
'Bullet Boy' - Another strong friendship is displayed between Ricky and Wisdom, but they also clash over their differences. Wisdom often wants to deal with his problems with violence, while Ricky wants to avoid this to prevent him from going back into jail. He can see because of his time in jail, violence isn't needed and tries to get him out of it. Wisdom causes trouble with a rival gang after shooting a gang member's dog, which comes back to haunt both Wisdom and Ricky, even though ricky tries to call a truce between their two gangs.
'London to Brighton' - Kelly and Joanne seem as close as siblings after a traumatic 24 hours together running from a mobster and his henchmen. They seem to build a strong connection by sharing their feelings of a similar childhood of growing up on the streets. Even though they start off as strangers, they come together and fight through all the suffering and fear and come out of it all even stronger. They appear to have built a bond - Kelly does everything she can to help Joanne get away from the bad guys and home safely.

How is crime portrayed in each film?
'Sweet Sixteen' - crime is displayed as being the only motive for the characters to make money, although their intentions are good. For example, Liam wants his mum to be happy so he gets into the dirty and dangerous drug business in order to buy her a dream caravan for them both to live in. Liam is quite like Kelly ('London to Brighton') as her intentions are also good - she has to prostitute herself in order to raise her and Joanne's train fare for safety.
'Bullet Boy' - Ricky's hometown in North-East London is represented as the kind of gang cultured city where crime is everywhere (as we can see when Wisdom tries to fight their rival gang over something as simple as his car being in the way). The slightest thing can be made into a huge ongoing fight. Ricky is smart enough to try and steer clear from the violence in his neighbourhood after being in prison on an assult charge. He's seen where this kind of violence gets people and has no desire to set foot in prison again. He also tries to get Wisdom away from it all, but he is much too interested in the violence, and sometimes even seems to be looking for a fight.
'London to Brighton' - throughout the entire film, crime is the driving force; the factor that links all of the characters. The opening scene throws us straight into the crime as Joanne and Kelly are running from it. Again, the only way to make money in this film is crime; Kelly prostitutes herself in order to get their money to keep running away from more crime. It seems the only way to deal with crime in these films is with more crime.

In what ways are people deprived in each film?
'Sweet Sixteen' - In this film, Liam is essentially deprived of his mothers love and attention as she is in jail because of his abusive stepfathers dodgy drug dealing. He doesn't get to see her very often, and has to put up with beatingd from his grandfather and stepdad until he raises enough money to buy the caravan; which he doesn't earn in the best way - selling drugs and cigarettes in the local pub.
'Bullet Boy' - A good example of a clip in the film which shows Ricky's deprivation is when he is looking at Canary Warf in the distance from his balcony. It shows a contrast between the big, successful, rich city life, and the violent poor life he lives, with a lack of opportunities. His chances of getting a well paid and good job are very slim as he has a criminal record; this rules out his chances of having a successful career, he is very restricted on what he can do. Also, his restraining order and probation limits him, as he may want to fight the rival gang when we see the confrontation between them when the car wing mirror is damaged. He could want to punch them all, but does the right think and tries to keep them both out of trouble.
'London to Brighton' - Joanne is deprived of a normal childhood in this film; her mother is dead, her father beats her, and now she is begging on the streets and falling into the wrong hands. She is deprived of an understanding of the events in the film - in the cafe Derek asks her if she is a virgin and if she knows what it means. She claims she does and she isn't one, but hesitates, suggesting that she's not sure what it is - this shows that she is still young and doesn't have much of an understanding about these things. Joanne's situation is similar to Liams in 'Sweet Sixteen' as she is coping without her mother and an abusive father. She tries to make her money on the streets by begging at a train station in London.

What opportunities are available to the main characters in each of the films?
'Sweet Sixteen' - I'd say that Liam has no, if any, opportunities towards the end of the film. There is no mention of an education for Liam at all, which leads me to believe that he has no qualifications. This means he won't have as big an opportunity as others to get a well paid job in the future. When he goes to visit his mum in prison, she asks him about school and he simply laughs and ignores the subject, suggesting he doesn't care about it.
'Bullet Boy' - Ricky again never has any mention of schooling or college; due to his prison sentence, he may have been cut off from proper education. Therefore he would have no qualifications. He is limited on what job he can get; nowhere wants to hire a man who has been in prison for assult. Curtis, his little brother, appears to be folloeing in his footsteps, by taking the gun and skipping school.
'London to Brighton' - Kelly never has her background in education mentioned; we're led to believe she has none because she is in the prostitute business. Also, Joanne loses out on opportunities as she has run away from home and therefore wouldn't be attending school.

How are criminals portrayed within each of the films?
'Sweet Sixteen' - criminals are pertrayed as being a team; the jobs they do are a team effort. In this film, new members of the big drug gang are forced to undergo a test to prove whether or not they are tough enough to be in the gang; as we see when Liam is told to stab someone in a nightclub.
'Bullet Boy' - the crime in this is also a team effort, they all stick together and fight as groups. ricky is used to always having someone around him in a fight situation, usually Wisdom, but at the end of the film we see him standing alone at the train station surrounded by his rival gang members. This leads to his death.
'London to Brighton' - Stuart represents the upper-class mobster "boss". He is the one who is in control of everyone and everything. He knows how to put fear into people; he cuts Derek's leg open as a "taste" of what will happen to him if he does not do what Stuart wants. Derek is constantly telling Kelly of how much trouble he is in; because he hasn't done what Staurt has asked. Stuart wears a white suit and is accompanied by lots of henchmen. He is seen doing business over the phone in a strip club (where we are likely to see someone who is in that kind of business).

Can the protagonists escape from the situation they are in?
'Sweet Sixteen' - in this film, Liam feels it is his job to bring his family back together and get his mum away from his abusive stepdad. He feels the only way to do this is to earn money by selling drugs on the street. Also, a history of education is never mentioned, and at the time this film was set, unemployment was rampant. Therefore he wouldn't have had much of a choice, and wouldn't be able to escape the situation, because nowhere would want to employ a 15/16 year old with no qualifications. The only way for him to make money was in this dangerous and didgy business.
'Bullet Boy' - throughout the whole film, Ricky has a chance to escape. It is Wisdom and the people around him that keep him where he is. He constantly says about how he is going to move away and have a fresh start with his girlfriend, but everytime he manages to find an excuse to keep him there. He mentions the fact that Wisdom saved his life once; this tells us that Ricky feels he owes him. Whenever Wisdom gets into trouble he drags Ricky with him too. Ricky is still on probation after being released from prison on an assult charge, so he knows he cannot get heavily involved with violence. Also, his criminal record really holds him back from getting a proper job; it is as if he is trapped.
'London to Brighton' - Kelly never really has the opportunity to escape. She, like Liam in 'Sweet Sixteen', never have any mention of a background in education, which may be why she is in the prostitution business. She mentions to Joanne that she also used to live on the streets when she was younger, this tells us that she probably has been a prostitute for a long time; she has probably got used to it and thinks that she can't do anything else. Also, the lack of money holds both Joanne and Kelly back; if Joanne had the money she could have escaped from the situation whenever she wanted to. If it wasn't for Kelly, Joanne never would have got home. The two girls now have to live with the guilt of it being their fault that Derek and Chum are dead. And Joanne has to live with the fact that she has killed two men.

What punishments do characters receive for their crimes in each of the films?
'Sweet Sixteen' - after Liam spends more time with his new gang, Pinball sets him and his mums dream caravan on fire and burns it to the ground; which upsets him as it takes away the dream he had for getting his family back. Then Pinball 'punishes' himself by cutting his face right in front of him. Also, Liam's mum runs back to his abusive stapdad when she is released from prison, after feeling upset about how Liam raised the money to buy their new apartment.
'Bullet Boy' - Ricky is forced to leave his home by his mum when his little brother, Curtis, finds the gun that Wisdom had given Ricky, and uses it during a game of hide and seek where he accidentally shoots and injures his friend. However, it is Wisdom's crime of attempted murder that results in Ricky's death; at the train station (where Ricky is waiting to leave and start a new life) he is shot dead by Godfrey, their rival gang member who we see at the beginning of the film almost having a brawl with Wisdom over the wing mirror incident.
'London to Brighton' - because she stabbed Stuart, Joanne is forced to pay for it at the end when Duncan makes her pull the trigger which kills Derek. This will leave her emotionally scarred for life.

How is violence portrayed within each of the films?
'Sweet Sixteen' - shows how violence occurs because of the business they are in. Liam gets beaten up at one point and has his "gear" stolen off of him, which he gets up repeatedly and fights them for, resulting in serious injuries. It shows the dangers of the drug dealing business.
'Bullet Boy' - this film portrays violence as being something on every street corner and that anyone can just walk into, even for the smallest of things. For example when Ricky pulls Wisdom back from the brawl at the beginning over the wing mirror incident. It is easy to see how Ricky ended up in prison; the gang culture that surrounds where he lives seem to enjoy a fight, and therefore jump at the chance of a brawl. In Ricky's neighbourhood, there is always a fight just round the corner.
'London to Brighton' - we are constantly reminded of the violence throughout the film, as Kelly has a black swollen eye the whole way through. Violence is settled with more violence in this film; it is used to get what people want - when Duncan slashes Derek's leg as a threat that if he didn't do what he wanted, something worse will happen. Also, Stuart settles the violence of his fathers death by making someone else die for it.

What social restrictions are evident within each of the films?
'Sweet Sixteen' - the protagonist, Liam, shows to have social skills as he has a close peer (Pinball) but he also shows that the simplest misunderstanding, can make a long-lasting, incorrect impression.
'Bullet Boy' - Ricky also has a peer (Wisdom) who again shows that the simplest misunderstanding, if not handles correctly, can make an incorrect impression.
'London to Brighton' - Joanne is found begging outside Waterloo station. When Kelly first approaches her, she is instantly inquisitive and just wants her to go away. This shows that because of not being at home or going to school, Joanne doesn't get the opportunity to socialise with people and her life on the streets forces her to be blunt and quite rude.


How can the films be said to reflect aspects of contemporary society?
The scene in 'Sweet Sixteen' shows how Liam is beaten by a rival gang because of selling drugs; the gang then take the drugs for themselves and Liam attempts to get them back several times, and with each attempt recieves another beating. In real life, the drug trade can often be a very dangerous one and if moves are made incorrectly, beatings (and sometimes even fatalities) can happen. However, I think the realism of society reflected in this scene is the act of bullying. The rival gang are clearly unhappy about his involvement in drug dealing and what he is selling, so, as an act of jealously, they steal his drugs and beat him up. People in Liam's situation (being kicked out of his home because of an aggressive stapfather who beats him) can often find themselves in the drug trade as a result of them having no home of family. They are often desperate so make their money by selling whatever's easiest to sell - drugs.
Next, I want to draw attention to the situation Joanne is put in in 'London to Brighton'. Joanne reveals to Kelly that she has run away from home, at the very young age of 12, as sadly her mother died, and her father beats her. She is representing a realistic scenario in society. She tells Kelly that she ran away from home because she had 'nothing' for her there. Unfortunately, there are many children in Britain like Joanne who do the same thing because of the same reason, so society is well reflected in this aspect. The same applies for Kelly and her prostitution; the sleezy men she serves are literally all over the country, and so are prostitutes. Maybe this is how many of them are treated, so society is again well reflected in this way.
Finally, in 'Bullet Boy' when he finds the gun that Ricky has hidden, Curtis gives us the impression that he will follow in his brothers footsteps; the ones which Ricky is desperate to forget. The fear in this film is that younger siblings are so impressionable these days, and with gang culture rising in the younger generation, younger siblings are likely to grow up copying the actions of their teenage brothers/sisters. The comparison here is not necessarily related to crime in society; more the imitation of younger ones of their peers who have made mistakes, which the young ones can copy.

What links can be made between the social situation of the film, and the society in which we live?
In 'Sweet Sixteen' when Liam is initiated into the new drug-running gang, Pinball, his best friend, feels betrayed. He and Liam had previously been working together selling cigarettes, and entered the drug trade together, so he feels that when Liam begins selling as part of another gang, he has been left behind. Pinball cuts his own face with the knife Liam had been given when joining the gang, as an act of self punishment for burning down his caravan. The link to society in this film is the effect that drugs, but not taking them, still has on those close to you. When they are taken, drugs are bound to upset friends and family members. But in this film, no one is seen taking them, we only see them being sold. However, the effects are still powerful, with Pinball slashing his face and Liam's mum running away after her welcome home party. This just shows that its not always the consuming drugs that upsets people; it's getting involved with them that can be harmful. This is what links in well with society.
Also, in 'Bullet Boy', because of Rickys probation order and criminal record, he will now find it extremely hard to seek employment, as Curtis points out when looking at his CV. People interviewing him may find that it will be harder to talk to him (which of course is bad for a customer-friendly environment at work). Employers will often ask for details on the criminal record, which means that there is no way around it, he eill have to tell them exactly what happened. Because of this, it is not surprising that Rikki gets upset when Curtis mentions it.
Finally, in 'London to Brighton', Kelly is working as a prostitute, servicing anyone who comes along for money. There is never any mention of a record of a previous education or employment, and she is clearly disgusted with herself about what she does for a living. She feels as if there is nothing else for her, but her commitment and willingness to get Joanne back to safety is really strong. I think this shows that her disgust for herself really could be unnecessary and this is the link to society. People often feel like there is nothing better they can do with their lives and pick the job at the bottom of the pile (in this case, prostitution) and because they feel there is nowhere else they belong. A lot of the time, it is clear that they really could be doing something better if they just put the effort in. Kelly shows this effort when protecting Joanne and getting her safely home, but, she seems unaware of it, and so do many people who end up on the lowest step of the ladder in real life.