Representation of Women in This is England

In this is England there are only three female characters; Cynthia, Smell and Lol. These women each represent their gender in different ways, each embodying different characteristics that women have.

One representation of women in this is film is that they are 'free'. This is shown in the scene with Combo and Lol in the car. Lol rejects combo and in doing so, represents the choices that other women don't have in film. this scene also shows that women are seen as active characters. Lol rejecting Combo works to drive the narrative as it can be seen as pushing him off the deep end and could act as a catalyst to bring about Combo's attack on Milky.
Lol's power and fearlessness in this scene is also shown through the camera shots as the shot-reverse shot uses the exact same shot types on both of them meaning that Lol and Combo are equals in power and domination.

 When the shots change to big close-ups with a shot of Combo we feel like he is dominating us and Lol as his face crowds the screen leaving almost no free space. However as it cuts to Lol's face we see the exact same big close up, almost as if she is fighting off his dominance with her own.

Quite early on in this scene we can tell that Lol holds the power as Combo acts small and intimate whereas she is closed off and actually tells him off for interrupting her from going to work. This shows her fearlessness and her rebelliousness towards the dominant power.

Women are also shown as motherly and protective of those that they care for. This is shown in both Cynthia and Lol. Cynthia shows her protectiveness best in the cafe scene when she complains about Shaun's hair saying "you will have problems if you touch his hair again." Her protectiveness is effective as the gang are silenced by her stern tone and dominating posture.  Cynthia also appears 'sexless' with her denim attire and enormous glasses. This is because she is meant to be Shaun's mum and that is her only singular role.