This Is England

How conventional is the narrative of your chosen text?

It is clear that This Is England does not hold the stereotypical narrative structure that is suggested in Todorov's narrative structure theory due to the two disruptions that are prominent in this story and it could be said that this film is considered as one symmetrical narrative. 

The first disruption in this film would be when shaun first meets Woody and the gang in the tunnel on the way home from school after being in a fight at school. When Shaun meets the gang the whole dynamics of the film changes completely and this is the scene where we first   see shun actually laugh out loud however is a sense of foreboding as the audience may feel this won't last long. this scene also foregrounds the pathway that shaun is about to embark on, and by meeting Woody and the gang sets off a chain of events for Shaun that ultimately leads to racism and violence. The arrival of Combo in the film can be considered as the second disruption and where the film takes drastic dark turn and he acts as an action code which drives the film forward towards the violence that later takes place. There is even a physical element in the scene when Combo makes a speech, where he physically draws a line across the floor (at exactly halfway through the film) commanding the gang to make a decision, a decision that can ultimately change their fate. The line also connotes the symmetry of the film before and after shuns transformation and there is a clear mirror image of scenes that are shown, the corner shop scenes being the most significant. the first scene in the corner shop, although Shaun is considered to be the 'gobby' child which attitude, a cheeky choppy that likes to cause mischief. In the second corner shop scene Shaun's transformation becomes incredibly extrusive to the audience and the audience may feel shocked of this small boys transformation from the 'cheeky chappy' to the racist violent thug. 


Although this film isn completely conventional, It is distinct that the film takes place over a specific period of time, shaun's summer holidays'  shown by the caption 'last day day of term'. A specific time this idea is demonstrated is at the beginning of the film and the end of the film when shaun is t the beach. Both of these long shots are the longest shots in the film and positions the audience as though they are with Shaun and reinforces the Shaun' loneliness and how Shaun is in no better position at the beginning of the film than he is at the end. Another narrative device that is utilised is the montage of archive footage that is shown twice throughout the film, this shows therefore sets the era this film is based on, the time of year and even the specific time as a there is a clock that reads 7pm. 

Although some parts of this text are highly conventional of the narrative, there are also more so that can be considered unconventional and one of the most unique parts of the film that demonstrates this is the final shot of the entire film. This particular shot stands out from the rest and as you can see in the picture Shaun, the main protagonist, is shown staring directly in the camera, breaking the fourth wall. In effect, this brings the audience back to reality after the gritty, somewhat real film that they have just watched and reminds them that they are in fact just an audience and are not in fact living alongside these characters.