BSR Themes

In this blog post I will be talking about some of the themes seen in BSR with examples and how the representation those films give about it, i will then use that example and talk about a way i could possibly fit it into my film.

Poverty

In this scene we can denote that an audition is being held here in an abandoned run down warehouse denoting that the theme in this film is poverty. The clothes denoted in this scene look to be very basic cheap clothes and things like blue jeans and polo shirts this helps connote to the audience that the theme is poverty. This scene does not represent poverty in a negative way and gives it a positive life with a comedic undertone and allows the audience to laugh at the ways they try to get money by setting up a striptease act with a group of men who aren't particularly attractive and wouldn't make a good show but are still determined to try. In my film I would explore it in a more serious way ad my film is going to be a BSR film but this is hybrid between comedy and BSR. I would choose a location that was run down as this connotes poverty to the audience without needing to establish it through dialogue or other means.

Domestic Abuse

In this scene we can denote a husband or boyfriend being very aggressive to his partner accusing her of cheating on him very aggressively and in a threatening tone this connotes that the theme covered in this film is domestic violence. He also repeatedly insults her and swears at her aggressively again connoting to the audience that the theme covered here is domestic abuse which is accompanied by he then beating her savagely. In this domestic violence is shown in a very negative light and we can see that the man starts to beat her just for playing pool with another man and shows no real rational thought to it and that he is acting purely on emotion and particular the emotion of anger and jealousy.  In my film I may want to explore domestic abuse as it is a common theme in BSR and easily creates 2 of the character archetypes seen in BSR films like weak but aggressive man

Racism

In this scene we denote the character combo viciously beating the character milky because of his race, calling him the n word and saying that being a n word makes you a bad dad. We can denote that combo is jealous of Milly in this scene because he never had a family like that and says "You've got everything you have" through this we can connote that he feels as if Milky didn't deserve this family as he is black. The theme is represented in a very negative light as we see combo beat him up almost killing him all because he had a better growing up and because of his race. The character combo is shown to be narrow minded, quick tempered and aggressive connoting that all racists are similar to this. Another representation this gives about racists is from the character banjo and we can see him laughing as he holds down Shaun stopping him from getting in the way of the beating and him "we want some of this we want our bit" after combo has beaten milky unconscious so it gives the audience the understanding that they are sadistic too. The way I could explore it in my film is by having an outcast character who is a different race from most of the other people in the film and how they treat them differently to everyone else.

Isolation and Exclusion

In this scene Anita and me we can see that she is sent from one room to another and is the outsider of her family and they mock her for singing in a Birmingham accent and obviously doesn't have the same set of boundaries they do when she talks about how much she likes the song and when she reads the short story the rest of the family are shocked we can see this due to the series of close ups showing their shocked reactions. Another denotation I can make is that she has a different accent from everyone else in her family and this helps connotes to the audience that a theme in this BSR film is isolation and exclusion as she is very different from everyone else in her family. The way this theme is represented in the film is through a humorous manner and allows the audience to laugh at it just like in The Full Monty but it also presents in a manner that shows that the isolated person doesn't fully understand why they are isolated or even if they know they're different from the other people. In my film I may use it in a similar way I will explore racism and have a character of a different race than most other people in the film and what happens because of that.

Rebellion

In this scene we see the 2 boys dancing and playing around and one is wearing a tutu which is commonly associated with dance, they are having fun until one of the boy's dad arrives and obviously does not approve of what they're doing. The character Billy at first seems scared and is upset that his father has seen him but then he builds up the courage and starts dancing despite his fathers disapproval and looks at him straight in the eyes as he does so. The representation this films gives about rebellion is that is a courageous and bold thing to do and it can sometimes be the only way to show how important something is to you as we can see at the end of the clip the dad has been convinced and is willing to send his son to the dance school. A way I might explore this theme in my film is by linking it to the theme of escape and have a character refuse to stay stuck in the area they live and break out and achieve what they want.