Human Traffic - Questions

1.      How can Human Traffic be considered a socialist realist film? You may wish to consider how the film makers technically communicate a social realism, what issues are raised and how they might affect the audience.
This film could be defined as a social reaist film because what we see during the film often reflects what was going on in society during that time period, for example, alcohol and drug abuse. This affects the audience in the sense that they can relate to a number of the characters in the film, as they could be partaking in what the characters are doing throughout the film. For example, members of the audience from diffferent social backgrounds can choose to bond and relate to a character like moss from a middle-class background, or Jip from a working-class background.

2.  How does the youth culture depicted resist or subvert mainstream society?
The film represents youth culture through ways such as drug and alcohol abuse. In addition to this, the idea of 'living for the weekend' and drinking all night are often portrayed to the audience.

3.  How can you consider this film to be British?
I would consider this film British not only through its location, but also through the way it portrays British society. It portrays the booze and party culture to the audience, and aims to reflect the true goings-on in society to the audience. Throughout the film we see the characters hating their job, and only living for the weekend, which could be seen as the general consensus amongst British society. In addition to this, the characters act like your typical 'run of the mill' Brits, with a non-caring and party-loving attitude.

4.  To what extent are the characters in Human Traffic unable to express their identity?

We see that the characters are unable to express their identity through their occupations. For

example, Jip works in a clothes shop, which he hates, and we don't really learn much about him

until we see him out partying. Despite this however, Koop works in a music store, and we see his

genuine love for music whilst at work and out partying. This could indicate that Koop tries to escape

to this partying atmosphere and his true identity through his job.

5.  How is the social-realistic verisimilitude created in the text?

Social-realistic verisimilitude is presented during the opening scene, where we see real footage of

the British party culture and revolting against the police. This is then presented onto the fictional

scene we see in the film, where they re-create this behaviour. In addition to this, we often delve into

the characters imagination, for example, when Jip imagines the people in the pub singing a re-made

national anthem of his own creation. This also gives the audience a connection and idea of what the

characters are like on the inside.

6.  What anxieties does each of the characters have? Where do these anxieties stem?

Jips anxieties include sexual paranoia, perhaps from over self-observation and bad experiences.

Lulu tends to dis-favour men, perhaps due to bad expierences in the past.

Moff questions his life towards the end of the film because of pressure from parents.

Koop is paranoid that other men are hitting on his girlfriend, due to nina flirting a lot.

Nina flirts a lot with other men, maybe to protest against Koops expectations of her.

7.  In consideration of the effects and uses and gratifications model, does Human Traffic promote drug usage?

Overall i feel that Human traffic does promote drug use because the characters are only really happy

when they are partying and taking drugs. Despite this, they do exagerate the effects of drugs the

morning after, and how they are often not a good idea. Despite taking this into consideration, i do

feel that it overall promotes drug use.

Theories

Hypodermic syringe model - a model of communications suggesting that an intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. For example, a person absorbs the intended message shown to them by a film. The phrasing "hypodermic needle" is meant to give a mental image of the direct, strategic, and planned infusion of a message into an individual. But as research methodology became more highly developed, it became apparent that the media had selective influences on people.

Two-step flow model - Also known as the Multistep Flow Model is a theory based on a 1940's study on social influence that states that media effects are indirectly established through the personal influence of opinion leaders. The majority of people receive much of their information and are influenced by the media secondhand, through the personal influence of opinion leaders. For example, Oprah Winfrey’s backing of Barack Obama.

Uses and gratification theory - popular approach to understanding mass communication. The theory places more focus on the consumer, or audience, instead of the actual message itself by asking “what people do with media” rather than “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959). It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. For example, a person may choose to watch a film due to personal connections with the story line.

Do we copy things we see in the media?

In 2006, an 18-year-old named Devin Moore was arrested in Alabama on suspicion of car theft. The police officers brought him into the station and started booking him without any trouble. Minutes later, Moore attacked one police officer, stole his gun, shot him and another officer and then fled down the hall and shot a 9-1-1 dispatcher in the head. He then grabbed a set of car keys on his way out the back door, got in a police car and drove away.

The basic claim in the video-game controversy is that video games are even more likely to affect people's behaviour than TV because they're immersive. People don't just watch video games; they interact with them. The games are also repetitive and based on a rewards system.

Moore had no criminal history. According to the lawsuit filed against video game companies after the incident, Moore had been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto before the killings [source: CBS News]. At least on the surface, the connection between Moore's game play and his real actions is logical: In "Grand Theft Auto," players steal cars and kill cops. 

In my opinion, I feel that Grand Theft Auto should be blamed for causing this type of behaviour, but only because Devin Moore had no criminal history prior to this event. I agree with the article where it says that these games are based on a rewards system, where players are rewarded for committing illegal acts. Out of the three theories i have studied, i feel that this example fits into the hypodermic needle model. The game has taught Devin Moore that he will be rewarded if he were to steal and car and then kill a 9-1-1 dispatcher, as well as shooting two officers, when this isn't the case. This is just one of many examples where people have copied Grant Theft Auto, which promotes prostitution, drugs, gangs and violence, and have taken what goes on in this game into real life.

Chase and Status - Hitz ft. Tinie Tempah 1:30 - 2:30

I have chosen to analyse a 1 minute section of Chase and Status ft. Tine Tempah's single - Hitz. The general theme of the ,usic vieo revolves around the life a young boy, who could be Tinie Tempah as a child, who is looking to make their way in the music industry by seeling CD's of underground artists in a poverty stricken estate in London.

Firstly, the pace and style of the music matches what the audience sees in the video. The genre of music in the background is rap, and this matches the characters style who we see in the video. for example, the young boy enters a music shop owned by a man who looks a little like a gangster. After purchasing the
CD, they share a personalised handshake, which is common amongst gangs in England. The mise-en-scene in this section also promotes the style of music which these people would listen to. The young boy then goes into another recording shop, which is covered in Jamaican flags, which is an origin of where rap music is from, and how is has moved into British culture. We then see the boys roll up promotional posters, with the words 'HITZ', the name of the song, typed on the front. This could indicate that the boy is in fact Tinie, Tempah, and he is aiming to promote his own song.

The name of the song, 'HITZ', could also link to the plot of the music video. For example, the young boy enters plenty of music shops and sells CD's in teh streets in order to make the song more popular. He could be seen as trying the make the song a 'hit'. This is further backed up by the lyrics in the song 'I make hitz, not the public, i tell the DJ's what to play, understand?'This also relates to the narrative of the music video, as the boy is trying to make the hit, not the public or the radio.

The music video constantly switches to show the older Tinie Tempah rapping in a club, with many people jumping around and dancing. this could indicate that the song has been a hit, and the fact we see many people enjoying it shows that He has achieved his goal of making a hit. When we see these clips, they are ofetn in slow motion or are filmed in a red colour. The slow motion adds to the drama of the scene, and the red only enhances thsi, which makes each cut more iconic and powerful.

Finally, the use of camera shots such as match-on-action shots when the boy is rolling up the posters or purchasing a Cd indicates the importance of these things. It focuses the audiences attation on a specific act which the boy is doing, which shows that this is an important point which needs registering. While the boy is walking about we only really see long-shots, mid-shots and panning or tracking shots, and this makes the match-on-action shots more noticeable.

The Watchtower - analysis

Verse 1

I’m sick of myself, blood drips down my foundations

I have to watch their bodies fold, under the pressure

A shattered spine a broken skull, the least of my expectations

If I had a pound for each one id be made of gold, of f'ing gold

Reference to violence, anger and death. 'A shattered spine a broken skull, the least of my expectations' shows aggression to a person. 'I'm sick of myself', tells us that this is about a troubled person or thing, who can do little about the goings-on around them.

Pre chorus 1

The elevator goes up, but only bodies fall down

They’re falling off of my head, and losing theirs on the ground

Reference to suicide, 'they're falling off my head', perhaps people are jumping from the tower.

Chorus

I am, I am the watch tower

I watch, but I only watch them die

The irony is that I’m suicidal

But I can't jump off myself

Clear indication that this is from the watchtowers perspective. We now know that the tower is helpless to watch people jump off, but the tower can't, despite being suicidal.

Verse 2

I’m sick of plain corpses crash and burn, no face no recognition

Just empty eyes and clotted blood, with no expression

From new born child to rotting man, to just conceived make the incision

Sign here to have your name engraved in bold, in f'ing bold

We hear of the towers contact with the people, and how they mean nothing, and are just 'empty eyes and clotted blood'. We also understand that these people are 'from new born child to rotting man'.

Pre chorus 2

The elevator goes up but only bodies fall down

They’re falling off of my head, and losing theirs on the ground

Chorus (as previous)

Bridge

This is: manslaughter, mass murder

You’re not a f’ing martyr

Constrain you, I’d brain you

But I don’t have limbs and neither

Will you when you hit the floor

Fake gods won’t save you anymore

'Constrain you, i'd brain you but i don't have the limbs and neither will you when you hit the floor'. We understand that the watchtower would help to save these people, if it had to ability to do so. Reference to the amount of people dying, 'manslaughter, mass murder'.

Outro Chorus (as previous)