5 Youth Culture Films and Common Themes

Top 5 Youth Culture Films (Gritty British Drama)

Kidulthood (2006)
When one of their classmates kills herself, a group of troubled teens living in London's harsh West End is given the day off from school. As two of the youths hatch a plan to humiliate the class bully, one of their girlfriends discovers that she is pregnant. But when they all gather for a party, each of the characters learns the explosive consequences of their actions. Gritty British drama stars Aml Ameen, Red Madrell and Noel Clarke (who also scripted). 91 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1; deleted scenes; extended scenes; "making of" documentary; theatrical trailer.

Shank (2010)
A breathtaking, action-packed vision of a near-future London, where society has collapsed and gangs rule the streets. As the youngest of the Paper Chaserz, 14-year-old Junior strives for the authority of his older brother Rager and the respect of rest of their gang. When a conict with a rival gang changes their lives forever, he must decide whether to stay true to his principles or drag them all into a quest for revenge that could get them all killed.

Bullet Boy (2004)
In one of East London's most volatile neighborhoods, pride, rivalry and revenge are the only codes on the street. Touted as a British Boyz in the Hood, Bullet Boy is a gripping and authentic drama that takes an unflinching look at two troubled, street-smart boys. Fresh out of jail, 18-year-old Ricky (Ashley Walters, Get Rich or Die Tryin') and his 12-year-old brother, Curtis, struggle to walk the straight and narrow when a minor street clash escalates into an all-out neighborhood war. For Ricky and Curtis, friendships, family and loyalty will be tested to the extreme in a world where guns are a fact of everyday life and boys try to be men before they're even teenagers. Music by Massive Attack. Rated R for violence, a strong sex scene, language and some drug use.

4.3.2.1 (2010)
Sexy, gripping and action-packed! This exciting crime thriller tracks 4 best friends over 3 days they'll never forget. For hardworking Jo (Emma Roberts), adventurous Cassandra (Tamsin Egerton), defiant Kerrys (Shanika Warren-Markland) and troubled Shannon (Ophelia Lovibond), life changes forever when a chance encounter with some deadly thieves sends their worlds on a collision course with the players in a major diamond heist. With just one shot at the big time, what could possibly go wrong?

Adulthood (2008)
Six years after Sam Peel is released from jail for killing Trife, he realizes that life is no easier on the outside than it was on the inside and he's forced to confront the people he hurt the most. Some have moved on, others are stuck with the repercussions of his actions that night, but one thing's for certain - everyone has been forced to grow up. Through his journey Sam struggles to deal with his sorrow and guilt and something else he didn't expect - those seeking revenge. As he's pursued by a new generation of bad boys, Sam sets about trying to get the message across to his pursuers that they should stop the violence, much like Trife tried to tell him all those years ago. Can Sam stop the cycle of violence and make something positive from the destruction he caused or will his journey into Adulthood end here?

Common Themes

Overall, in all the films they are in a urban, rough society where danger is always around the corner. In all of them there is either a group or protagonist who is going against the battle of personal issues such as In Adulthood, when Sam comes out of jail, he shows that he didn't mean to kill Trife and he tries to go apologies for committing murder and in Shank the way Paper Chaserz older brother Rager dies trying to protect him in the same room, makes us feel the pain of losing someone close to us and the sympathy he needs, this creates an attachment with the character and the audience. This attachment can be because of what happened in the film might of happened to someone who is watching the film.

In Urban films such as Kidulthood they always make sure that an action always comes with a consequences. In Kidulthood this is demonstrated in the end when Sam kills Trife and in the sequel Sam is in jail for the murder of Trife and someone in our audience might have done the same thing or even known someone close who was put in the same situation but have changed their ways in order to become a better person just like Sam in Adulthood.

Also, Urban films are nearly all the time set in a rough areas that have estates, construction sites and this shows how bad the environment is where they grew up and live. This creates the stereotypical background of the 'ghetto' in Britain. Which we wanted to also use as it describes the 'ghetto' perfectly well and it shows the urban environment with the way the area looks and I know for a fact not all estates are like that but majority of estates in Britain are like that so thats one of the main reason we went for the stereotypical look.

In every youth society that is in a urban environment the way they all speak is mostly in restricted code (slang) and this backs the fact that they in rough areas with either no education or are educated a little. Due to the fact they speak in restricted code this is commonly the way people in urban environment will talk in and we want to use this in our product as it shows how people in a 'gritty' environment will talk in.

THIS WAS MINE AND THEO'S RESEARCH AND WORK WE DID TOGETHER!