Crystal Bukenya AS Film How are teenage Protagonists represented in Attack the Block(2011) and Super 8(2011)?

In this essay, I will be discussing the ways in which the teenage protagonists are represented in my two case studies of films, Attack the Block and Super 8. The film Attack the Block was released in 2011, BBFC certificate 15+ and is a British sci-fi- thriller film directed by Joe Cornish and produced by Studio Canal, for a Niche audience. The films main stars are John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones and Luke Treadaway. It is about a group of troublesome teen boys and a woman who are out one evening, and witness the first of many meteorites that crash in their neighbourhood. The boys decide to go after it, and kill the unknown alien, however they are then later faced with trying to kill off hundreds more aliens successfully. The storyline supports Levi Strauss theory of oppositions being the key meaning in the narrative of a film, such as good VS evil and human VS alien. This is supported in the storyline as Moses and his gang are presented as evil in the beginning when they rob an innocent woman, who is presented as good when she is talking kindly through dialogue on her phone. However, it quickly changes later in the film when the boys are faced with fighting aliens and protecting their homes. The second film, Super 8, was also released in 2011 and the BBFC certificate is a 12+ . It is an American sci-fi thriller film directed by J.J.Abrams. It mainly stars Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Zach Mills, Ryan Lee and Gabriel Basso. The film follows the theory of Todorov, as it is about a group of teenage boys that have a passion for filming, which is their equilibrium. When they go out to film at a train depot, however, the Protagonist witnesses a truck ride onto the tracks that causes a massive derailment, being the disruption of the equilibrium. Following the discovery that there is an Alien, and when Joe convinces him to leave, restoring the new equilibrium. In the films, there are various representations of protagonist characters. Moses, who plays the protagonist in the film Attack the Block, is presented to be superior out of the group of boys. In the opening sequence, we first see Moses appear with his four other group members, Pest, Dennis, Jerome and Biggs, just before they decide to rob a woman in a deserted street. The setting of an urban neighbourhood with graffiti reflects the characters are in a low status in society because of their appearance and illiterate language of slang, which presents them to be this way. This links to Stuart Halls theory of how race and class are often blurred. By analysing the mise-en-scene we instantly know he is the protagonist because of his middle positioning in the wide shot, where he is placed between two of the boys when surrounding her. This shows that he is represented to be the leader of the gang, as he is also the first male character with diegetic dialogue and to be in a close up shot. There is a synchronous non diegetic sound at the time of his appearance, when the score music is deep and emphatic. This is alerting and is used to indicate that Moses is a fearless character with bad traits. The non diegetic score music is played with the diegetic dialogue in the background in order to build tension and to make us wonder what will happen next. He is seen to be aggressive and persistent when

Crystal Bukenya AS Film he demands the phone from the woman, threatening her with a knife, which we see him flick out in a close up shot. The representation of Moses is stereotyped; young black boy, wearing a hooded jumper, harassing a woman and carrying a weapon out late at night. These things relate to boys that have had a bad upbringing, and feel they have to prove themselves to hold a reputation. By his appearance and attitude in the opening sequence, we can assume that he is not friendly nor an innocent protagonist. This is shown in the shot-reverse-shot between the protagonist and victim, which presents the intimidation and fear that Moses presence can bring to other characters in the film, shown through the expression on her face in the frames, where she looks panicked. This is linked to Levi Strauss theory of binary oppositions of Man VS Woman, which represents the protagonist to be masculine and dominant, which conforms to the stereotype of men. There is also an extreme close up shot just after he reveals the weapon, where we can see the protagonists eyes are screwed to present his cold attitude towards the innocent victim. There is a low angled shot just after he demands for her ring, which highly indicates his power by incorporating us viewers to also be beneath his status in that shot. This shot was constructed at that moment due to the affect of making the protagonist look powerful and superior. There is a brief weather shot, where the night time sky is fully shown to expose the first meteorite crashing down, which is a bright white ball. Semiotics are used to mirror the idea of hope and freedom for the victim, to get away safely from the fearful protagonist that reflects darkness. She does manage to escape straight after a synchronised diegetic crash of the meteorite lands on a car, following a little explosion. There is diegetic dialogue from the boys, when they inform the protagonist that she is getting away, another indication that they all inform Moses of any problem because he holds the power. The costume consists of a bandana across the boys mouths, in order to cover their faces. This was worn before the robbery, suggesting that the characters are often in trouble and covering their identity. There is a cut transition to the protagonists face after she fled, where he is the first to pull his bandana down in a close up shot, revealing his whole face for the first time. The other characters are out of focus, and are positioned behind the protagonist to end the scene with him still leading as the main subject. In the last scene, we see Moses represented as a hero, contrasting from how he was seen in the beginning of the film as evil. When he decides to kill the aliens by himself because he thinks he is to blame. There is a clear indication that his character has grown and matured as he takes on the responsibility. There is a medium shot behind him, where we can see weapons in his hands, and swords attached to his bag. The director used this shot intending to make us view him as a strong warrior because of his stance where his shoulders are broad, and his bowed head, representing him to be fearless and indicating that the next scene will be promising. In the film Super 8 , the protagonist Joe is represented as a caring and forgiving character, strongly contrasting from the character of Moses. We see this in the scene where the train derails. The use of low non diegetic score music, following the hectic dialogue from all the characters speaking at once foreshadowed that

Crystal Bukenya AS Film something bad was about to happen. Joe shows signs of concern for his friends, especially Alice, who is the second protagonist and the only girl there, when he diegetically shouts her name in a close up shot as the crash is in action. The ideas of gender in the film indicate that girls are less able to protect themselves, and cause worry. This therefore represents her to be a weak protagonist, and tells us that it is unlikely that she will defeat the alien. However, his concern for her also highlights that teenage girls are often a young boys weakness, when he runs in a pan shot, but abruptly stops and turns to look for her, putting himself in danger. The lighting in the scene has been edited with darker tones of navy and grey, to compliment the mood and to reflect the characters fear, particularly the protagonists, furthermore indicating that non of the characters are as intimidating as the characters and Moses from Attack the Block. In the final scene, J.J.Abrams directs Joe so that he is highlighted to be a hero and to emphasise his protagonists importance in the film. When Joe confronts the alien, we see that he is in a dirty state and his costume is ripped and burnt from the explosions. The representation of the protagonist here is aimed to make us believe he has fought a brave amount to get to Alice. There is a long note of nondiegetic score music softly playing in the background as Joe speaks, then it slowly mellows out, used to inspire the audience. Furthermore, he is seen to be brave for this reason, and his diegetic dialogue when he tells the Alien, I know bad things happen. This is said in a close up shot, where the Alien is holding him in the air by the waist with one hand. The character positioning reflects Joes growth from the beginning of the film to the very last scene, showing he is a level above the other characters, making him stand out. The shot reverse shot between Joe and the Alien clearly shows how his dialect affects the Aliens mood, when his face softens, and his heavy breathing calms, making the scene less intense. This shows that he is determined to help his friends and family from the danger, and restore the equilibrium, similar to Moses intensions by the end of Attack the Block. Through my analysis, I believe that overall the protagonists are represented as heroic and powerful. This is shown through their character positioning, and the shots used, which highlights them from other characters in each frame, making them the subject. Both directors find ways emphasise their protagonists importance, using semiotics and dialogue, and reflecting their bravery by bringing them forward and taking full responsibility in order to protect their loved ones.