Ill Manors (film)

This film is about youths in London, stuck in the vicious lifestyle they've been pushed into. It shows the harsh reality of some people's lives- drugs, sex, violence, vandalism etc. I think Plan B's aim of making this film was to introduce this situation to people who aren't aware of it, and simply think youths make an informed choice to behave this way. This film shows each character's story and how complex their situations are- they can't get out of this mess. The plot reveals each character is linked and the violence between them is even more emotional once you feel you know these characters. Throughout the whole film you watch the characters going through troubles and complications- much more sinister than anyone else's day-to-day life. The representations of youths in this film support people's negative views eg. their clothing: caps, dark clothes, baggy tops, bling, trackies, hoodies etc. This reinforces the expectations that anyone dressed like this is bad. The use of drugs demonstrates how low these people feel their life is and that is their only method of escapism eg. michelle takes drugs to help her get through life as she is constantly in bad situations- being used for sex to produce money for others. This film shows the importance of gangs as if you're not part of a gang you are seen as a child and don't have the security needed, such as Jake becoming part of Aaron's gang by beating someone up, the music reinforces this importance 'he becomes a man today'. The use of guns in this film (eg. Chris/ Aaron/ Jake) back up the expectations and the fears that people have about youngsters: they can be dangerous, but only due to the society they have been brought up in. This film addresses some wider social issues such as the vicious cycle which targets and attacks youngsters caught up in the motions of it all. This underclass can't escape: they're raised poorly, taught to achieve via illegitimate means such as joining gangs and gaining status through violent acts, they then have their own children and they're stuck in the same situation- because they're raised to believe there's nothing they can do for themselves cause their parents made nothing of themselves either. Because the underclass are constantly in this situation it causes the rest of society to label them as trouble, therefore the media reinforces these views to make the beliefs stronger. Wider society's behavior towards the underclass (such as authority targeting a certain type of person for stop and search etc) pushes them further into the hole, causing them to be more and more unattached to the rest of society.