Kidulthood

The Narrative:


Kidulthood is a 2006 British drama based in West London (Ladbroke Grove ).The film is about the life of several fifteen-year-old teenagers living in a deprived and unwanted area. The film is revolved around three friends, Trevor (Aml Ameen), who is more commonly known by his street name Trife; Jay (Adam Deacon); and Moony (Femi Oyeniran). Trife is worried about his girlfriend. He is being tempted into the gangster lifestyle by his uncle who requests him to do illegal errands, but simultaneously his girlfriend Alisa (Red Madrell) is offering a chance for a better life. However, a rumour has been going around on the streets that Alisa has slept with someone else and how this might influence this life-changing decision for all the teenagers.


The main purpose of the movie is to show that a teenagers typical lifestyle in today’s modern world and as audiences to make us aware of the type of problems teenagers face and the pressure they are under in order to be a part of a gang or to make them feel that they belong to someone or something. kidulthood also shows how today’s teenagers deal with difficult situations and challenges they face by showing how each teenagers deal with their problems differently while each decision they make may influences their lives and the people around them. The main problems faced by the teenagers are; sex, drugs, gangs, money, bullying, violence, guns, knives and suicide.


The Props:


Throughout the trailer , we as the audience are shown a variety of different props to connote the genre of crime and violence in our society today. We are shown the following props such as drugs, guns, baseball bats, alcohol, violence , money etc during the clips where violence is taking place between the two sides. All the props shown come across as cool and stereotypically seen as living the life of a gangster in the eyes of the teenagers.


In the trailer we see baseball bats, guns and violence being used as weapon to show a symbol of power. All the props used are shown to symbolise violence and to attack people, this creates enigma so there for this makes the audience feel that they are been kept in the dark and to worry about what will happen to the characters who are being attacked in the film, this also helps to create tension. However theses props are not shown to promote or glamourise crime and violence but to show the type of pressure teenagers are under and how they can be influenced by things such as drugs ,guns ,crime on our street. They are also shown to make the audience aware of the problems and issues faced by teens.


The Lighting:


The trailer does not contain that many lighting techniques as low key lighting is used a lot which helps to make it look very realistic and dramatic there for no special effects are used. Dark lighting is used in order to reflect on the scene and its mood such as romance, violence ect. In the scene’s of the fight, violence ,drug taking ,parties ,arguments dark lighting is used a lot to show the feel of the atmosphere and to create tension. Dark lighting can also be used to symbolise death and sadness( fighting scene), in contrast with the light or bright lighting which emphasises on the excitement and happiness ( party scene).by keep changing the settings, lighting ,props this keeps the audience hooked and interested in the trailer in order to watch the film in full.


The shots:


There are many different type of shots used in the trailer to get a full view of what the film is going to be about and what to expect such as long and medium shots to get the full view of the situation and areas the characters live in. close up shots are used to show the character facial expression and feelings, over the shoulder view is used to show the arguments and problems between both sides. Many other shots are used to keep the audience hooked on what’s going on.


The Characters and Target Audience:



This film has a rang of individual characters to show different personalities and personal views about life on the streets. This also helps to gather different audiences because each audience can relate to one of the characters in the film. We as an audience can sympathise and relate to the problems faced by the characters and their life issues.


The target audience for this film is teenagers , this is because the film is amid at all the teenagers out there facing similar problems and issues. However I think the film can also be targeted at audience of 20+ because the film is a perfect guide into the life of a typical 21st century teenager and to get a good understanding of how the mind of a teenager works.This is to also show how much pressure teenagers are under in today’s society.


The Setting:


The reason behind the setting and the location of the film is that to show the issues and problems the teenagers face within the Ladbroke Grove area in west London. This is also to make the community aware of the violence taking place there while showing how teenagers deal with problems such as: drugs, sex, money ,alcohol in a deprived and forgotten area of the community. The effect on this on the audience is to sympathises with people that live in poor ,unwanted and full of violence areas.This is to try and make a change in such community in today's society through the film kidulthood.