This Is England: Trailer Analysis

The very first thing we see as an audience in this trailer, is a zoomed in shot of a wall that has written on it "from director Shane Meadows". This helps attract an already established audience as fans of his work will want to see this because they most likely know his previous films.

We then see through a number of clips the highlighted events or important occasions which occurred during the 1980s. This is very important as it helps establish a time period and further make it clear that it is set in England of the '80s. These clips are edited to unfold smoothly along with the beat of a Jamaican (Ska) song being played on top of them. This is a effective detail as in that time period that type of music was particularly popular, especially amongst subcultures.

After those 9 clips, it smoothly transitions to a medium long shot of a young boy riding his bike. The background helps establish the area that this film is set in, while the costume conforms to the theme of the '80s. The boy looks somewhat fed up in this shot. And we later on find out why when it again smoothly transitions to a scene from the film of the boy (Shaun) with some skinheads who are bullying him.  From this shot, we can only assume that this boy is one of the main characters of this film.

As previously mentioned, the young boy is in fact one of the protagonists and the storyline is about how he was a victim of bullying by a group of skinhead boys. Through their accents we can tell that the film is set somewhere in Northern England. This, along with the previous shot of the boy riding his bike suggests that this is probably an urban and possibly run down at the time area. In order to present Shaun in a vulnerable way the bully is presented with more power as it is shot from a slightly lower angle and there are another two boys in the shot, having Shaun being outnumbered. Whereas, the shot of Shaun is one of eye level and he has his back turned away, showing that he is the less dominant one in this particular situation as he is walking away and appears distressed. The bully also says "Woodstock's that way pal" which is a reminder to the audience what time period This is England is set in. The language used by Shaun is put in place to further show the type of area, most likely a rough one as previously mentioned.

Despite his use of language, as an audience we are made to empathise with the young boy, especially when he is again portrayed in a vulnerable way. This is when he is the only one in the shot under the bypass and he seems very upset. Once another skinhead asks him who is bullying him, he says "Harvey" in a very frightened manner and although there is a distance between the skinhead and Shaun we are lead to believe that this will be a new friendship. This is further on supported when the skinhead tries to cheer him up by making fun of the bully and is in fact clear when Shaun is portrayed smiling for the first time so far in this trailer.

Shaun's social and physical transformation is filmed in black and white freeze frame motion through a variety of shots. These shots take the form of photographs/ videos and are put in place to document this change and the happiness this has brought to the young boy. This shots clearly show the transformation, firstly through the shot of numerous pairs of Dr Martens lined up and then a shot of Shaun holding a pair of boots. This is a hint to the skinhead subculture as Dr Martens were considered to be footwear associated with it and the girls cutting his hair very short is also a great supporting point to the transformation.

A variety of shots, in colour continue to show the young boys transformation. In these shots, mainly through medium long shots, the boy is shown with the group of skinheads and appears to be happy. Through these shots a sense of protection, happiness and family is projected. These shots in particular show the huge range of individuality in both age and ethnicity with a possible desire to "stand out from the crows" (as quoted on the films poster).

After showing a couple of the shots which are included of the boy, showing a new, happy and relaxed side of him it then suddenly cuts to a black screen. This has been used in a clever way in order to connote the drastic change of the tone in the film as there will most likely be a side of the young boy portrayed which could possibly be a dangerous one, also connoting that although this group of people make the young boy happier, they could be a bad influence on him.

In order to make this change of tone clearer, along with shots and footage, the music goes from upbeat Ska to a punk electric guitar which has a gritty feel. The sinister smile of the characters face also conforms to this as he makes us as an audience feel nervous while also bringing an element of uncertainty and fear. After showing this, it starts setting out the gritty and dangerous side of skinhead culture (in comparison to the unity we saw it brings to people) also escalating in pace in a big way possibly connoting how much Shaun is in over his head with this group of people and how this involvement may have a negative impact on him.


It then cuts to a shot of an abandoned, run down building which continues to set the scene and remind the audience where and what time this film is set in. On top of this shot, there is a review given by a critic that works for The Observer. This further draws in the audience as it really does create a sense of suspension and curiosity as to what happens to the young boy, because as previously mentioned we are made to empathise with the young boy.

Furthermore, the low angle shots of the gang leader enhances the element of danger. As the character aggressively shouts "phoney war" this also refers to certain elements of the skinhead subculture that were not originally part of it but became part of it as the time passed. The next shot after that is one where the gang leader carves a Cross into the young boys skin after he saw himself in Shaun, showing him that he has what it takes to be part of this movement.


After that particular series of shots, which continue to show the aggressive nature of this subculture it then cuts to another shot which sets the scene. It is one of Shaun in a huge field sitting in a boat, this, similarly to the previous one has a review written in bold white text written by one of the Daily Mail's critics. "A Blistering vision of England", suggests that despite of the harsh, gritty and horrible part of this society it isn't a film which will disregard this, possibly being one of the few media texts that portrays every aspect, good and bad realistically.

The point above is supported by the next series of shots shown. (on the left). As this is a film within the social realism genre, it also includes social problems such as race. Furthermore, due to the stereotypical portrayal of a man of Indian descent working in a shop in contrast to a member of "the norm", being a typical man of British descent it continues to show the way racism can be further portrayed. The young boy walks in and is acting quiet tough talking freely, which for that generation could be a sign of disrespect, so the owner tries to kick him out. When the gang leader comes in. The last shot shows how genuinely scared the shopkeeper is, this is a feature which I believe will draw the audience in wanting them to want to watch the rest of the film to see how this pans out .

 In the next couple of shots, the violence drastically continues to increase, The high angle shot gives an illusion that the boy is in fact one of the adults in this very big world. This shot, further portrays him as one of the dominant characters which is completely different to those shots we were shown as an audience at the very beginning where this young boy was portrayed in an innocent, vulnerable and lonely way.  As mentioned above, the violence does increase drastically and along with this so does the pace of the editing which is used in order to show the chaos within the world in that particular time. In the very last shot (on the right) the gang leader is shown in the most inhumane and gritty way as he stamps on one of his victim, yet his boot lead the screen to be completely black.

After the black screen, it transitions to a screen which is also black but has four of the logos for the awards that the film has both one and has been nominated for. This along with the last review included, honestly suggest to the targeted audience members that this film is one worth watching. It then cuts to a scene where the group of skinheads are laughing together, reminding the audience that although there is a big element of violence included there is also a more sensitive side of skinhead subculture portrayed through this film. The very last shot before the credits is one of Shaun walking calmly with the title of the film written in the colours of the Union Jack. This part, appeared to go in a circle as the trailer (after the director credit) started with Shaun alone and the shot before last again ends with Shaun by himself, possibly showing that he could be reflecting on the type of company this group has brought to him. This ambiguous ending to the trailer makes the audience members want to watch the rest of the film in order to see if Shaun will survive in this big world where he appears to have been undertaken by the wrong group of people.

The very last two shots are on a black screen. The first one shows the billing blocks, which include all of the credits of all cast and crew, production and distribution companies. The second screen however, is also black but includes the soundtrack credits. This is very important for this particular film because as the film is set in the '80s the soundtrack played a huge role in helping set the time and location realistically, possibly making the audience nostalgic (mainly the older audience members who grew up in the '80s).