Bullet Boy
Social Political Study
“Living with Crime”
LO: Identify how crime is represented in Bullet Boy
Bullet Boy - RECAP
• PLOT a Todorov diagram for the main events in
Bullet Boy
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Equilibrium
Disequilibrium
Attempted Repair
New Equilibrium
Equilibrium – Ricky released from
prison, Curtis happy to see him,
Mum throws party
New equilibrium –
Curtis throws gun in river
Ricky is dead
Disequlibrium – Wisdom
smashes gang members car
wing mirror
Wisdom gives Ricky the gun
Wisdom shoots the other
gang’s dog
Rio gets shot
Attempted restoration – Ricky tries to make
peace with other gang member
Curtis apologises for shooting Rio
So how is crime represented in
Bullet Boy?
• What crimes are evident?
• Make a list
Gang culture
Crime out of boredom –
Curtis & Rio
Hierarchy and
reputation
One parent
families
Low income
household, estate
living
CRIME IN
BULLET BOY
Crime out of
poverty
Revenge
Gun crime
Never ending
cycle of crime –
no choice Winston
How are these crimes represented through the
micro elements?
Really Useful Website…
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/12083
Costume – To compare Kidulthood and Bullet Boy, the costume used in both
films is very similar to one another. Verisimilitude is created as the audience
can relate to this as this is what teenagers are more likely to wear. It fits the
film’s genre.
Lighting – Low key lighting is mainly used to portray the mood and
atmosphere in the first scene where Ricky’s house is getting raided. The film
mainly uses low lighting, this could be because of the budget the film was
made on or this could be on purpose.
Make Up – The make-up used within the trailer is very brutal due to the fact that there is
a lot of violence being shown which gives the make-up artists the chance to create makeup which is very detailed and full, for example, the characters show a lot of cuts and
bruises.
Props – Throughout the trailer, there are many props used such as guns, torches,
handcuffs etc. This connotes that the film will be based around crime as there are many
scenes in the trailer which show the males in the characters being arrested or put at gun
point. This allows the audience to be familiar with the genre and also have an idea about
the narrative of the film.
Setting – Bullet Boy's improvisatory methods and use of non-actors enhance its
verisimilitude, the black characters and the urban setting illustrate this. The settings and
locations of Bullet Boy play a major role in the plot. This setting contains very dark
lighting.
Representations – Bullet Boy represents teenagers in a very stereotypical way, it fulfils the stereotype
that the media portray of youths. The trailer starts with the main characters house being raided this
implies that he is the criminal rather than the victim. This is exactly how the media portrays young
black boys. Later on in this trailer you see Ricky’s sibling, Kurtis, holding a gun, confused and curious.
This suggests that black people get into the whole criminal vibe at a young age.
Language – Bullet Boy uses a lot of modern day slang, this is mostly used by teenagers in society.
Target Audience – The target audience for this film is mainly aimed at people aged between 15-24, the
film itself attempts to represent a serious number of issues of what some teenagers growing up in
today's society have to go through; this explains why so many people who are in this age group may
watch it. There is also a very realistic approach within this film as most of the actors and actresses are
within this age group and therefore know what others their age go through.
Sound – First scene is shouting the words "Get on the floor now" are heard "Hands behind
your head" and "Is there anything in this room we should know about" can also be heard.
This has already represented Ricky as a criminal for the fact that his mothers house has
been raided. The music doesn't begin until several seconds into the trailer. Music begins
with a foreboding piano until the trailer picks up visual pace, the music then escalates into
hip hop
Camera Shots – The use of hand-held cameras to capture a real flavour of the streets and
the council estate ambiance. Realism is created through the use of camera angles. Close ups
and establishing shots were mostly used during the trailer. The close up shot was used to
show the emotion of a character, hopefully creating a bond, while the establishing shot was
used to represent the are in which the film was shot.