An Investigation Into:

The Representation Of Social Class And Gender In The Riot Club

My primary reason behind viewing The Riot Club was due to my current adoration of Max Irons, an actor whom in recent months, since the BBC's rendition of The White Queen, I have grown to be a large fan of. Another reason was simply due to the juxtaposing thoughts created by the trailer, which meant I went into the cinema not knowing if I were to hate the film or adore it.

This post is a brief analysis of The Riot Club, NOT A REVIEW, do not read on if you have not yet, but intend to, watch the film.

You are forgiven if at first glance you misinterpreted the genre of this film entirely, the posters use of feminine pastel hues and bold pink text may be seen to misconvey the film as a male rendition of St Trinians, the posed nature of the subjects seems to distract the viewer from the clear-cut violent nature of the film and focus more on the appearance and apparel of the male oriented cast.

The trailer only begins to highlight the gritty, thriller side to the film about half way through,luring the viewer into a false sense of security. The first half of the trailer appears to focus on the dry humorous parts of the film (of which there are only a few) before it reaches its climax and begins to discuss the darker side. It is only when we get half way into the trailer itself that we realise the film airs more towards thriller and social realism, than drama and comedy. I feel like the promotional package for this film dismisses a large part of its demographic as it does not highlight the complexity of the film, and therefore may bring in a less intelligent audience than needed to appreciate the film.

It is evident, even from the poster, that Iron's character Miles has a more disconnected relationship to the club than the other characters, as portrayed by this lack of eye contact with the camera, He appears less domineering than the other characters, however his posture and costume still evoke a sense of power and class, rather than the intimidation conveyed by other two subjects as they look down on the viewer.

The film is fueled by feminist and class based ideologies. Unfair hierarchies and lack of equality form the basis of the plot and the overall film has a revolutionist themed undertone, whereby the upperclass create their own demise by flaunting their lavish lifestyles and spoilt behavior

Conventional to social realism, each of the characters are flawed. No character is portrayed as being perfect. The female characters at first glance appear more flawed than the male characters, as their lives not as privileged that of the protagonists. However when looking at the characters on a three intentional level we begin to realise that the lives of The Riot Club members are not that desirable, they are spoilt, ignorant, and blinded by wealth. The female characters on the other hand are conveyed as independent, hard working individuals who believe in their own self worth and standards.

Female protagnist, Lauren (played by Holliday Grainger) portrays a strength and resilience that the male oriented cast lacks. Unlike the bulk of the characters, Lauren comes from a working class background, a fact that is mocked by the other characters throughout the film. At the films dramatic climax Lauren is sexually harassed by members of The Riot Club, in a particularly hard hitting scene. She arrives at a Riot Club meeting to find the members drunken and frustrated as they had just been refused by an escort, she is then offered large sums of money to perform sexual acts on them. We see Lauren begin to panic, and look to Miles for help, however in his drunken and bewildered state, he appears weak in his morals and does not argue for the sake of her dignity.

Charlie (The female escort portrayed by Natalie Dormer) also shows evidence of strength and standards by refusing to give in to The Riot Clubs requests and subverting the viewers expectations of her character, the viewer begins to sympathise with a character whom in most films they are taught to despise. Both she and Lauren are bribed with large amounts of money to perform sexual acts, but refuse them, reinforcing the strength of the female role in the film.

Wide camera angles of the club members are used in juxtaposition to extreme close ups of the girls to show the unfair ratio of men to women, as the women appear separately and outnumbered by The Riot Club members, this not only reinforces the vulnerability of the female characters but highlights their inevitable strength as they come out of the events of the film stronger despite the odds being against them they remain unmoved by the wealth and dominance of The Riot Club.

Although the negative representation of the male upper class may be bias, it is a clear reflection of the current social unrest as seen in the 2011 London riots. And whilst some may appear to be more likable than others (Ie. Miles) their weaknesses are evident and lead to the outcome of the film. This film displays a clear negative attitude to the hierarchical system in the UK.

It is easy to draw parallels between The Riot Club, and This Is England, the two films are dominated by working class ideologies, however focus on opposite ends of the spectrum. This Is England focuses more on racial issues than class, however it tells a story from the perspective of a group of working class individuals who appear displeased by their placement in the hierarchical system and oppose the upper class. The Riot Club on the other hand tells a story from the upper class perspective, despite this the viewer is still on the side of the working class, as the views held by the characters are not the same as the ideologies portrayed by the film. 

The Great Gatsby Quote Analysis

A brief analysis of one of my favourite book quotes, from F.Scott Fitzgerrald's novel The Great Gatsby.

"I was within and without, 

simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life"

This quote, from F.Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby is one of my all time favourite quotes. Its purpose, within the context of the novel, is to describe Nick Carraways state of being, in a life filled with loud and vibrant strangers he is unable to feel accepted. Each and every corner of his life is bustling with excitement, however he, not unlike Gatsby, is a spectator unable to break through the glass that separates him from the rest of the crowd.

The quote is reminiscent of Tennyson's Lady of Shallott, as many believe the poem to represent the conflicting life of an artist, attempting to balance the juxtaposing themes of  life and art; therefore making the difficult choice of observation or experience. This is not too dissimilar to Nick's predicament. The reader learns that Nick gave up all hopes of becoming an author and traveled to West Egg to learn the bonds business; however, he still hold the mindset of a writer, and appears to simply witnessing life rather than living it.

In the recent film rendition this metaphor is visualized as Carraway stood both in and outside of the New York apartment building, gazing out of the window to find himself on the street bellow looking in. This image perfectly sums up his character as the observer. The version of him stood on the street, gazing into the apartment is Nicks true self and the version within the apartment is simply a shell of himself. As the whole party gets wildly drunk, Nick still finds himself unable to enjoy himself, his mind consumed by Tom's affair and the shaving foam on the face of a man he just met. This sets Nick up as the perfect narrator for the story as the details described appear as he witnesses them.

The First War- Nele Azevedo Memorial

Tonight marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One, a plethora of events are taking place globally to commemorate the occasion, including a national blackout from 10-11 O'clock tonight, which I personally will be participating in. Another event I was fortunate enough to witness was Nele Azevedo's "Minimum Monument" on Saturday 2nd August where around 5000 ice soldiers were lined up along the steps of Chamberlain Square.

Individuals were invited to come and participate in the event by placing a soldier on the steps. There were both male and female sculptures helping to reflect not only the lives lost in the field but at home.

The exhibition/memorial helped to provide a visual representation of both physical and mental decay.

Each soldier began to melt individually, and no two soldiers melted in the same way. Many began to melt from the legs, here you can see one of the sculptures who is otherwise intact apart from the loss of  their legs, creating a representation of an amputee.

Others were left untouched for a while except for the loss of their heads, creating a visualization of the mental decay caused by the war and the lack of understanding of mental illness' at the time, resulting in many survivors suffering with shell shock. 

Each soldier took between 30 minutes and 2 hours to melt completely due to the variable weather conditions. The gradual decay of the figures again helped to visualise the invisible "side effects" of the war, and the lack of support the troops received for mental illness, which often lead to them taking their own life in the moths after they returned home. This particular sight is one that struck me quite hard, here you can see a single sculpture sat away from the others, isolated. Its form slowly became disfigured and over time it gradually became thinner, until it simply disappeared.  

Another image I felt particularly moved by was the sculpture on the far right (bellow). Its one side had decayed from the chest down, creating the illusion of a wound which would eventually spread across his entire body. This sculpture is an example of the variations in melting patterns created by the sculptures. 

I am particularly inspired by war themed photography and used it as inspiration for my A2 photography exam, which I intend to post on my photography blog soon. 

In the photograph bellow you can see how the sculptures leaned towards each other for support in their final moments as they melted under the suns heat creating an image of brotherhood and support that the soldiers provided for each other in their time of need.

I hope you can take the time to further research this artist and her monumental exhibitions. And please spare a minute of thought tonight to remember the sacrifices made during The First War.

Elijah's Mermaid- Book Review

This book was recommended to me on Goodreads (a site I would highly recommend to any budding bibliophiles) based upon my previous reads.

Saved from the depths of the murky tames as a baby, webbed footed beauty Pearl is bought up and cossetted within the boundaries of The House Of Mermaids, a brothel, raised by the black veiled Mrs Hibbert and the slimy predator Tip Thomas, a man whom I cannot help but imagine as a Victorian rendition of Sacha Baron Cohen's Thenardier. Until she turns 14 her childhood is almost idyllic (if you can put aside the fact that she lives in a brothel) but then Pearl begins to realise that her upbringing has been building up to her being auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Meanwhile orphaned twins Lily and Elijah Lamb are being raised by their loving grandfather Augustus, an author. When the three children turn 14 their paths begin to cross and their lives become a lot more complicated. Throughout this book we see the characters evolve from simple and naive children into adults who soldier on through risk of being tainted by their situation.

The book is narrated by the two female protagonists Pearl and Lily, every other chapter switches between the two perspectives. This is a technique that I admire and would like to be able to apply in my own work. The authors empathy and ability to understand her characters at a more in depth level is one that inspires me to go on to read more of her works and is an admirable trait.

Elijah's Mermaid is set in Victorian England, in a land of brothels and asylums, where life is far from idyllic. The believably of the settings adds to the realism of the book and allows for more surreal themes to be explored without compromising the narratives believably. The book has a steady pace and the narrative unrolls quite slowly if you are used to faster paced literature. However one of the main reasons for its slow pace is due to Essie Fox's attention to detail, her beautiful in-depth descriptions and all round well executed literature is one of the key features to the book.

Fox's style is not too dissimilar to that of Ali Shaw's The Girl With Glass Feet, one of my favourite books to date and and Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child. Two of my favourite books that also successfully blend fantasy features with a sense of verisimilitude.

This book had me enchanted from start to finish! and is without doubt my favorite book that I have had the pleasure of reading and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to those who enjoy historical or fantasy based literature.I would also recommend this book to any lovers of classical art or literature as these are strong themes that run throughout.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Gothic, Romance, Mystery

Star Rating: 5/5

My current addictions

First of all I would like to welcome you all to my new blog, here I will be publishing reviews of music, films and books, alongside opinion posts and essays.

I am have just gone through a period of a high work load, meaning for the past few months I haven't had the time I would have liked to seek out new music as I normally do, I have however managed to stumble upon a few albums that currently have me besotted. 

1. S.Carey: Range Of Light. 

I have been a Bon Iver fan for a few years now and find their sound incredibly relaxing and inspiring (a great deal of the concepts explored in my poems are inspired by Bon Iver's music), therefore I immediately  fell head over heals in love with S.Carey's new album, Range of light.

Favorite tracks include: Glass/Film, Crown The Pines and Radiant.

2. Beasts Of The Southern Wild soundtrack 

I hate to admit it but before discovering this incredible soundtrack I had not heard of the film Beasts of The Southern Wild, and still have not found time to watch it. However if the soundtrack is anything to go by, it will be worth the wait! The soundtrack combines a blend of folk whims with cinematic drama.

I love listening to this whilst cracking on with work or painting because it really does convey a feeling of hope and motivation that gets me through moments of creative block.

Favorite tracks include: End of the World, Once There Was a Hushpuppy and The Smallest Piece.

3. The Cinematic Orchestra: The Crimson Wing- Mystery Of the Flamingos soundtrack

I discovered this soundtrack whist working on a nature documentary project, The crimson wing was one of my case studies and whist studying it I looked into the way music is used to amplify emotion in American Nature Documentaries. This soundtrack is simply breathtaking, the music accurately echoes the emotions of on screen action and yet as a stand alone medium works just as well. This soundtrack is again perfect for work as I often find songs with lyrical content too distracting when i'm working, it is also a beautifully relaxing album to listen to when winding down and reading a book.

Favorite tracks include: Opening Titles, Soda, Exodus and Transformation

4. Angus and Julia Stone: Down The Way 

I have been in love with this album for several months now, and am still hooked on the enchanting voices of brother-sister duo Angus and Julia Stone. This album has proven to be very thought provoking and lyrically is immensely poetic and moving. Many of the songs are so delicate to the ears as Julia Stones light, airy voice barely traces the surface of the lyrical content however the meaning behind many of the tracks are so filled with hurt and beauty that they are able to really impact the listener. 

Favorite tracks include: Yellow Brick Road, Black Crow, For You, Walk It Off, I'm Not Yours and The Devils Tears (I honestly couldn't narrow it down any further)