Textual Analysis of 'Kidulthood' (Menhaj Huda, 2006)

(stop viewing after 3:15)


Storyline
Within the first few mintues of the film, we can assume the structure of the narrative and storyline. The mise-en-scene states the ages of what a majority of our characters will be (15/16 years); this is clearly indicated by the school ground location/setting and the costumes of the characters being school uniforms. The narrative cuts from one group of characters to the next. This helps the audience to know where each group stands socially within the school. It is unknown what one character is doing, as we see him using some drilling equipment, yet it is not revealed as to what it is. We assume it is either something dangerous or illegal because he secretive about the object and hides it.

Enigma Codes

• What was that character doing with the drill?
• What was he hiding in that yellow bin?
• Why were the girl and boy behind the tree worried about others seeing them together?
• Why were the two girls getting bullied for?
• What did the group of boys that weren't in school uniform doing on school grounds?
• Why were they looking for a girl called 'Claire'?

Charatcers

• We feel empathy for the two girl that were getting picked on. From this we already have identified these two as 'unpopular' among fellow students.
• The boys that were not in school uniform were in conventional 'gangster' clothing (hoodies, use of colloquial language). This gives them an intimidating persona, as proven when the other students are fearful when approached by them.
• The character that is shown using the drill is undecided, he could be using it for some sort of school work. However on the other hand if what he was doing was innocent, then he wouldn't be hiding it.

Mise-En-Scene
Location: set on school grounds to indicate the ages of the characters and to help to show they social standing.
Lighting: natural lighting as it is during the day outside.
Costume: most characters are wearing a school uniform, except for those who have been given typical 'gang' clothing to set them apart from the rest.

Cinematography

• The camera is almost constantly moving, even when focusing on a certain point it is still slightly moving.
• When the narrative is going to change to one of the other groups perpectives, the camera pans quickly over to them. This gives you the illusion as though you were in the scene walking around and turning to look over at each group.
• Close-up and extreme close-up shots are used when the camera is focused on the boy using the drill. This then keeps the audience unknown to what the object it, as it may be a crucial part of the storyline.

Editing

• When the camera is panning across the scene, as people walk in front of the screen the shot is cut to a differnt group of people.
• During the opening credits of the film the shot of each credit is cut from one to the other.

Sounds
All the sounds made are dietgetic. The background noise of other students running around, kicking a football and talking can be heard throughout the opening minutes.

Titles
Font: type/style of font is varied. Logos or name brands have to be in their own style, opening credits were in a easy to read font yet the size of the text was slightly too small. Then the name of the film was in its own unique font type as well.
Colour: other than one logo/brand the rest of the text was in white, which made a strong contrast on a black background.
Positioning: all text was in the centre of the screen.