Keanon Mcsween

Explore the ideologies and values communicated in the films 12 Years a Slave (2012) and
Adulthood (2008).

I am going to explore how the use of micro techniques used by Noel Clarke, director of
Adulthood (2008). A young man is released from prison and is on a mission to make things
right and change his ways. He meets an old friend who agrees to help him find who he
wants to apologise to. Adulthood is BBFC certified 15 and is a crime drama. The film is a
sequel to the film Kidulthood. The narrative supports the theory of Levi Strauss, binary
oppositions protagonist vs antagonist in this film. Adulthood also follows Propps narrative
theory. The protagonist Sam is represented as the hero and the antagonist Lexi represents
the helper. When Sam is released from prison he meets Lexi who agrees to help him find
who he wants to apologise to. This connotes to the audience the value of helping others.
Adulthood communicates ideologies of dominance and power to the audience in the first
scene. The use of establishing shots makes the location, a party under a motorway clear to
the audience. The use of the diegetic on-screen sound of rap and hip-hop music adds to the
communication of what is happening in this location. The director then uses a pan to show a
group shot of three young men and one girl plotting to teach a man in an expensive car a
lesson. Connoting dominance to the audience. This scene suggests to the audience that
people of a lower social economic group, the group of men are jealous of people of a higher
social economic group, the man in the car this is shown as soon as the group of men notice
the car.
The mise en scene used in this scene for example costumes, shows the audience the social
economic group each character belongs, the costumes each character is wearing such as the
group of boys in hoodies and tracksuits, further enhances the point the director is trying to
make suggesting to the audience what economic social group each character comes from.
As the scene continues the director uses a jump cut to show a profile shot of the man in the
car and from the same angle the young men breaking into the car and fighting the man for
his wallet. This communicates violence to show power and dominance to the audience
whilst connoting immaturity among the young men. In this scene the use of a series of jump
cuts intensifies the fighting action going on in the scene. The loud diegetic on screen sound
of the gunshot is used to make the audience jump and to add fear, violence and exhilaration
into this scene. The gunshot goes off the director uses a medium close up of one of the boys
who broke into the car face with a clear facial expression of fear with the diegetic
background sound off people screaming to further connote fear to the audience. This
suggests that the narrative will have excitement throughout. The opening scene of a film
foreshadows the themes shown through out the film such as gang culture and excitement.
Clearly communicating to the audience the directors value of exhilaration.

Keanon Mcsween

The fight scene in Adulthood between Sam and Jay, suggests to the audience Sams value of
changing his ways and becoming a new person. This scene also invokes feelings to the
audience that people can change. Jay is ready to kill Sam and get revenge but Sam just
wants forgiveness. The use of jump cuts to increase the pace of the fight making it seem
more violent to the audience. The use of a 360-degree tracking shot focuses the audience
attention to the characters positioned in the centre of the frame, making the already tense
moment feel even more intense to the audience, invoking the feeling of fear to the
audience. Suggesting something bad is going to happen as the scene becomes more intense.
The use of shot reverse shot with minimal space above the characters head in the frame
allowing the audience to see the background of a council estate in London. The use dialogue
further communicates these ideologies and values. The protagonist Sam says We dont
need to do this Jay this suggests to the audience that he no longer wants to be the type of
person who is mixed in with gang culture anymore and wants to change his ways, invoking
feelings of empathy to the audience. The director uses make up to make to characters face
look bruised and to make Jays cuts and bruises look more painful than Sams. This shows the
audience that Jay has been beaten up a lot more than Sam suggesting to the audience that
Sam is stronger than Jay, and because he is trying to change his ways he does not wont to
kill again he stops and tries to reason with Jay. Clearly suggesting to the audience Sams
personal ideology of changing his ways, showing to the audience that he is serious about
this change to his lifestyle.
I will also be exploring how the use of micro techniques used by Steve McQueen director of
12 Years a Slave, where a black man called Solomon Northup is kidnapped and sold into
slavery and a story is told of his fight for freedom and the struggles of black slaves of the
time. 12 Years a Slave (2013) has a BBFC certification of 15; the film is a biographic historical
drama. The narrative supports Todorovs narrative theory. The equilibrium is Solomon
Northup is a free man. The disruption of the equilibrium is when Solomon is kidnapped, the
attempt to restore the equilibrium is when Solomon first asks a white man to send a letter
to the man who granted his freedom and the restoration of the equilibrium is when the man
who granted Solomon his freedom comes to collect Solomon and take him back to his
family.
12 Years a Slave, the room where the slaves are being sold. This scene communicates
ideologies that in the 1800s slaves were treated like animals; this is shown when the slaves
are sold like cattle based on there size and looks. The directors uses character positioning;
the slaves are positioned in the background. This scene shows the slaves positioned in neat
lines around the rooms, making them look army like and just like cattle they can be
inspected by their prospective buyer. Representing the slaves lack of choice, suggesting
they have no power and little importance. Positioning the slaves in neat lines around the
room symbolises the oppression that the slaves are put through. The use of non-diegetic
music makes the process of selling people like animals appear acceptable as if it is
something that happens every day, whilst still making the audience question the morality of

Keanon Mcsween

this process. McQueen then invokes feelings of empathy to the audience. He has
deliberately chosen the separate the slave from her children to represent, also how inferior
she is and how unimportant her view on the situation is. McQueen uses mise en scene
character positioning of the sales man and plantation owner in the foreground positioned to
the left and right of the screen, showing the audience that they have importance whilst
leaving space for with slave clutching her children in the background showing her little
importance but positioned in the centre whilst pleading the plantation owner to buy them
as well, showing that she is still important to the scene. The directors communication of
importance is repeated later in the film, when Patsey is accused of running away. On her
return her reason for leaving was not good enough so she was punished. This communicates
to the audience that slaves were inferior and treated like property this also communicates
the value of property as the plantation owner would do anything to keep Patsey. In addition
this also communicates the plantation owners ideology towards their slaves; a man does
what he likes with his property the careful choice of dialogue enhances this point, clearly
communicating the plantation owners personal ideology of what is his property so he can
do what ever he wants with it.
The use of mise en scene, the characters costumes and make up in both films highlighted
which characters had power. In 12 Years a Slave the slaves wore clothes that were dirty and
torn with little or no makeup to show them looking rough and tired, suggesting to the
audience that the slaves had little or no power. Whereas, the white people wore clothes of
a much higher quality that was neatly pressed with heavier make up making them look neat
and pristine, this represented them as the ones with power, this use of mise en scene is also
used on Solomon played by Chiwetel Ejiofor throughout the film he wears less make up as
his freedom and power is taken away from him, showing to the audience how he slowly
loses his power, making him look more rough and tired as the power is taken away from
him. In contrast in adulthood many characters dress alike so the director uses props and
character positioning to show who has power for example the characters who dont have
much power are usually alone or only have one person with them whereas the characters
with power have many people around them or always have a weapon making them more
intimidating and powerful.
In conclusion, both films communicated strong ideologies and values, such as family;
betrayal and that people can change. With some values and ideologies contributing in both
films. Adulthood communicated the value that family is number one because Sam would
have done anything to keep his family safe, and the value of childhood because it wont last
forever. This was explained when Lexi realises that although she is an adult she has never
felt more like a child. In my opinion this ideology relates to teenagers especially because
they are always in a rush to grow up and be adults, without thinking what being an adult
really means. Adulthood also communicated the ideology that people can change; this is
shown at the end of the film when Sam proves to the audience that he has changed by
stopping the fight with Jay. 12 Years a Slave communicated the value of self-preservation;

Keanon Mcsween

this is shown when Solomon is betrayed by another slave who was also kidnapped. The
ideology of betrayal was mirrored in Adulthood when Sam found out that Lexi was the one
who told jay he was released. Also the value of freedom because it can be taken when you
least expect it, this was shown when Solomon was kidnapped. The value of family was a key
concept in both films because, both Solomon and Sams struggle was to make sure their
families are safe this inspired them throughout both films, and clearly shows the link
between the ideological values of directors Noel Clarke and Steve McQueen and their
direction of dramatic films relating to real life situations and the value of family.
Word count: 1854

Adulthood opening
scene: Party under a
motorway.

Adulthood: young men

see the expensive car.

Keanon Mcsween

Adulthood: two young men

breaking into the car.

Adulthood: Fight between

Jay and Sam.

12 Years a Slave: women

pleading for the plantation
owner to buy her children.

Keanon Mcsween

12 Years a Slave: Slaves

being inspected in neat
lines by plantation owners.

12 Years a Slave: Patsey

pleading for forgiveness.