An Analysis of Representations in 'The Selfish Giant'

Regional Identity

The film shows the area to be rough, with a lot of travelers and underclass families. The children are always on the street and swear a lot. 16 minutes in, there is a long shot denoting Arbor and Swifty walking, this shot is not focused on only the two characters but on the whole background. This connotes that the area they live in is run down, there's litter and it just doesn't look like a nice place for kids to be brought up.

Age

Arbor's reaction to his permanent exclusion

Swifty's reaction to his 10 day exclusion

Throughout the film we are taught that the children do not care much for their education. At 8:45 there is a close up denoting Arbor's Mum opening up a letter for another truancy fine, meaning this is not the first time that Arbor has been truant at school. At 18:45, Arbor's Mum tells him that he has been permanently excluded, his immediate reaction is happy "Sick!". This connotes to the audience the lack of interest he has for his education and having a brighter future. Although, when Swifty's Mum tells him he has been excluded for 10 days, firstly, she looks much more distressed about the situation than Arbor's Mum did, "You need to get an education". This connotes she wants a much brighter future for him than she has. There is a close up which denotes Swifty looking guilty for what he has done and reacts much more caring to his exclusion than Arbor, connoting he wants an education and wants to do well to make his Mum proud.

The adults in this film are broken, they are not role models for kids, they are not someone you aspire to be like. They are shown taking advantage of the children, 39 minutes in, there is a mid shot denoting Kitten taking money off of Arbor that he has worked for and earns himself and claims it as "Tax because he is under 16" even though he knows under 16's are not taxed. This connotes Kitten is the bully of the film because he takes advantage of people younger and more vulnerable than him just because he can, this represents him as a very weak, failed man.

There are times that Arbor's innocence and childishness is really highlighted in the film, as we sometimes forget how young he really is. 11 minutes in, Arbor is denoted messing around in the classroom, throwing things around, we see him having fun and just being a child again. But on the other hand, his childhood is taken away, when he is working, but also when his Mum is crying. At 48:12,  there is a close up denoting his Mum crying on his shoulder, this connotes he is her support, he cannot always be that innocent child having fun, he has to be the man of the house because he has no Dad present. This represents Arbor as a much stronger, braver character than we see in some of the other shots. 

Disability

Arbor suffers from an aggressive form of ADHD and throughout the film this is viewed as something that holds him back, not something that he can get through. Selfish Giant shows the audience a very harsh view of ADHD, the audience are taught the toughest parts of his disability. He is first introduced by a close up which denotes him under the bed, punching and screaming at 1:00, this is the first shot of Arbor that we see and it is quite unnerving for the audience to see a young boy going through this. This connotes to the audience the type of character he is going to be, the lost boy as he is already shown struggling. 9 minutes in he is shown losing his temper in the kitchen again, throwing anything he can find at his Mother.

18 minutes in there is a close up denoting Swifty's Mum, she looks tired, distressed and upset. Here we feel sympathy for the character, this connotes that she is the downtrodden woman.  Although her symptoms aren't as strongly shown that Arbor's ADHD, we can see the depth to her emotions.

Social class

The people in this film are underclass and are struggling to support their families.The first evidence of this at 12 minutes, it is denoted that Swifty's family have no electricity, showing the struggle to afford something so basic that every family needs. The family are denoted eating cold baked beans, further exaggerating their poverty lives as they are not given their basic needs of food. In this same shot, the tiny kitchen is overcrowded with people, this connotes to the audience that the house itself is not big enough for them all but they do not have enough money to give the children the space that they need.

At 13 minutes, Swifty's Dad is denoted selling his sofa in order to provide for his family, connoting him as the Failing Man archetype, he is trying to help his family, but he has no hope in doing so. The director here has chosen to do a long shot, again so that the audience can see the full background of the shot, we can see the window is not glass again exaggerating the poorness of the Mum and Dad not being able to provide simple necessities for the house and kids.

As Arbor's Mum is arguing with the teacher, he does not take into account anything she is saying to him, connoting that the underclass are ignored, their opinions do not matter to them. The Mum's in this film are shown always wanting a better life for their children, Arbor's Mum doesn't want him grafting, she wants him in school. And Swifty's Mum is very concerned for her son's education, 18 minutes  in her words "You need an education" connotes that life hasn't treated her well and she wants a better life for her son than she has had.

Gender

The barrier between the two genders is denoted throughout the film, 12 minutes in there is a shot denoting Swifty's Mum at home making the food, his Dad calls her "useless" immediately connoting the lack of respect he has for his wife and expects her to be able to do everything at home whilst he is out working to provide for his family, the women are second class. Although, this is contrasted when there is a women shown working at the scrapyard, as an audience we feel much more attached to this woman than the men working there as she has respect for people, she has a conscious. This connotes that it is the men that take advantage of the children, the women have a heart, they know better.

The women in the film are the ones who are approached for comfort, not the men. At 1:23, there is a close up denoting Arbor hugging Swifty's Mum, she is his emotional support. Arbor does not have a father, he doesn't have someone to look up to as a role model, but Swifty does. Although Swifty's Dad isn't the greatest Dad to have, we can see the impact he has on Swifty, he has morals and punishment, something that Arbor has never had in his life. This connotes that the reason for Arbor's behaviour is because he has never had the male support that he needs in his life. 

Sexuality

Although it is always represented casually, Homophobia is strongly denoted in this film. Arbor and Swifty have an extremely close friendship, but Arbor's brother teases him for this and calls Swifty his boyfriend, he sounds disgusted at the thought of it. Arbor and Swifty's banter often involves calling each other gay, this connotes that it is in their culture to make fun of people as being gay is strongly not an option for them.

Ethnicity

The main race shown in this film is white people, they are denoted as chavy, underclass white northerners. Kitten is called a "wannabe traveller" around 30 minutes in. This connotes that Kitten desires to be something so unsuccessful in life, something that kids cannot look up to be.