Tight Jeans (2012)

-





Tight Jeans is a short film set in Lewisham, London and it has been written and directed by Destiny Ekaragha. This film explores what the type of jeans you wear says about you. This is a group of men who are wearing the same kind of jeans, baggy jeans, which establishes that they are together and show similar opinions and tastes in style. They are all black British men so the audience is driven to group them together sociologically. Their hoodies are the same but different showing that there are formed and obvious similarities between the trio. By appearance, they come from the same racial and ethnic background, so they could share similar views of society which is later discussed in the short film. We differentiate the characters by the surrounding mise-en-scene they indulge themselves in.  


Destiny Ekaragha says that the best way to talk about serious things is in a funny way. The tone in their conversation is comical by the way in which they are talking about the different sizes of their physical features. The audience are laughing at them whilst with them giving the film a satirical element. The man who walks past is white, dresses differently from them, comes from a different ethnic and racial background and is shown wearing tighter and emo stylized jeans. This communication establishes the differences in communities and opinions. This comparison emphasizes the idea that they are talking about fashion, but also the differences in what can be portrayed by the type of jeans you wear.  

 

There is also an approach to what they are talking about with seeds of truth as the basis. We establish which male figure is the intelligent one, funny one and stupid one. The audience's 'intelligent' character makes the point of the way white women like black men because if they end up having children they will be mixed race which establishes, for them, a way into the black community. Here, racial politics are addressed and he reasons his point with political explanation. They also talk about the history slavery in a funny approach. Every human originates and has roots from Africa so they have populated the planet in the cradle of civilization. This points the idea of the rooted seeds of truth in some of their points they discuss. 

 

Sexual politics is also addressed in the idea that this short film was written by a woman and  

not a man. If it was written by a man, this could be seen as a way of promoting what they are talking about as the truth, but by a woman it makes it more likely to be satirical. Destiny Ekaragha is mocking and sending up the male black British attitude to sexual politics she has probably encountered in her life.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

echo

-
The short film, Echo (2011) was written by James Walker after witnessing a real incident in central London. Direction from Lewis Arnold, it is an emotive short film that explores the lasting affect a father's death has on his young family.  There is no clear structure which is an alternative approach to film making that we have explored in previous set short films. The twist the audience are anticipating happens at the beginning of the film so makes the viewer unsure how the following events relate to each other.  The themes portrayed in this film is exploitation, rebellion, sadness and mystery. With this, a unsatisfactory, open ending has occurred. The audience can assume that the dad has died but the full truth isn't given. We are left with questions that go unanswered, but the event that replays could be the explanation for why she is acting like this as a reference to the initial feelings she experienced when her dad first died.  At the beginning of the film we are in...
Read more

slap (2015)

-
Image
  'Slap' is a short film about identity, courage, love and acceptance, but also a matter of rage. The play on this nuanced is done successfully by representing a teenage boy who has a passion for boxing, however he also has a secret love and expressing himself in a feminine way as it gives him a sense of freedom. As the film unfolds, we begin to see the struggles he faces when trying to feel accepted in society due to non conforming to the stereotypical masculine role.  The use of objectifying posters of women in the background/on his wall not only show that he has an appreciation for the female body, but also shows his idealised self and what he aspires to look like. They are used to try and deceive his father into thinking that he finds the female body attractive and implies that he has voyeuristic fantasies about women, much like other boys his age. However, they suggest that he is unhappy with his masculine appearance and instead wishes to look more feminine, which he expr...
Read more

over

-
Over (2015) is a short film  that captures a crime scene revolving around a real event. A man fell from his death after hiding in the plane's landing gear on a flight approaching Heathrow airport in 2012. This film is in reverse chronological order which is showcased by the time stamps. This effect is that the peace of a neighbourhood is disrupted but we realise the peace is a way of time passing from the man's death.  In terms of of cinematography, the camera remains static and slow in it's movements to symbolise that we are left wondering how the man ended up there and what crime took place. The audience to do not find out until the aghast final shot, as the man falls from the sky and lands on the car. There is little dialogue so the cinematography is used for the source of narrative. With long shots that show the progression of a crime scene in reverse order, each shot provides a different angle and perspective which allows the audience to gain more detailed knowledge of...
Read more