Human Traffic is a British independent film written and directed by Welsh film-maker Justin Kerrigan. The film explores themes of coming of age, drug and club cultures, as well as relationships. It includes scenes provoking social commentary and the use of archive footage to provide political commentary. The plot of the film revolves around five twenty-something friends and their wider work and social circle, the latter devotees of the club scene, taking place over the course of a drug-fueled weekend in Cardiff, Wales.
A central feature is the avoidance of moralising about the impact of the 1990's dance lifestyle; instead the film concentrates on recreating the 'vibe, the venues and the mood' of the dance movement from the 1991 'summer of love' to the films release in 1999.
Questions
1. How can Human Traffic be considered a social realist film?
Consider how the film makers technically communicate social realism, what issues are raised and how they might affect the audience.
The definition of social realism is the realistic depiction in art of contemporary life, as a means of social or political comment. This applies directly to this film as it follows a real part of British youth culture history. The 90's rave era was something that really happened, and since the film depicts it so accurately it is certifiably a social realist film.
Social realism also can suggest the 'real world' of working class people, as social realist films e.g. the selfish giant often follow the story of those who come across many toils and difficulties in their world of deprivation. This comes across within this film as we witness the characters ongoing struggle against 'the norm' and those more 'upper class' and richer than themselves. However this film offers a complex web of character profiles and backgrounds- although the characters share a love for the weekend and a general opposition of society- they all differ in their social and economic backgrounds, bringing viewpoints of their own to add to the mix of social realism. Despite this complexity I feel it only enhances the effect of social realism, as in real life our society throughout history has and always is mixed.
2. How does the youth culture depicted resist or subvert to mainstream society?
Within the film Human Traffic the characters are all resisting mainstream society. Despite the fact they have all subverted already to the mainstream drug culture that grew at the time, they feel they must be united against a different culture. The culture of the working adult world. It is clear these characters have a reluctance to grow older and become part of 'the machine' within the world of work and no play. This is highlighted by the characters crave for the weekend which their lives seem to revolve around, and their rejection of their parents. From the audiences point of view we witness one characters process in resistance to this culture- Nina's younger brother .We also see Moff grow to steadily become more frustrated with society and his parents, to the point in which he completely submerges himself in drugs and the weekend, goes too far and ends up reconsidering his actions. Another character who makes a point of actively quitting their small part in the great social cog is Nina, who comes to loathe her awful job in a fast food joint and leaves for a life of unemployment.
The very nature of the characters way of having fun is also opposing against the rest of the world. By taking drugs as they are seen doing throughout the film they are opposing the law- especially since they mostly take 'E's (Ecstasy) which is seen as a class A drug. Although Ecstasy is not one of the most harmful drugs within this class it is still very illegal. It also causes paranoia within the group and for the characters to create a false personality or alter ego that isn't really themselves. This is again crossing the theme of identity, something that internationally young people and youth cultures struggle to come to terms with- hence the desperate need for a sense of fitting in at the same time as standing out. The characters use this sub culture to be different just like each other.
3. What values or morals are present in the film?
The main values for the characters consist again as revolving around having fun with drugs, each other, clubs and the weekend. This is a high priority for each character and a value they treasure within their youth culture. The value of friendship is also seen as a key aspect within the film for the characters. Strong and close relationships are seen throughout especially between Jip and Koop, and Nina and Lulu. Another value that the characters hold within their youth culture has to be the value of music. As we see within Koop's record store scene it is your musical preference that defines you, therefore music and the artists become a large value for the characters. Music is also what helps to fuel their glorified weekends and it unites them together.
The morals of the film could be seen from certain viewpoints as slightly twisted as the characters use drugs in a recreational way and see them as an entirely positive thing. However within this film I feel the drug of ecstacy is represented fairly, as it shows the high points and the great positives of this drug- but also the consequences of taking it too far in the form of Moff. Therefore the film could be teaching the lesson that recreational use of Ecstacy is allot of fun, but only for those who can use it wisely. The film does also present the important morals to have as being friendship, unity and enjoyment which is a positive representation.
4. How can you consider the film to be British?
This film is British in many ways. The director Justin Kerrigan was born in Cardiff, Wales where the film is also set. The actos are also all British, John Simm who plays Jipp is from Leeds, Lorraine Pilkington is from Dublin, Shaun Parkes who plays Koop is from London, Nicola Reynolds who plays Nina is from Wales and Danny Dyer who plays Moff is from London. Therefore the writer, director, set and cast are all British which I feel makes this film British. The film also follows a period of time and a youth culture/scene that appeared in Britain. The ideas, script, and subject matter are all focused around the British nature. British ideals and political or social attitudes of the time are also shown particularly within the interview in the club scene.
5. Analysis of one scene from the film; Koop's Jungle Record Store
The shot types are something that stood out for me within this scene. The scene revolves around the music savvy character of Koop. Koop is filmed as slightly leaning in to the camera, perhaps with a slight low angle from the camera which gives a point of view from the other character and involves the audience as if the character is speaking directly to them. The director has used camera angles to good effect within the scene to show the different characters also.
He has provided a slight comic aspect to the scene as some of the characters seem to glide across the room and burst into spontaneous dancing. These camera angles allow a playful and involving atmosphere for the audience to connect to and enjoy within the film.
This scene shows the wider issue within film and the society at the time- one which is carried on throughout time wherever youth cultures develop. This is the distinction of the music creating and carrying different connotations that create an individual. What you like or dislike in the music world decides your youth culture or sub youth culture. As we can see within this scene the different musical preferences create contrasting characters who act, dress, speak and even dance differently. The character of Koop is able to suss out each character and change his persona and record choice to suit them. This again shows the theme of identity cropping up, and how easily members of youth cultures change or manipulate their identity to fit in/rebel.
However this scene also presents a main character as being successful and enjoying the world of work- a representation contrasting to that of other characters such as Nina. Koop is good at his job and is shown to be actively participating within society at the same time as enjoying the music that is so important to him. Therefore this scene portrays youth cultures in a positive light, despite showing the somewhat fickle nature of them .
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