Opening Sequence Analysis - This is England

Film Name: This is England
Genre: British Drama/ Social Realist

I will now conduct an opening analysis from the film "This is England", in order to see how each genre varies when producing opening sequences.



This is very different from the previous opening sequence we saw as it doesnt include any similar footage. This is because this is made up of many different video clips showing different events occuring within the time period of the film, which was in the 1980's at the political time when Margaret Thatcher was in power. The different film clips show all of the different aspects of British life and culture hinting to the audience what the film will be about and prefectly fitting in with the film title, as they are visually showing what England was all about within that time frame.

The different clips show good and bad times during the period of Thatcherism in all different sectors of the country such as the army troops all the way across to the miners and skin heads at political events. The clips are in black and white but also some in colour showing they have not been re-coloured for the purpose of making them seem as valid as possible in exploring the time period.

The music used within the opening sequence is called "54-46 Was My Number" by Toots & The Maytals. This is a reggae/ Jamaican song by a Jamaican group which almost challenges what the film is about because it is about England not Jamaica. However it does emphasise the culture in the music variety of that time, when the British listened to reggae tracks again emphasising the time period and setting the scene.

The rolling credits are shown on top of the different clips in a bold and white text so that they stand out. The opening logo is the first thing shown along with the director who is Shaun Meadows, emphasising these are the most important to point out.