Cubs
The short film Cubs written and directed by Tom Harper looks into the life of youths. The film won the British Independent Film Award and was nominated for a BAFTA. Various themes and issues are developed throughout the film; Peer pressure, violence and cultural divides. The film follows two main characters who want to become part of a gang they believe is cool.
The film begins with the diegetic sound of shouting and see a group of teenagers playing football. This type of scene may be considered as a normal environment for youths to be in as its common to see them in this behaviour. The fast paced editing and the quick transitions give a sense of high energy atmosphere which could be a reflection on the pent up energy that teenagers have.
We cut to two people sitting on a wall together; these are our primary characters, Ben and Davis. From the way they are sitting and the conversation we hear between the two we understand that there is a relationship of some sort between them and also the gesture of the gloves. The way the character of Davis says that she should have been home ages ago, allows us to assume that the film may have something to do with rebellion and defiance.
From the mise en scene we can see that the film is set in a lower class area, with the graffiti walls and dull grey lighting along with the concrete ground instead of the usual grass pitch. There is a mixture of youths from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds playing together. The diegetic sound is kept natural to give it a sense of verisimilitude.
Our attention is drawn toward a new character, when Ben and Davis jump off the wall saying ‘Hes here.” The way in which they jumped up when the other boy entered the shot, makes it feel as if the two of them are standing to attention. From the reaction the boy receives we can tell he is of some importance and from his clothing we may stereotype that he could belong or be the leader of a gang. As he gets closer the youths who were playing football go quite and run and stand in a line, somewhat like a military exercise, showing the characters high status and authority. The boy walks along the line of teens as if judging them like animals and then selecting someone.
As the boy walks down the line he acknowledges Ben but carries on walking, this doesn’t please Ben as he obviously wants to be picked by him. This reaction is shared by the other youths who haven’t been picked, where as the one who has steps out of the line looking smug and proud of himself. This makes it clear to the audience that being chosen by the boy known as Karl is an honour. When Karl walks away Ben runs after him yelling his name. In frustration Karl answers Ben, but the way the two are positioned in the shot, Karl being higher than Ben commutates that Karl has a high status and more power. Karl agrees to let him and Davis come along and meet him later.
We then cut to a shot of Ben and Davis standing by a metal gate, which looks to be separating them from the gang of youths, bellow them. There is a clear ellipsis of time shown in the darkening of the light but this could also convey the dark atmosphere and situation the two characters are going in to. The use of a high angle shot looking down at the gang of youths communicates that the two characters still have a have a high moral status instead of those bellow them who are obviously up to no good.
When the two characters enter the tunnel full of youths the lighting changes and turns really bright and is lit by fire. The light coming from the fire causes shadows, this type of lighting is chosen for the use of shadows as it shows the dark side to what they are doing, expressing the fact that they aren’t supposed to be doing what they are doing. This is backed up as the group are smoking, drinking and most probably taking drugs, however we may consider this extremely stereotypical as youths are seen as experimental at this age. The fact that most of them are under age and drinking and smoking shows how they are pushing the boundaries and expressing themselves in some of the only ways they can, which is by rebelling against the rules. After the characters stand together looking around them anxiously, Karl enters the scene with two ravening dogs.
When he comes into the scene the chatter of the group dies down and they all look toward Karl like a leader. He then walks over to Ben and hands him a cricket bat, the relationship we saw earlier in the film between Karl and Ben turns cold as he tells him to not fuck up. From the expression of anxiousness on Ben face we can understand that he is starting to feel the pressure.
With the environment that the group are in and the use of a cricket bat we can tell that they are up to no good and violence may be involved. A reason for this thought is that it may be considered ‘normal’ for youths to use cricket bats or baseball bats as weapons. The editorial pace starts to speed up as we get a mixture of close up shots and wide shots of the dogs, of Ben and of the group of youths. The diegetic sound of the teenagers start to get louder and the dogs barking increases and becomes more brutal. This continues, getting the group riled up until Karl shouts and they all start running, like they are charging something. We then change to the non diegetic sound of a present day urban culture music.
Whilst running we notice that they are chasing a fox. The camera follows the chase with multiple tracking and wide shots. They end up cornering the fox and Ben goes to hit it with the cricket bat, however he loses his nerve and the fox gets away. This moment of the film makes the audience think he has a conscience and realises that what he’s doing is actually wrong. This is shortly thought as he walks away from the group then spots the fox again and calls for the attention of the gang. The chase then continues.
The use of the diegetic sounds of dogs barking and the youths shouting give an almost predatory feel to the chase, as they are running after their prey. This makes what they are doing animalistic which dehumanises the youths who are doing it. We are drawn straight back into the chase and we see the dogs from earlier attack the fox, the camera changes to handheld and has very jerky movements showing the chaos of the moment. We hear the sound of the fox in pain which may make the audience uncomfortable as it’s not an action that would be considered morally correct.
Ben is then given a gun by Karl and is ordered to shoot the fox; this is an obvious theme of peer pressure as its clear in the close up shots of Ben’s face that he’s anxious about what he’s doing. This is a moral dilemma for him as the character has to choose between doing the right thing and not killing the fox or shooting the fox to impress the gang.
We get a close up focus pull from the gun to the injured fox on the ground, showing violence and a brutal environment and also building the tension. Like earlier in the film we as an audience begin to feel uncomfortable as we are witnessing firsthand what happens when people hunt foxes and that’s something we usually try to ignore rather than embrace.
After a long period of thinking Ben pulls the trigger and shoots the fox. The volume then increases as we hear the diegetic sound of the gang cheering Ben, which is a form of acceptance. Karl tells Ben that he’s one of them and then smears blood on his cheek as a sign of respect. They then disperse when they hear the sound of sirens and they flee the scene and return to in their original place in the tunnel.
Back in the tunnel the group celebrate what’s just happened but between the two characters of Davis and Ben the relationship has turned cold. From the look of disappointment Davis gave Ben when he shot the fox shows that she doesn’t approve of his actions or the person hes become. While people are celebrating they sit together but instead at the beginning of the film when they talks to each other they are both looking away and not speaking. This shows an emotional separation as the characters have changed.
Davis then gets up places the gloves into Ben’s hands and walks away. This leaves Ben on his own which is a reflection of his current state and the loneliness he’s feeling emotionally due to the guilt. Karl then calls him over to his group while they play with the dead foxes tail, showing no care or concern to just killing an animal. Ben ignores his call and wipes the blood off of his face. In the final shot of the film we see him starring into the camera showing no emotion as we hear the group in the background cheering. The use of him staring directly at the camera is him connecting with the audience.
The films main aspect is the focus on fox hunting, this is very controversial as it bring up the opinions on whether it is right of wrong. However in this film the main question within this theme is the class and status. In the past fox hunting was a popular sport among the upper class, but in this film we are seeing fox hunting from a low class urban group of teenagers. This is extremely unusual as its not what you would expect and not associated with lower class teens. Even with the class and time differences there is still the underlying issue of violence and peer pressure which is tied in throughout the story line.
