London to Brighton Trailer Analysis

1:  Media Forms- How does the trailer use media language to establish the film's genre?

The use of media language in the trailer establishes the film’s genre as being a raw thriller as it shows a young innocent girl who is forced into prostitution for her survival. The long shot at the beginning of the trailer shows the protagonist homeless inside a tube station; this would connote to the target audience that the protagonist has already led a troubled life at home which she is clearly trying to escape from (the text begins with Todorov’s theory of disequilibrium). Here we see the train being used as an action code for the characters desperation for escape. The protagonist meets a prostitute who is concerned about her condition while smoking a cigarette; the smoke in this shot follows the conventional theme of thriller as there is already some sort of mystery being created through the use of the enigma code of the smoke. The young girl accepts an offer of money in return for some work, there is use of irony in the text as the audience would know that the girl is being lured into prostitution however the innocent protagonist is oblivious to this, considering that she is with a hooker and a pimp. As the medium shot of the girl entering the hotel room the audience see her facial expression as being terrified and the use of an enigma code of her red lipstick which connotes lust, which is obliviously something that the young girl cannot understand as she is not aware of these signs. There is a juxtaposition of the beginning, with the long shot of London and then eventually the tracking shot of the gritty, run down areas of Brighton; this would reflect the protagonist’s transition between the location and lifestyle that she leads. The use of the voice over which says “How often did you get my dad a girl?” “Couple of times, three, four.” “How young?” “She was about 12.” This voice over would also follow the conventional theme thriller as there has been a death which involves the protagonist; the non-digetic sound of the gunshot signifies violence and death. The medium shot of the protagonist and the prostitute being beaten also connotes the violence of the text. When both of the female characters are in the train the young girl asks “Are we going to jail?” and then the close up of the prostitute in low-key lighting connotes deception as there are shadows created around her eyes.

2: Media Representations- How is gender represented in the trailer?

There is a clear division between genders in the trailer as the women are shown to have no real value as humans and the men are shown to be superior through the use of the low angle shots. The males are dominant in the trailer as the pimp decided where the young girl has to provide her service in exchange for money but in the end of the trailer the man seems to be arresting the two females as they have gone against the men’s orders. However the women are not treated with the same respect as the men as they are beaten by the men in the low-key long shot which shows that the men are able to enforce their power over the young girl and the prostitute. The women are represented as inferior as they do not retaliate in the dark scene; this would put emphasise on their position in society being low compared to the men. The young girl is represented as innocent and naïve when she is inside the shady car; in this medium shot there is top lighting on her face which would connote purity as the car is completely dark. The prostitute is portrayed as a caring mother figure towards the protagonist as her facial expression is worried when the girl is forced to have sex with the old man.

The pimp in the trailer is portrayed to be insensitive as he happily offers the protagonist money for sex, later on in the trailer he is shown to still be selfish as he only cares about the money he makes from the women as he can’t even remember how old the girl is.