Four Lions

Release date: 7th May 2010

BOX OFFICE:
Opening weekend:
$41,512 (USA) (7 November 2010) (8 Screens)
Gross:
$301,527 (USA) (13 February 2011)

PRODUCTION CO:
Film4, Wild Bunch, Optimum Releasing, Warp Films

RUNTIME: 97 Mins

TRIVIA:
On the same day as the premier of Four Lions at Sundance (Jan 23rd 2010) the UK terror threat level was raised to severe due to non specific 'chatter'

Chris Morris (the Director) claimed that Barry, the main Jihadist leader of the group, is actually based on a former BNP leader who 'accidentally' converted himself into a Muslim. He did this by studying the Qu'ran in an attempt to out-knowledge the Asian youths he regularly assaulted

When the Lions are supposedly at the London Marathon to detonate their bombs, they are actually in Sheffield as noticed by the 0114 Sheffield telephone numbers. The double decker buses are also the wrong colour.

PLOT:
The film follows a group of young Muslim men living in Sheffield who have become radicalised and aspire to be suicide bombers.

Sundance film festival:
'Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots'

Production:
'In a British city, four men have a secret plan. Omar is disillusioned about the treatment of Muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier. This is the most exciting idea Waj has ever heard. Better still it's a no brainer because Omar does his thinking for him. Opposed to Omar and everyone else on earth is the white Islamic convert Barry. He'd realize he joined the cell to channel his nihilism - If he had half the self knowledge of a duck. Faisal is the odd man out. He can make a bomb - but he can't blow himself up just now because his sick dad has "started eating newspaper". Instead he's training crows to fly bombs through windows. This is what Omar has to deal with. They must strike a decisive blow on their own turf but can any of them strike a match without punching himself in the face?'

BACKGROUND TO THE FILM:
Chris Morris spent three years researching different institutions and links to jihadism. For example, the secret service, terrorism experts, ordinary Muslims, police and Inams. Morris claimed that all the research done predated the 7/7 London bombings.

Originally, the project was rejected by Channel 4 and BBC as it was perceived as too controversial, as it was too soon after the 7/7 bombings.
At first, Chris Morris suggested that he sent round a mass email titled 'funding mentalism' and if fans contributed between £25 and £100 they would be used as extras in the film, in return for their help with funding. However, funding was eventually secured in October 2008 by Film4 Productions and Warp Films. The original filming began in Sheffield, May 2009.

During the making of the film, Morris sent the script to Guanatanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg. Begg claimed that he found nothing in the script that he thought would perhaps be offensive towards British Muslims. When the film was completed, Begg was giving a special screening and he said that he enjoyed it.

Judith Butler

1990 'Gender Trouble'

• Well known as a theorist of power, gender, sexuality and identity
• Butler argued that feminism had made a mistake by trying to assert that 'women' were a group with common characteristics and interests.
• That approach Butler said, performed 'an unwitting regulation and reification of gender relations' - reinforcing a binary view of gender relations in which human beings are divided into two clear-cut groups, women and men
• Rather than opening up possibilities for a person to form and choose their own individual identity, feminism had closed the options down.
• Feminists rejected idea that biology is destiny but developed an account of patriarchal culture which assumed masculine and feminine genders would inevitably be built, by culture upon 'male' and 'female' bodies, making the same destiny just as inescapable.
• Rather than being a fixed attribute in a person, gender should be seen as a fluid variable which shifts and changes in different contexts and at different times.
• 'The experience of a gendered, cultural identity is considered an achievement.'
• Sex is seen to cause gender which is seen to cause desire. This is seen as a kind of continuum
• Butler 'Smash the supposed links between these, so gender and desire are flexible, free-floating and not 'caused' by other stable factors'
• Butler - 'There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; ... identity is performatively constituted by the very "expressions" that are said to be its results.'
• Certain cultural configurations of gender have seized a hegemonic hold e.g. they have come to seem natural in our culture as it presently is but, she suggests it doesn't have to be that way
• Rather than proposing some utopian vision, with no idea of how we might get to such a state, Butler calls for subversive action in the present
• We all put on a gender performance, whether traditional or not, anyway, and so it is not a question of whether to do a gender performance, but what form that performance will take.
• By choosing to be different about it, we might work to change gender norms and the binary understanding of masculinity and femininity.

Queer Theory

• Queer theory is based upon an idea that our identities are not fixed and do not determine who we are
• Suggests it is 'meaningless' to talk about women or any other group, as many identities consist of so many elements, that to assume people can be seen collectively, on the basis of one shared charateristic is wrong
• It proposes we deliberately challenge all notions of fixed identity, in varied and non-predictable ways

Queer theory: Critics

• Some do not like queer theory as it is deemed unappropriate/deviant
• Tim Edwards 'Sexualities' - gave a list of reservations

1. For most people, their sexual identity isn't particularly fluid, it's suprisingly constant really
2. Queer theory cheats, by focusing on cultural texts, where it is easier to find gender or sexual ambiguties
3. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, for example, deconstructs sexual categories and dualisms in a bunch of 'elite' literary texts. Others have taken this to be an account of real social life
4. Judith Butler's followers similarly ignore real-life oppression and instead support their optimistic worldview by gazing at gender-blending movies and photography. Discrimination at home and at work, for everyday gay people, are forgotten about in this approach.
5. Butler's argument that gender exists at the level of discourse ignores its significance as 'an institutionalised social practice'.
6. The celebration of radical diversity may lead to individualism and fragmentation.
7. By celebrating difference, queer politics makes the 'gay' or 'lesbian' identity all too important.
8. Queer theory celebrates pleasure and therefore puts too much emphasis on sex. It also puts too much emphasis on the visual, and too much emphasis on the young and trendy.
   

Key Theoritical ideas for 'women in contemporary film' case study

Althusser's theory of interpretation
Laura Mulvey's notion of the male gaze

Louis Althusser

• Marxist arguing power exists in different forms
• Via repressive state apparatus (police, economy etc)
• Via ideological means e.g. culture, power of the media exerting a form of hegemony over the public and creating dominant ideologies

How does interpretation fit into this?

• Coined by Althusser in 1971, notion of interpretation is practice of 'misrecognising' yourself or 'false consciousness' - Marxist
• Image presented by the media is an ideal one, which is impossible for us to maintain

Do you feel that you 'misrecognise yourself?'

• Does the media construct identities for you?
• Does it reflect who you are or tell you?
• Do you become complicit in allowing yourself to be presented in certain ways, as a result of being a 'consumer' of the media?

What do Marxism and feminism have in common?

• Both challenge the cultural power of the media to represent reality

Laura Mulvey and the notion of 'the male gaze'

• Coined in 1975, height of feminist studies
• Argues camera is always from a male perspective and has led to objectification of women - binary approach to gender implies that men are active, rendering women as passive
• women were 'complicit' in their objectification, allowing themselves to be 'constructed by men' (similar to false consciousness)

What are arguments against theories?

• Marxist theories present cultural power of media as a form of control and not a flexible instrument, responding to changes
• Is feminism a dirty word? Are women, as a result of their biology all the same? This monolithic approach has been criticised as it does not take into account factors like ethinicity and age
• Critics who assert that we live in a post feminist age, and sexism of the past is now only presented in an ironical way
• David Gauntlett - 'We live in a post traditional society'

Dogme 95

• Danish directors 'Lars von Trier' and 'Thomas Vinterberg' created the 'Dogme 95 Manifesto' and the 'Vow of Chasity'
• These two directors started the Dogme 95 filmmaking movement in 1995
• The Dogme 95 consists of rules which are based on the traditional values of story, acting and theme and excluding the elaborate use of special effects or technology
• The Dogme 95 Collective was eventually formed and they were joined by directors Kristain Lerving and Soren Kragh-Jacobsen
• This new genre took an interest from unknown filmakers as it suggests that one can make a film without being dependent on comissions or huge Hollywood budgets, making films in this genre easily accessible
• It instead depends on European government subsides and television stations
• However, the movement was criticised for being a 'disguised attempt to gain media attention'
• On the other hand, Dogme was actually intiated so that it would make filmmakers rethink the art, effect and essence of filmmaking

History

• They announced the Dogme Movement on March 22, 1995 in Paris
• The cinema world had gathered to celebrate the first century of motion pictures and contemplate the uncertain future of commercial cinema
• When called upon to talk about the future of film, Lars Von Trier gave the audience pamphlets to their suprise, annoucing the Dogme 95 movement
• Von Trier and Vinterberg - 'In a buisness of highly extreme budgets, we figured we should balance the dynamics as much as possible'

Goals and Rules

• Goal of Dogme collective is to purify filmmaking by refusing expensive and spectacular special effects, post-production modifications and other technical gimmicks
• Concentrate on story and the actors performance
• This approach is used as it is believed it will better engage the audience, as they are not alienated or distracted by over production

'Vows of Chasity'

• Filming must be done on location. Props/sets must not be brought in. If particular prop is neccessary for the story, a location must be used from where the prop is found
• Sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless is occurs within the scene being filmed
• Camera must be hand held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. Film must not take place where camera is standing, filming must take place where action takes place
• Film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable.
• Optical work and filters are forbidden
• Film must not contain superficial action
• Temporal and geographical allenation are forbidden
• Genre movies are not acceptable
• Final picture must be transferred to the Academy 35mm film, with aspect of ratio 4:3, that is not widescreen
• Director must not be credited

Contemporary British Cinema - Gender

• Focuses on the representation of sexuality, class, gender and ethnicity in contemporary British cinema.
• E.g. equalisation fo the age consent, outlawing of workplace discrimination on grounds of sexuality and the legal recognition of same-sex civil partnerships
• Homosexual representation remains a peripheral aspect of British film culture
• Few films are made with the sole purpose of exploring one particular aspect of cultural identity and some of the most interesting films of modern British cinema, from 'My Beautiful Landrette (1985)', to 'A Way of Life', have been those situated on the interstices of identity politics

Women

• Questions of feminine agency have frequently been raised across films of differing genres and historical settings
• Literary and period drams e.g. Elizabeth and Charlotte Gray have celebrated the role played by women in history, and the contributions of female artists and writers have also been celebrated in biopics like Hilary and Jackie, Iris and Miss Potter
• Issues pertaining to the female body, such as infertility and abortion, have been contemplated, to differing ends e.g. Mad Cows (1999), Fanny and Elvis (1999)
• Rising no of female directors and writers contributing to British film culture and varied scope on their work, has been one of most welcome developments of the era
• Recurring scenarios of the male centrered films and genres have occasionally been answered by 'female' equivalents
• Stories of self-empowerment in School for Seduction, Calender Girls and Rabbit Fever whilst Women Talking Dirty (1999), Beautiful Creatures (2000) offer a glossily feminist spin on the 'buddy' movie, the gangster film and the caper movie
• In stories about close friendships such as 'Career Girls, Me Without You (2001) and Anita and Me - are sometimes homoerotic undercurrents, but the problematic relationships in these films are also a way to explore tensions and jealousies relating to age, gender, ethnic and intellectual difference
• As with many male films, there is concern with 'performance' - the question of 'how to do' feminity but with an emphasis on the role of voice, either in written or oral form, rather than the body
• Although Little Voice accomodates the singing talents of its main star, Jane Horrocks, the film is ambivalent about her withdrawn young character's impersonations of female singers
• Little Voice makes for an interesting comparison with Lynne Ramsay's Movern Callar, another story of a detached, unreadable young woman who appropriates the 'voice' of others
• In realist melodrama Stella Does Tricks (1996) - a teenage victims of abuse and prosititution is last seen recounting her story to others, and therefore seizing contrl of her narrative for the first time
• British cinema's best known intervention within contemporary gender politics in recent years has probably been the films based on 'Bridget Jones' novels - the Bridget Jones character became a hotly debated icon of post feminism
• The character articulated an aspect of contemporary experience that had rarely been addressed and would go on to be a keynote work of 'chick-lit' fiction
• Through their depiction of a women experiencing both the freedom and loneliness of the 'singleton' existence, the books and films reflected the growing social trend for single occupancy households
• Also been a loose cycle of films exploring behavioural responses to trauma and abuse e.g. Stella Does Tricks, the War Zone, Hold Back the Night, Kidulthood and London to Brighton - dwelt upon exploitation and sexual abuse of teenagers and young people
• Engaging with the interior lives of damaged young women, 'Under the Skin, Morvern Callar and Red Road provocative connections between emotional trauma - the death of loved ones and sexual desire
• They express the intesnsity of their central character's grief but also to render unclear their motivation and the extent of their passivity
• Part revenge thriller, part commentary upon serveillance culture, Red Road is a genetically intricate film about Jackie, an introverted minimally-expressive council CCTV operator who sees on screen the man who killed her husband and son in a car accident - the film finds a metaphor in the decoding of CCTV images for the viewer's own inability to read Jackie's persuit of CLyde, which cultimates in a graphic sex scene, was recognised as one of the film's strenths but also caused some disquiet.
• Albeit rarely to such a controversial effect, the expression of containment of 'dangerous' female sexuality has been a recurring theme in contemporary British cinema, cropping up in films of differing genres and historical settings.

Stereotypes in the Media

1. What is the stereotype of the working class? Working class roles were either seen as comic or sinister, or a last minute plot twist would reveal them to have come from a socially elevated background. Working wives in television series tend to be middle class women in pursuit of careers and working class men tend to be shown as immature, irresponsible and requiring the supervision of their 'betters'. Members of the white working classes are portrayed as dumb, inarticulate and old fashioned. In 1956, John Osborne's play 'Look Back in Anger' revolutionalised English drama by focusing on a new kind of hero - Jimmy Porter, a working class man who knew he was more articulate and intelligent than the pepole who looked down on him. Osborne, being one of several 'angry young men' who produced plays, novels and ultimately screenplays depiciting proudly working class characters trying to better themselves while remaining true to their roots.

2. Do films of the British New Wave challenge that stereotype? 'British New Wave' of the late 1950s and early 1960s grew out of this movement, key titles including Room at the Top (1958), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), A Kind of Loving (1962), the Lonlinessa of the Long-Distance Runner (1962) and This Sporting Life (1963). New stars who emerged from this period incluided Alan Bates, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Albert Finney and Richard Harris, none of whom could plausibly have played leading roles in the drawing room and Empire-fixated British films of the 1930s. By the early 21st century, it seems almost compulsory for a British cinema had largely been used for comic effect or as 'salt of the earth' cannon fodder. The action portrayed by the working class characters details everyday dramas - hence the 'kitchen sink' tag. We then see events through the emotional journeys of the characters. The films 'Only Room at the Top' and 'Look Back in Anger' look directly at conflict between working class and middle class characters. The later films concentrate on conflicts within the working class contrasting rough e.g. Arthur Seaton in 'Saturday Night Sunday Morning' with 'respectable' e.g. Vic Brown in a 'Kind of Loving.

3. Does the ideology of the films reflect a stereotype or rework it? The 'new wave' films and the sources that inspired them gave a voice to a working-class that was for the first time gaining some economic power. In some ways, the ideology of the films reflects the typically working class stereotypes, as it portrays them in an 'everyday' drama and the nitty and gritty of everyday life. The British New Wave films often drew attention to the reality of life for the working classes, especially in the North of England, characterised as 'its grim up north.' Usually in black and white, these films had spontaneous quality, often shot in a pseudo-documentary style on real locations and with real people rather than extras, apparently capturing life as it happens.

4. Where does the caper film, 'The Italian Job' fit in? The Italian Job, has characters which are from many different social classes, including the ruling class and working class, committing robbery against high officials in Italy. These are ordinary men who are getting involved in criminal actions, however, the audience does not appear to dislike the characters