Analysis of Ill Manors

Analysis Of Ill Manors:

Ill Manors by Plan B is a commentary on social stereotypes and the representation of working class children in the media around them. It was released and written shortly after the London Riots of 2011, and he uses the unstable political climate to his advantage by speaking to the people about issues they care for. He also makes reference to current mistakes being made by the government, using intertextuality to talk about the "hug a hoodie" campaign by David Cameron and how it was incredibly ineffective for the "chavs". In the mise-en-scene you can see everyone wearing casual clothing associated with their stereotypes, like hoodies and tracksuits, because it shows a tongue-in-cheek statement of how violent and unruly these people are. This long shot of someone wearing this attire in politically unbalanced Britain gives connotations of the "chav" lifestyle, which makes the songs faux-gangster statements seem intimidating in the oppositional reading. The long shot too adds intimidation, it looks like they are being swarmed by these "scum of the earth people".



The colour correction for a majority of the piece has a dark heavy, blacks enhancing filter, that shows the negativity and darkness that lurks in the council estate he chose to film on. These dark colours show the mood of the characters around him, it shows the lack of hope that a bright white colour scheme would have presented. Colour also makes a big appearance further on, with a red colour scheme frequently present to show the anger that they portray - both real and represented in the media.

The title itself also begs questions, will "Ill Manors" phonetically linked to the idea of mannerisms (or the alleged lack thereof) in the council estate kids, saying that their manners are ill and insufficient. The literal meaning, of Ill Manors, is that the place where they are housed is sick and not being looked after. This links back to the cultural anger, as the Olympics were being hosted at the same time and the investments given to the Olympic Village caused anger as they could have been invested into the poorly managed estates, or keeping the community centres open. As Plan B shows through high-pointed camera angles, these kids are trying to regain the power the government is taking from them. He also uses the establishing shot on the roof of the tower block with the smog and bleak weather of the poor area of London. It helps to set the tone of the video and to demonstrate the hopelessness and sadness of the situation.



In this scene, the actors (and Plan B) are acting aggressive with gang and violent gestures to put the focus on the fierce alleged nature of these kids and people. The hoods are up, which intertextually means in our culture that these people are up to no good and are people to be wary of. It critiques the social issues in "broken Britain" by demonstrating a caricature of the poor in Britain.

Shows the explosion of tensions between the rich and the poor in Britain.