Media Languages and Form

The film's denotative meaning is based upon the way that the 'hooligan' lifestyle effects each person. The way that death and hatred become linked to football show the audience how the key characters in the film cannot help but end up in bad situations where they lose each other or the people that they love.
The importance of the connotative meaning in the film is based on each character's own life. For example, while Matt is in University he is framed by his roommate for taking drugs and at the time doesn't stand up for himself. When he meets Pete he realizes how afraid he has been all his life to take a stand for the things he believes in and by the end has been on a self-searching journey.
What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?
Throughout the film the relationship between Matt and Pete changes. In the beginning, Pete is rough with Matt and is not interested in getting to know Matt. Then, he begins to get closer to Matt and becomes softer with him, he helps him instead of being rough with him while his good friend 'Bovver' cannot bring himself to accept him into the firm because he is suspicious of him. Matt himself by the end of the movie turns into a real man finally and goes along with 'The GSE' to fight their enemy, 'Millwall'. His actions while fighting become more tough and wild whereas before he would think before making a move.
Also, in 'The GSE' the members express friendliness through patting each other on the shoulder and giving each other a brotherly hug and they portray their dislike through pushing someone up against the wall and threatening them to keep certain people out of their territory.
The setting of the movie is in UK, East London. This is a typical place for the movie to be set since this is where these crimes usually take place. The pubs and streets add to the authenticity of the movie's representation of football obsessed England.
The language used is 'cockney slang' as this is the way people talk in the area of East London. Matt's character however speaks in an American language which makes him look more literate and intelligent compared to the other characters. The music is typical British rock which are not by well-known musicians.One of the songs in the movie, 'One blood' is by the actor Terrence Jay, who plays the character of 'Jeremy Van Holden'. The recurring image of the 'West Ham United' sign is a symbol to express the importance of 'The GSE's' beliefs. This keeps the films ideology apparent to the viewer.
When fighting scenes occur the camera begins to shake to represent the adrenaline rush that the guys are experiencing. However when there is something serious occurring there are no quick cuts or any zooms as this makes it more interesting to view the film in two extremes.