Media Audiences

The text is aiming to appeal to an audience consisting of adult men. The reason for them being adult is the fact that there is a lot of violence incorporated in the movie causing it to be an 18 rated film. The film is also based on a very manly subject, this is why it is also aiming at men as they prefer violent and action movies over romance or comedies. The secondary target audience could be adult women also who may be interested in the topic of football hooliganism or who may even like the actors within the movie.The audience of the movie could be assumed to be football mad guys who support a specific team themselves. Or they could also be seen as people who are open-minded to such movies and to violence. The audience is assumed to be attracted mainly to the film's storyline rather than who made it or who is starring in it. However, seeing a movie that has Elijah Wood within it alongside British actors for the first time could prove interesting also.
As this is a Hollywood movie, the audience could be considered to be large as it would have been distributed in well known cinema's whereas if it was a independent film it may not have done as well. I had no assumptions of the movie before I saw it because I had never seen anything like it before. It was enjoyable because it takes the audience on a journey along with Matt Buckner who is also new to the life of football hooliganism. It helped me to see different perspectives of these peoples lives and see what causes them to enter the world of 'football hooliganism'. It incorporated everything that I would expect from action/drama movie...

Media Values and Ideology

The movie's major values come from each firms obsession with their football team. It is important for them to be able to keep these values respected when it comes to other firms. We as the audience begin to assume that there is nothing within the text that over powers the violence and crime, but the other side of hooliganism is portrayed also. The side that explores the dilemmas of these people and therefore we are helped to see more sides of their lives rather than just assume...

Media Institutions

The movie's institutional source is Universal, Oddlot. Films by Universal usually contain a significant amout of action in them as well as drama. It institutionalizes contemporary movies that relate to the MTV generation. Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures or Universal City Studios), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the major American Film Studios. Its production studios are located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los Angeles and Burbank. Universal is the second longest-lived studio in Hollywood (Viacom's Paramount Pictures is the oldest by only a month).

Genre

The genre of 'Green Street' is drama/action. The drama comes from the things that happen indoors around the family whereas the action comes from the violence and fighting during the football matches. The way that death is incorporated into the movie also adds to its drama .
The major iconographic features of the text are the things that relate directly to football. For example the West Ham sign and the Millwall sign that represent both sides. Hatred, death and deceit are some of the themes explored in the movie. Various characters bring each of these to the film, for example Matt Buckner brings the deceit to the movie, his hidden journalism past comes into the picture.
The audience expect death and violence from the movie but in the end are left with more than that. There is friendship and brotherhood that is developed throughout the film and also the transition of Matt.
The director Lexi Alexander, is a new up and coming director who is not well-known in the industry. The protagonist, Pete is played by Charlie Hunnam who is known in Hollywood but not as much as Elijah Wood who plays Matt. Elijah Wood has said in an interview that Green Street is not typically a film that he would go for, he wanted to challenge himself.

Narrative

The film follows Matt through his own personal journey from being a reserved, shy and sensible American guy into a rough, loud and confident member of 'The GSE'.The audience is able to relate to the protagonist, Matt because he is a 'fish out of water' in Pete's world.In 'Green Street', all the characters that like Matt are the seen as the good people and all those who dislike him are seen as the villains, for example Pete takes a shine to him so therefore he becomes the hero of the movie. Bovver on the other hand always suspects Matt and treats him like an outsider, this therefore makes him the villain of the film as he is seen as a threat for Matt. The identification in the film comes from Matt's ability to see himself within Pete. He can relate to the fact that they both have enemies and that just like Pete has his older brother to consider in what he does, Matt has his sister. The alienation comes from Matt's entrance into a new world where everyone and everything is different from what he has in America. The only thing that he can familiarize himself with in the movie is his sister.The main themes of the narrative is the whole topic of football hooliganism. Every firm values it's football team and is ready to die for the sake of protecting its reputation...

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.

Media Representations

The movie 'Green Street', represents the world of 'football hooliganism'...it shows the lives of men that devote themselves to football and support a particular team. However, it also shows the other side of their lives where they earn a living and have their own problems within their families. The film's protagonist is represented by, Charlie Hunnam, who plays the character of 'Pete Dunham'. He is the head of the GSE (Green Street Elite) that support West Ham United. Pete's character is represented accurately, since he is shown as a wild football leader as well as a normal guy trying to support himself during the week as a history teacher. He messes up along the way because of his lifestyle and his brother sometimes has to help him out.

The character of Matt Buckner, played by 'Elijah Wood' is the opposite of Pete. His character is supposed to be naive and innocent as he enters into Pete's world. This representation is also accurate because Matt is influenced by the GSE and ends up joining his firm. The reason that I think this is accurate is because situations like this occur in real life, where innocent guys are lured into 'gangs'. In 'Green Street', Matt aspires to be like Pete and begins to idolize him as the film goes on...