Final Draft of Coursework!
"It's what we live for!"To what extent is the movie ‘Green Street’ (2005) an accurate representation of ‘football hooliganism’ in society?
Football hooliganism is a widespread phenomenon and many people believe that it serves no purpose to the world except for creating disorder between communities due to the fierce rivalry between the opposing ‘firms’ incorporated. “The thing that always annoyed and scared me about the visiting Old firm fans was the way that they would always get off these buses clutching their cheap bottles of Buckfast wine and start to intimidate the locals.” [1] Usually consisting of Caucasian male members from the age of eighteen and up, this violent form of expressive behaviour is not only about standing up for the football team that you support but for the credit and acknowledgement that is received when a particular firm is successful in a riot against another. Various TV shows and films have tried to portray football hooliganism, but represent hooligans as only disruptive and use them in order to create disequilibrium within the narrative. The film Green Street by Lexi Alexander outlines this contemporary issue by representing the various elements of the ‘hooligan world’. It integrates the truth of male involvement with the subject and represents their ideologies through events surrounding the characters and the game of football without representing them all as antagonists to the equilibrium of the narrative as
Todorov suggests[2]. This study will be based on an insight into whether ‘Green Street’ is actually an accurate representation of football hooliganism in society or whether it is just created for entertainment purposes and to exaggerate elements of reality to fit the football hooligan subgenre.
As movies based on football hooliganism tend to have a higher amount of male characters than female, as Mulvey[3] suggests, ‘voyeurism’ becomes apparent for the target audience as the masculinity represented throughout the narrative is associated with voyeurism, action, sadism, fetishism and the controlling narrative, whilst femininity is associated with passivity etc. [4] This may be one of the reasons why the maker of ‘Green Street’, Lexi Alexander, has based her story on two male characters who are very diverse and created a symbiosis between them to show the different ways that people can perceive and deal with hooliganism. This gives the audience an opportunity to relate to either one of them and understand why they make the decisions they do in a society overflowing with football hooliganism. ‘Green Street’ instantly becomes part of an action subgenre as the topic on which it is based upon instantaneously brings the image of violent and antagonistic behaviour into the filmmaker’s mind. Alexander uses the repertoire of elements that exist in the football hooligan subgenre, for example, enforcing Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions through the portrayal of the hero versus the villain, which is not only used in order to relate to the football hooligan subgenre but because it is in fact an accurate image of football hooliganism in society and therefore may create a sense of moral panic for the viewer, as moral panic spawned largely in the 1970’s inextricably linking football to violence and public disorder.[5]
Men in ‘Green Street’ are represented as very masculine as the male hero in classical Hollywood cinema is usually recognised as powerful[6] to appeal to its target audience.
Messener (1990) says that the body is an 'object of social practice', meaning that the male body takes on the masculine roles because it is so obviously there and it is so physical so therefore a male tends to have a natural masculinity that the audience themselves look for because they expect this from the film. When the riots occur in the movie the theme of masculinity is highlighted with the line, “You stand your ground and fight”[7], which makes the audience recognize this as significant for the firms. However, the character of Matt Buckner played by Elijah Wood stands out from the rest of them as he wants to get away from the opposing team and no longer remains the hero of the film with Pete Dunham played by Charlie Hunnam taking his place as he is ready to fight. At this point, the film begins to link in with Propp’s theory of narrative roles[8], such as the protagonist, the helpers and the antagonist. Pete’s friends become viewed as his helpers rather than just fellow members of the firm. We the audience also view the events through Matt’s eyes as he does the voiceover and talks about things that are important to him. In this way the viewer who is unknown to the football hooligan subject can identify more with Matt’s character as an outsider looking in. Matt’s character leaves the USA for England to visit his sister and his sudden influence from ‘The GSE’, the protagonist’s firm, brings the audience to perceive football hooliganism as disparaging and as deviance as Matt leaves the ‘American Dream’ and enters violence and danger when he meets Pete. Shannon, his sister, is appalled that her brother has become a member of a Fight Club, her English husband Steve suffers divided loyalties between his wife and his tear away brother, who has influenced Matt in a way that is perceived as deviant.[9] The fact that Matt is an American and how he integrates so quickly with the firm shows how the American ideologies are important to the narrative.
Alexander incorporates the realistic stereotype of the ‘ring-leader’ in the firms to present the way that this role is adopted in reality. Pete’s influence on Matt makes him want to become a member of ‘The GSE’ because Matt begins idolizing him so much. Pete takes on the role of the archetype to which the audience will be able to identify with, as throughout the narrative he espouses typical elements that exist in Propp’s theory, where at first an interdiction is addressed to the hero and then the interdiction is violated when the villain enters the tale[10]. The representation of the presumptuous hero is an element that has occurred in the football hooligan subgenre in the past. For example, in ‘The Football Factory’ (2005)[11] the firm leader Billy Bright is represented as an over-confident and ruthless character in order to represent the realism of such a person in the hooligan society. Matt’s personal choice of joining forces with ‘The GSE’ firm links to how the film incorporates a coming-of-age theme which is also portrayed in ‘The Firm’ (1988) by Alan Clarke,[12] which is reflective of the hooligan society in the past, with the character of Yusef joining the firm at a young age and trying to deal with the violence suddenly surrounding him. The maker of ‘Green Street’ could yet have created the intensity of ‘The GSE’ and ‘Millwall’ rivalry for entertainment purposes and the for the uses and gratifications of the audience as the movie is firstly part of the football hooligan subgenre of which action is an important part of its repertoire and therefore has to contain typical action scenarios to appeal to its target audience. This ties into the debate of whether, as Grierson suggested, is the ‘creative treatment of actuality[13]’ and whether the authenticity is lost due to the demands of the subgenre. Masculinity ties in with the way in which ‘The Firm’ (1988) also incorporates rivalry with specific firms and masculinity is also important when they say “We come in peace, we leave you in pieces”[14], outlining their belief of using fighting as a way to be superior and to prove your manhood rather than to relate it to football.
‘Green Street’ also fails to accurately portray the importance of British involvement with football as Matt who is an American, watches football only once, and yet we're expected to believe that the fight he's caught up in at the end of it is reason enough for him to devote himself to violence and chant the words, "West Ham 'Til I Die."[15] In the same way the representation of the characteristics of football hooligans in not represented accurately to the audience as “their typical cockney accent is portrayed in an effortless way because the leader of the West Ham "firm" sports the worst Cock-er-nee accent since Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins.”[16]
Women in ‘The Firm’ are represented minimally and only in one way, as housewives and classless whereas in ‘Green Street’ they are represented as more sophisticated and feminine. Both films differ on this and consequently raise the issue of which representation is accurate and which is not. It also reflects how society has changed over the years and how the role of women has developed overtime and this may result in the text having to represent the zeitgeist. ‘Green Street’, is itself directed by a female, which shows how in reality the roles of women have definitely changed because now a female is able to take on and create a movie that incorporates such issues. In ‘The Firm’ the members of the firm wear their work clothes throughout most of the movie which may outline their need to hide their second ‘jobs’ to the outside world. However, in ‘Green Street’ the characters are hardly ever shown in their work clothes and are instead always wearing casual gear including Burberry which is a true portrayal of reality as, “in England, football hooligans have become as loyal to the Burberry brand as they are to the sport… police aren't complaining -- the plaid makes it easy for them to spot trouble-causing fans that try to blend in with the public after rowdy matches”.[17] This has become one of their trademarks as well as their taunting of one another during football matches which inevitably lead to riots, Walvin (1994) reported that 'A French man who saw a football match in Derby asked "If this is what they call football, then what do they call fighting?".[18]
The stereotype of football firms being violent and anti-social towards each other is reinforced in ‘Green Street’, as the members of opposing teams tend to hit each other with bottles, pennies etc during matches. “A hail of pennies being thrown by Manchester United Fans at West Ham was like something out of an old war film with the English archers all letting go of their arrows at once”.[19] Violence is justified in ‘Green Street’, when Pete says “It’s what we live for!”, showing that they view the violence as an important part of their being now that they have devoted themselves to their firms. This goes against the suggestion of Susan Faludi who says that that while many of those in power are men, most men have little power.[20] This shows that by keeping football hooliganism in a violent nature there is little chance of the crisis of masculinity being enforced onto it. Dawn raids, arrest and trial, CCTV and banning orders all testify to the ongoing battle with football hooliganism. [21] In ‘Green Street’ there are a lot of images of security guards, CCTV cameras and police on horses, all ready in case a riot would begin. For example, when Pete takes Matt to the football match, he instantly tells him to cover his head with his hood and tells him that “We are the most watched country in the world”[22]. This links to the issue of how football hooliganism is seen to have come from England and how other countries have picked up on it.
We all know that the British invented football hooligans. But the ugly side of the beautiful game is truly at its most brutal on foreign shores, and football violence is thriving in countries all over the world.[23] Even though hooliganism is known to be called the ‘English-disease’ it is not just prominent in England. It may be known as firstly the ‘British Disease’, due to the oppressive and violent past that England has gained since times of colonialism, when England held much of the world under its empirical power[24] and the spread of disease later relates to how this name may have been created. Seasoned travellers are not surprised at responses in Rome and Seville.[25] This is because harsh police action has to be taken place at football matches all around the world. However, in ‘Green Street’ this is never mentioned and could link to how football violence is being sensationalized within the text to keep the target audience entertained and also to sustain the issue of moral panic among the audience.
A reason for the high amount of carnage and destruction caused by football hooligans could be because of their excessive drinking of alcohol. In both films, ‘The Firm’ (1988) and ‘Green Street’ (2005), the general meeting place is in the local pub where men drink and discuss their hooligan business. After a few drinks the men are ready for match day and ready to face their opponents on and off the field in a provoking manner. This separates them from the idealistic view of hooligans when in the past the male idea of the British ruling classes, was the product of a nineteenth-century synthesis of aristocratic style and bourgeoisie values.[26] Their working-class status and the fact that they are all male creates an image of how they are involved with alcohol consumption and how they are perceived by the state, as official statistics show that due to excessive alcohol consumption the male death rate (18.3 deaths per 100,000 population) was more than twice the rate for females. In ‘Green Street’, the firm members sing “Get some drinks in!” [27]in a particular tune that is revisited many times during the rest of the film. This shows that the members idolize alcohol and drink it at any given opportunity which causes them to perform anti-social acts. The tune in which they sing it in is also used in ‘The Firm’, which is a pre-90’s text, showing that this is something that may be a true reflection of the outside world. Football hooliganism is seen as an anti-social element in society that clings parasitically to football and just won't give up.[28]
‘Green Street’ also shows the ways in which the media is involved with events that occur in the football hooligan society by making Matt’s character a secret journalist who has not joined the firm for work purposes but has to keep this a secret as he knows if his fellow members found out he would be completely removed from the firm. Pete also mentions how the media exaggerates events more than they should be when he says, “West ham wins three nil in a blinding performance and our little scrap makes the headlines”.[29] This highlights the media’s involvement with football hooliganism which is a reality and accurately portrays firm members’ hatred of them. In Phillip Davis’ film ‘I.D’ (1995)[30], secrecy is also portrayed in the way that the character, John, who starts off dedicated to the police force goes undercover as an aspiring hooligan member and also gets caught up in the beliefs and ideologies of the firm. This therefore shows how news values are shaped in reality to create more moral panic of hooligans and their deviant behaviour.
The heinous fighting and violence linked to football hooliganism in media texts such as ‘Green Street’ is to some people overstated as, often the extent of this disorder is exaggerated by excessive media[31]. This may be the case in ‘Green Street’ too as in ‘The Firm’ even thought there is violence, there tends to be more taunting and vandalism than fighting and Lexi Alexander’s representation of excessive violence may be included to cater to the needs of the target audience who have initially come to the cinema to be searching for escapism rather than searching for surveillance. This raises the issue of whether films such as these influence the people viewing the text to join such antics and take on roles that are represented in the text. ‘Green Street’ only mildly outlines the usage of taunting only during the riot between ‘The GSE’ and another opposing firm that are made up of mainly black members whereas ‘The GSE contains significantly white members. One of ‘The GSE’ members begins to taunt them and uses racial abuse to do this by calling them ‘Zulus’ in order to get a reaction out of them. This links into the way that racism is incorporated into the text as it is another factor that tends to be incorporated a lot within football in general as, football grounds provided one of the largest public arenas in which racism could be openly expressed. [32] In ‘The Firm’, the majority of firm members are White, while there are a couple Asian and Black members. Yusef is black and is allowed into the firm and this shows that football hooliganism may be less concerned about people’s race than actual football was at the time with predominately White players. ‘Green Street’, on the other should be representing more ethnic minority members because as time has gone by, the actual sport of football has allowed more men of ethnic minorities to join teams, but this is an underrepresented truth in the film. However, there is still a lot of racism incorporated into football and in particular football hooliganism which remains till this day. There were 47 arrests for racist chanting in 2001/2 [33] and racism is usually white on black and even happens between players and hooligans. Racist chanting in the 1970’s and 1980’s often took the form of members of the crowd making monkey noises at black players on the pitch. [34] ‘Green Street’ is accurate in its portrayal of this kind of behaviour when Bovver goes towards the opposing team and begins to chant loud racist words to them.
Overall, the representation of football hooligans in ‘Green Street’ (2005) is to some extent accurately portraying the reality of football hooligans to the audience by creating realism with its integration of particular themes such as racism, masculinity, stereotypes and prejudice that are all linked to hooligans on first sight. It also defies certain stereotypes such as the uneducated label given to them and the idea of them being violent by nature through showing them with their families and in their jobs giving the audience a sense of identification. Although some parts have been created for pure entertainment purposes such as the sudden integration of an American citizen into the firm, the film also has realism incorporated throughout which are portrayed through the character’s quest for success in each riot. There are however effortless attempts to make the characters seem like real hooligans with their cockney-accents and clothing but they do not seem to connect with the viewing audience. As a result, ‘Green Street’ is a good attempt to portray football hooliganism to an audience but it fails at some aspects to give the audience an accurate representation of football hooliganism in society.
Word Count: 3,146
[1] McCall, Kenny, Robb, John: After the Match, the Game Begins (2007) John Blake Publishing, London (England), Page 59
[2] Tzvetan, Todorov: Equilibrium theory
[3] Mulvey, Laura: Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975)
[4] Nelmes, Jill: An Introduction to film studies (third edition) (2003) Routledge; 3Rev ED Edition, NY, Page 84
[5] Jewkes, Yvonne: Crime online (2007) Willian Publishing, USA
[6] Nelmes, Jill: An Introduction to Film Studies (third edition) (2003) Routledge; 3Rev ED edition, NY, Page 77
[7] Alexander, Lexi: Green Street (2005) UK
[8] Propp, Vladimir: Narrative theory
[9] http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=149531
[10] Propp, Vladimir: Narrative theory
[11]: Love, Nick: Football Factory (2004) UK
[12] Clarke, Alan: The Firm (1988) UK
[13] Grierson, John: Creative treatment of actuality
[14] Clarke, Alan: The Firm (1988) UK
[15] http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=326
[16] http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/09/05/green_street_2005_review.shtml
[17] http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=130
[18] Marsh, Peter, Frosdick, Steve: Football Hooliganism (2005) Willan Publishing, UK, Page 16
[19] Pennant, Cass, Smith, Mickey: Want Some Aggro? (2002) Blake Publishing, England, Page 43
[20] Faludi, Susan: The Betrayal of the American Man (2000)
[21] Pennant, Cass: Top Boys: True Stories of Football’s Hardest Men (2005) Blake Publishing, England, page 12
[22] Alexander, Lexi: Green Street (2005) UK
[23] http://www.discoverytv.com/emea/football+hooligans+international.htm
[24] http://www.tcnj.edu/~fisk2/page%205.htm
[25]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=BLOGDETAIL&grid=F11&blog=yourview&xml=/news/2007/04/05/ublview05.xml
[26] Spicer, Andrew: Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema (Cinema and Society) (2001) England, Page 8
[27] Alexander, Lexi: Green Street (2005) UK
[28] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1491743.stm
[29] Alexander, Lexi: Green Street (2005) UK
[30] Davis, Phillip: I.D (1995) UK
[31] http://www.liv.ac.uk/footballindustry/hooligan.html
[32] Crabbe, Tim, Back, Les: The Changing Face of Football: Racism, Identity and Multiculture in the English Game (2001) Berg Publishers Ltd, England, Paste 51
[33] Marsh, Peter, Frosdick, Steve: Football Hooliganism (2005) Willan Publishing, England, Page 19
[34] Marsh, Peter, Frosdick, Steve: Football Hooliganism (2005) Willan Publishing, England, Page 20
Friday 2 May 2008
Monday 25 February 2008
Self Evaluation
Attainment - 3 - I'm doing O.K & am trying my best to improve from my previous evaluation
Effort - 3 - I am putting in more effort in the lesson than before
Punctuality - 4 - Sometimes late, sometimes absent
Submission and quality of homework - 1 - I always have my homework done
Ability to work independently - 2 - Most lessons we work is independantly anyway
Quality of writing - 3 - Quality is O.K, I put a lot of effort into my coursework
Organisation of Media folder - 3 - I don't bring it in but it is organized
Oral contributions in class - 2 - I'm improving on this since my last evaluation
Contribution to the debate team - 2 - I am doing research for my group and am keeping in touch with them.
Extra-curricular work (film projects etc.) - 3 - Don't do much but I film at home sometimes and edit on the software.
Standard of Module 5 blog - 1 - Up to date!
Standard of Module 6 blog - 1 - Up to date!
ebi: Improve on extra- curricular activities
: Arrive on time
: Bring folder in lessons
www: blog standards
: contribution in class
: homework
Attainment - 3 - I'm doing O.K & am trying my best to improve from my previous evaluation
Effort - 3 - I am putting in more effort in the lesson than before
Punctuality - 4 - Sometimes late, sometimes absent
Submission and quality of homework - 1 - I always have my homework done
Ability to work independently - 2 - Most lessons we work is independantly anyway
Quality of writing - 3 - Quality is O.K, I put a lot of effort into my coursework
Organisation of Media folder - 3 - I don't bring it in but it is organized
Oral contributions in class - 2 - I'm improving on this since my last evaluation
Contribution to the debate team - 2 - I am doing research for my group and am keeping in touch with them.
Extra-curricular work (film projects etc.) - 3 - Don't do much but I film at home sometimes and edit on the software.
Standard of Module 5 blog - 1 - Up to date!
Standard of Module 6 blog - 1 - Up to date!
ebi: Improve on extra- curricular activities
: Arrive on time
: Bring folder in lessons
www: blog standards
: contribution in class
: homework
Sunday 10 February 2008
"It's what we live for!
"To what extent is the movie ‘Green Street’ (2005) an accurate representation of ‘football hooliganism’ in society?
Ever since the beginning of football hooliganism, society has associated it with violence, disruption and as a nuisance to the peace within the world we live in. Even though football hooliganism is a widespread phenomenon many people believe that it serves no purpose or function to the world except for creating disorder between communities due to the fierce rivalry between the opposing firms incorporated into it as some people have even mentioned that “The thing that always annoyed and scared me about the visiting Old firm fans was the way that they would always get off these buses clutching their cheap bottles of Buckfast wine and start to intimidate the locals.” [1] Usually consisting of Caucasian male members from the age of eighteen and up, this violent form of expressive behaviour is not only about standing up for the football team that you support but for the credit and acknowledgement that is received when a particular firm is successful in a riot against another. As history says, seeking prestige appears to be an important motivating factor for participation in football hooliganism [2] than the notion of going against the system and causing chaos within society. It is also believed that football mad men who are unable to actually be on the pitch need to find another way to perform their part for the game as they see it as a duty of theirs to serve their football team in terms of defending it. Various TV shows and films have tried to portray football hooliganism in the way it is naturally perceived as disorderly, but only a few actually go into depth about the other side of a football hooligan’s life, such as family, work and commitment.
In ‘Green Street’ (2005), the quote “It’s what we live for!” [3] reinforces the notion of dedication to the audience and they begin to recognise the commitment that these men have to their football teams. This quote however, may also bring false interpretations into the audiences mind as they may begin to see football hooliganism as the only commitment in the lives of these men when in fact there is much more to them in terms of family and earning a living. I will be looking into whether ‘Green Street’ is actually an accurate representation of football hooliganism or whether it is just created for entertainment purposes and to exaggerate elements to fit the action genre. The aim of my study will be to find out to what extent the various elements and theories incorporated into ‘Green Street’ are relevant to portray an accurate image of football hooliganism in society or whether they are included just for the sake of the action genre.
As football hooliganism movies tend to have a higher amount of male characters than female characters there is also the portrayal of ‘voyeurism’ for the target audience as masculinity is associated with voyeurism, action, sadism, fetishism and the controlling narrative, whilst femininity is associated with passivity etc. [4] This may be one of the reasons why the maker of ‘Green Street’, Lexi Alexander, has based her story on two male characters who are very diverse and creates a symbiosis between them to show the different way that people can perceive and deal with hooliganism. This gives the audience an opportunity to relate to either one of them and understand why they make the decisions they do in a society overflowing with football hooliganism. ‘Green Street’ instantly becomes an action movie as the topic on which it is based upon instantaneously brings the image of violent and antagonistic behaviour into the filmmaker’s mind. Alexander uses many elements that are seen as typical for the action genre, for example, Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions through the portrayal of the hero versus the villain, which is not only used in order to relate to the action genre but because it is in fact an accurate image of football hooliganism in society and therefore may create a sense of moral panic for the viewer.
Men in ‘Green Street’ are represented as very masculine as the male hero in classical Hollywood cinema is usually recognised as powerful[5] to appeal to its target audience. Michael Messener (1990) says that the body is an 'object of social practice', meaning that the male body takes on the masculine roles because it is so obviously there and it is so physical so therefore a male tends to have a natural masculinity that the audience themselves look for because they expect this from the film. When the riots occur in the movie the theme of masculinity is highlighted with the line, “You stand your ground and fight”[6], which makes the audience recognize this as significant for the firms. However, the character of Matt Buckner played by Elijah Wood stands out from the rest of them as he wants to get away from the opposing team and no longer remains the hero of the film with Pete Dunham played by Charlie Hunnam taking his place as he is ready to fight. At this point, the film begins to link in with Propp’s theory of narrative roles, such as the protagonist, the helpers and the antagonist. Pete’s friends become viewed as his helpers rather than just fellow members of the firm. We the audience also view the events through Matt’s eyes as he does the voiceover and talks about things that are important to him. In this way the viewer who is unknown to the football hooligan subject can identify more with Matt’s character as an outsider looking in. Matt’s character leaves the USA for England to visit his sister and his sudden influence from ‘The GSE’ brings the audience to perceive football hooliganism as disparaging and as deviance as Matt leaves the ‘American Dream’ and enters violence and danger when he meets Pete.
The stereotype of the ‘ring-leader’ in the firms becomes apparent to the audience through Pete’s character and Matt becomes seen as another helper of Pete. Pete influences Matt and makes him want to become a member of ‘The GSE’ because Matt begins idolizing him so much. Therefore Pete takes on the role of the archetype to which the audience will be able to identify with easily as he is an occurring character in most action genre movies; he is the hero that everyone looks up to. Matt however is only just a new member in the GSE firm and still has yet to get used to the hostile environment, to which he takes to by the end of the film by joining forces with the GSE firm to fight Millwall who are their main rivals. This transition could then give Matt his hero status back by the end because he does not turn his back on the firm and the film then links to a coming-of-age theme which is something that is also portrayed in ‘The Firm’ (1988) with the character of Yusef joining the firm at a young age and trying to deal with its violence. The maker of ‘Green Street’ could yet have created ‘The GSE’s’ and ‘Millwalls’ rivalry for entertainment purposes as the movie is firstly of the action genre and therefore has to contain typical action movie scenarios to appeal to its target audience. This then may become typical of the football hooliganism type films as ‘The Firm’ (1988) also incorporates rivalry with specific firms and masculinity is also important when they say “We come in peace, we leave you in pieces”[7], outlining their belief of using fighting as a way to be superior and to prove your manhood rather than to relate it to football.
As for their devotion to their team and firm, members must portray a powerful form of commitment which has to be etched into their minds to make them worthy of dedicating themselves to their firm. ‘Green Street’ on the other hand does not accurately portray this to its audience as Matt, watches football only once, and yet we're expected to believe that the fight he's caught up in at the end of it is reason enough for him to devote himself to violence and chant the words, "West Ham 'Til I Die."[8] In the same way the representation of the characteristics of football hooligans in not represented accurately to the audience as their typical cockney accent is portrayed in an effortless way because the leader of the West Ham "firm" sports the worst Cock-er-nee accent since Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins.[9]
Women in ‘The Firm’ are represented minimally and only in one way, as housewives and classless whereas in ‘Green Street’ they are represented as more sophisticated and modernized, portraying the independent woman. Both films differ on this and consequently raise the issue of which representation is accurate and which is not. In reality, many football hooligans are in relationships or are married. They lead perfectly normal lives during the week but then as the weekend comes they go back to their hooligan antics and back to what they do best in their firms. In ‘The Firm’ the members of the firm wear their work clothes throughout most of the movie which may outline their need to hide their second ‘jobs’ to the outside world. However, in ‘Green Street’ the characters are hardly ever shown in their work clothes and are instead always wearing casual gear including Burberry which is a true portrayal of reality as, in England, football hooligans have become as loyal to the Burberry brand as they are to the sport… police aren't complaining -- the plaid makes it easy for them to spot trouble-causing fans that try to blend in with the public after rowdy matches.[10] This has become one of their trademarks as well as their taunting of one another during football matches which inevitably lead to riots, Walvin (1994) reported that 'In 1829, a French man who saw a football match in Derby asked "If this is what they call football, then what do they call fighting?".[11]
Football hooligans are stereotyped as barbaric in society and by stereotyping them, society is able to draw conclusions on what kind of people they are. Films are supposed to either prove or challenge these stereotypes because the audience comes to the cinema with expectations. The stereotype of football firms being violent towards each other is proved in ‘Green Street’, as the members of opposing teams tend to hit each other with bottles, pennies etc during matches. A hail of pennies being thrown by Manchester United Fans at West Ham was like something out of an old war film with the English archers all letting go of their arrows at once.[12] Violence is justified in ‘Green Street’, when Pete says “It’s what we live for!”, showing that they view the violence as an important part of their being now that they have devoted themselves to their firms. Dawn raids, arrest and trial, CCTV and banning orders all testify to the ongoing battle with football hooliganism. [13] In ‘Green Street’ there are a lot of images of security guards, CCTV cameras and police on horses, all ready in case a riot would begin. For example, when Pete takes Matt to the football match, he instantly tells him to cover his head with his hood and tells him that “We are the most watched country in the world”[14]. This links to the issue of how football hooliganism came from England and how other countries picked up on it and began to use it.
We all know that the British invented football hooligans. But the ugly side of the beautiful game is truly at its most brutal on foreign shores, and football violence is thriving in countries all over the world.[15] Even though hooliganism is known to be called the ‘English-disease’ it is not just prominent in England. Seasoned travellers are not surprised at responses in Rome and Seville.[16] This is because harsh police action has to be taken place at football matches all around the world. However, in ‘Green Street’ this is never mentioned as it would not go with the narrative. The narrative is non-linear, to show bring past events in the film to the for-front and let the audience know that behind all the football related violence and bitterness there are also personal rivalries that characters have between each other. For example, the fight that occurs between the Major and Tommy Hatcher, because the Major accidentally killed Tommy’s son in a previous riot. On the other hand this could be creative treatment of actuality as Grierson stated because most fights are more often than not football related.
A reason for the high amount of carnage and destruction caused by football hooligans could be because of their excessive drinking of alcohol. In both films, ‘The Firm’ and ‘Green Street’, the general meeting place is in the local pub where men drink and discuss their hooligan business. After a few drinks the men are ready for match day and ready to face their opponents on and off the field. In ‘Green Street’, the firm members sing “Get some drinks in!” [17]in a particular tune that is revisited many times during the rest of the film. This shows that the members idolize alcohol and drink it at any given opportunity. The tune in which they sing it in is also used in ‘The Firm’, which is a pre-90’s text, showing that this is something that may be a true reflection of the outside world. Football hooliganism is seen as an anti-social element in society that clings parasitically to football and just won't give up.[18] This anti-social behaviour could also be related to alcohol because when under the influence people tend to be less aware of their actions and therefore begin to engage in anti-social behaviour.
‘Green Street’ also shows the ways in which the media is involved with events that occur by making Matt’s character a secret journalist who has not joined the firm for work purposes but has to keep this a secret because if his fellow members found out he would be completely removed from the firm. Pete also mentions how the media exaggerates events more than they should be when he says, “West ham wins three nil in a blinding performance and our little scrap makes the headlines”.[19] This highlights the media’s involvement with football hooliganism which is a reality and accurately portrays firm members’ hatred of them.
The heinous fighting and violence linked to football hooliganism in media texts such as ‘Green Street’ is to some people overstated as, often the extent of this disorder is exaggerated by excessive media[20]. This may be the case in ‘Green Street’ too as in ‘The Firm’ even thought there is violence, there tends to be more taunting and vandalism than fighting and Lexi Alexander’s representation of excessive violence may be included to cater to the needs of the audience who have initially come to the cinema to be entertained rather than informed. ‘Green Street’ only mildly outlines the usage of taunting only during the riot between ‘The GSE’ and another opposing firm that are made up of mainly black members whereas ‘The GSE contains significantly white members. One of ‘The GSE’ members begins to taunt them and uses racial abuse to do this by calling them ‘Zulus’ in order to get a reaction out of them.
Racism is another factor that tends to be incorporated a lot within football in general as, football grounds provided one of the largest public arenas in which racism could be openly expressed. [21] In ‘The Firm’, the majority of firm members are White, while there are a couple Asian and Black members. Yusef is a character that is allowed into the firm and this shows that football hooliganism may be less concerned about people’s race than actual football is was at the time with predominately White players. ‘Green Street’, on the other should be representing more ethnic minority members because as time has gone by, the actual sport of football has allowed more men of ethnic minorities to join teams, but this is an underrepresented truth in the film. However, there is still a lot of racism incorporated into football and in particular football hooliganism which remains till this day. There were 47 arrests for racist chanting in 2001/2 [22] and racism is usually white on black and even happens between players and hooligans. Racist chanting in the 1970’s and 1980’s often took the form of members of the crowd making monkey noises at black players on the pitch. [23] ‘Green Street’ is accurate in its portrayal of this kind of behaviour when Bovver goes towards the opposing team and begins to chant loud racist words to them.
Overall, the representation of football hooligans in ‘Green Street’ (2005) is to some extent accurately portraying the reality of football hooligans to the audience by creating realism with its integration of particular themes such as racism, masculinity, stereo-types and prejudice that are all linked to hooligans on first sight. It also defies certain stereo-types such as the uneducated label given to them and the idea of them being violent by nature through showing them with their families and in their jobs giving the audience a sense of identification. Although some parts have been created for pure entertainment purposes such as the sudden integration of an American citizen into the firm, the film also has realistic ideologies which are portrayed through the character’s quest for success in each riot. There are however effortless attempts to make the characters seem like real hooligans with their cockney-accents and clothing but they do not seem to connect with the viewing audience. As a result, ‘Green Street’ is a good attempt to portray football hooliganism to an audience but it fails at some aspects to give the audience an accurate representation of football hooliganism in society.
[1] After the Match, the Game Begins by Kenny McCall and John Robb
[2] Football, Violence and Social Identity
[3] Green Street (2005)
[4] An Introduction to film studies (third edition)
[5] An Introduction to film studies (third edition)
[6] Green Street (2005)
[7] The Firm (1988)
[8] http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=326
[9] http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/09/05/green_street_2005_review.shtml
[10] http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=130
[11] Football Hooliganism - Steve Frosdick and Peter Marsh
[12] Want Some Aggro? - Micky Smith and Cass Pennant
[13] Top Boys: True Stories of Football's Hardest Men by Cass Pennant
[14] Green Street (2005)
[15] http://www.discoverytv.com/emea/football+hooligans+international.htm
[16]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=BLOGDETAIL&grid=F11&blog=yourview&xml=/news/2007/04/05/ublview05.xml
[17] Green Street (2005)
[18] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1491743.stm
[19] Green Street (2005)
[20] http://www.liv.ac.uk/footballindustry/hooligan.html
[21] The Changing Face of Football: Racism, Identity and Multiculture in the English Game
[22] Football hooliganism – Steve Frosdick and Peter E. Marsh
[23] Football hooliganism – Steve Frosdick and Peter E. Marsh
"To what extent is the movie ‘Green Street’ (2005) an accurate representation of ‘football hooliganism’ in society?
Ever since the beginning of football hooliganism, society has associated it with violence, disruption and as a nuisance to the peace within the world we live in. Even though football hooliganism is a widespread phenomenon many people believe that it serves no purpose or function to the world except for creating disorder between communities due to the fierce rivalry between the opposing firms incorporated into it as some people have even mentioned that “The thing that always annoyed and scared me about the visiting Old firm fans was the way that they would always get off these buses clutching their cheap bottles of Buckfast wine and start to intimidate the locals.” [1] Usually consisting of Caucasian male members from the age of eighteen and up, this violent form of expressive behaviour is not only about standing up for the football team that you support but for the credit and acknowledgement that is received when a particular firm is successful in a riot against another. As history says, seeking prestige appears to be an important motivating factor for participation in football hooliganism [2] than the notion of going against the system and causing chaos within society. It is also believed that football mad men who are unable to actually be on the pitch need to find another way to perform their part for the game as they see it as a duty of theirs to serve their football team in terms of defending it. Various TV shows and films have tried to portray football hooliganism in the way it is naturally perceived as disorderly, but only a few actually go into depth about the other side of a football hooligan’s life, such as family, work and commitment.
In ‘Green Street’ (2005), the quote “It’s what we live for!” [3] reinforces the notion of dedication to the audience and they begin to recognise the commitment that these men have to their football teams. This quote however, may also bring false interpretations into the audiences mind as they may begin to see football hooliganism as the only commitment in the lives of these men when in fact there is much more to them in terms of family and earning a living. I will be looking into whether ‘Green Street’ is actually an accurate representation of football hooliganism or whether it is just created for entertainment purposes and to exaggerate elements to fit the action genre. The aim of my study will be to find out to what extent the various elements and theories incorporated into ‘Green Street’ are relevant to portray an accurate image of football hooliganism in society or whether they are included just for the sake of the action genre.
As football hooliganism movies tend to have a higher amount of male characters than female characters there is also the portrayal of ‘voyeurism’ for the target audience as masculinity is associated with voyeurism, action, sadism, fetishism and the controlling narrative, whilst femininity is associated with passivity etc. [4] This may be one of the reasons why the maker of ‘Green Street’, Lexi Alexander, has based her story on two male characters who are very diverse and creates a symbiosis between them to show the different way that people can perceive and deal with hooliganism. This gives the audience an opportunity to relate to either one of them and understand why they make the decisions they do in a society overflowing with football hooliganism. ‘Green Street’ instantly becomes an action movie as the topic on which it is based upon instantaneously brings the image of violent and antagonistic behaviour into the filmmaker’s mind. Alexander uses many elements that are seen as typical for the action genre, for example, Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions through the portrayal of the hero versus the villain, which is not only used in order to relate to the action genre but because it is in fact an accurate image of football hooliganism in society and therefore may create a sense of moral panic for the viewer.
Men in ‘Green Street’ are represented as very masculine as the male hero in classical Hollywood cinema is usually recognised as powerful[5] to appeal to its target audience. Michael Messener (1990) says that the body is an 'object of social practice', meaning that the male body takes on the masculine roles because it is so obviously there and it is so physical so therefore a male tends to have a natural masculinity that the audience themselves look for because they expect this from the film. When the riots occur in the movie the theme of masculinity is highlighted with the line, “You stand your ground and fight”[6], which makes the audience recognize this as significant for the firms. However, the character of Matt Buckner played by Elijah Wood stands out from the rest of them as he wants to get away from the opposing team and no longer remains the hero of the film with Pete Dunham played by Charlie Hunnam taking his place as he is ready to fight. At this point, the film begins to link in with Propp’s theory of narrative roles, such as the protagonist, the helpers and the antagonist. Pete’s friends become viewed as his helpers rather than just fellow members of the firm. We the audience also view the events through Matt’s eyes as he does the voiceover and talks about things that are important to him. In this way the viewer who is unknown to the football hooligan subject can identify more with Matt’s character as an outsider looking in. Matt’s character leaves the USA for England to visit his sister and his sudden influence from ‘The GSE’ brings the audience to perceive football hooliganism as disparaging and as deviance as Matt leaves the ‘American Dream’ and enters violence and danger when he meets Pete.
The stereotype of the ‘ring-leader’ in the firms becomes apparent to the audience through Pete’s character and Matt becomes seen as another helper of Pete. Pete influences Matt and makes him want to become a member of ‘The GSE’ because Matt begins idolizing him so much. Therefore Pete takes on the role of the archetype to which the audience will be able to identify with easily as he is an occurring character in most action genre movies; he is the hero that everyone looks up to. Matt however is only just a new member in the GSE firm and still has yet to get used to the hostile environment, to which he takes to by the end of the film by joining forces with the GSE firm to fight Millwall who are their main rivals. This transition could then give Matt his hero status back by the end because he does not turn his back on the firm and the film then links to a coming-of-age theme which is something that is also portrayed in ‘The Firm’ (1988) with the character of Yusef joining the firm at a young age and trying to deal with its violence. The maker of ‘Green Street’ could yet have created ‘The GSE’s’ and ‘Millwalls’ rivalry for entertainment purposes as the movie is firstly of the action genre and therefore has to contain typical action movie scenarios to appeal to its target audience. This then may become typical of the football hooliganism type films as ‘The Firm’ (1988) also incorporates rivalry with specific firms and masculinity is also important when they say “We come in peace, we leave you in pieces”[7], outlining their belief of using fighting as a way to be superior and to prove your manhood rather than to relate it to football.
As for their devotion to their team and firm, members must portray a powerful form of commitment which has to be etched into their minds to make them worthy of dedicating themselves to their firm. ‘Green Street’ on the other hand does not accurately portray this to its audience as Matt, watches football only once, and yet we're expected to believe that the fight he's caught up in at the end of it is reason enough for him to devote himself to violence and chant the words, "West Ham 'Til I Die."[8] In the same way the representation of the characteristics of football hooligans in not represented accurately to the audience as their typical cockney accent is portrayed in an effortless way because the leader of the West Ham "firm" sports the worst Cock-er-nee accent since Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins.[9]
Women in ‘The Firm’ are represented minimally and only in one way, as housewives and classless whereas in ‘Green Street’ they are represented as more sophisticated and modernized, portraying the independent woman. Both films differ on this and consequently raise the issue of which representation is accurate and which is not. In reality, many football hooligans are in relationships or are married. They lead perfectly normal lives during the week but then as the weekend comes they go back to their hooligan antics and back to what they do best in their firms. In ‘The Firm’ the members of the firm wear their work clothes throughout most of the movie which may outline their need to hide their second ‘jobs’ to the outside world. However, in ‘Green Street’ the characters are hardly ever shown in their work clothes and are instead always wearing casual gear including Burberry which is a true portrayal of reality as, in England, football hooligans have become as loyal to the Burberry brand as they are to the sport… police aren't complaining -- the plaid makes it easy for them to spot trouble-causing fans that try to blend in with the public after rowdy matches.[10] This has become one of their trademarks as well as their taunting of one another during football matches which inevitably lead to riots, Walvin (1994) reported that 'In 1829, a French man who saw a football match in Derby asked "If this is what they call football, then what do they call fighting?".[11]
Football hooligans are stereotyped as barbaric in society and by stereotyping them, society is able to draw conclusions on what kind of people they are. Films are supposed to either prove or challenge these stereotypes because the audience comes to the cinema with expectations. The stereotype of football firms being violent towards each other is proved in ‘Green Street’, as the members of opposing teams tend to hit each other with bottles, pennies etc during matches. A hail of pennies being thrown by Manchester United Fans at West Ham was like something out of an old war film with the English archers all letting go of their arrows at once.[12] Violence is justified in ‘Green Street’, when Pete says “It’s what we live for!”, showing that they view the violence as an important part of their being now that they have devoted themselves to their firms. Dawn raids, arrest and trial, CCTV and banning orders all testify to the ongoing battle with football hooliganism. [13] In ‘Green Street’ there are a lot of images of security guards, CCTV cameras and police on horses, all ready in case a riot would begin. For example, when Pete takes Matt to the football match, he instantly tells him to cover his head with his hood and tells him that “We are the most watched country in the world”[14]. This links to the issue of how football hooliganism came from England and how other countries picked up on it and began to use it.
We all know that the British invented football hooligans. But the ugly side of the beautiful game is truly at its most brutal on foreign shores, and football violence is thriving in countries all over the world.[15] Even though hooliganism is known to be called the ‘English-disease’ it is not just prominent in England. Seasoned travellers are not surprised at responses in Rome and Seville.[16] This is because harsh police action has to be taken place at football matches all around the world. However, in ‘Green Street’ this is never mentioned as it would not go with the narrative. The narrative is non-linear, to show bring past events in the film to the for-front and let the audience know that behind all the football related violence and bitterness there are also personal rivalries that characters have between each other. For example, the fight that occurs between the Major and Tommy Hatcher, because the Major accidentally killed Tommy’s son in a previous riot. On the other hand this could be creative treatment of actuality as Grierson stated because most fights are more often than not football related.
A reason for the high amount of carnage and destruction caused by football hooligans could be because of their excessive drinking of alcohol. In both films, ‘The Firm’ and ‘Green Street’, the general meeting place is in the local pub where men drink and discuss their hooligan business. After a few drinks the men are ready for match day and ready to face their opponents on and off the field. In ‘Green Street’, the firm members sing “Get some drinks in!” [17]in a particular tune that is revisited many times during the rest of the film. This shows that the members idolize alcohol and drink it at any given opportunity. The tune in which they sing it in is also used in ‘The Firm’, which is a pre-90’s text, showing that this is something that may be a true reflection of the outside world. Football hooliganism is seen as an anti-social element in society that clings parasitically to football and just won't give up.[18] This anti-social behaviour could also be related to alcohol because when under the influence people tend to be less aware of their actions and therefore begin to engage in anti-social behaviour.
‘Green Street’ also shows the ways in which the media is involved with events that occur by making Matt’s character a secret journalist who has not joined the firm for work purposes but has to keep this a secret because if his fellow members found out he would be completely removed from the firm. Pete also mentions how the media exaggerates events more than they should be when he says, “West ham wins three nil in a blinding performance and our little scrap makes the headlines”.[19] This highlights the media’s involvement with football hooliganism which is a reality and accurately portrays firm members’ hatred of them.
The heinous fighting and violence linked to football hooliganism in media texts such as ‘Green Street’ is to some people overstated as, often the extent of this disorder is exaggerated by excessive media[20]. This may be the case in ‘Green Street’ too as in ‘The Firm’ even thought there is violence, there tends to be more taunting and vandalism than fighting and Lexi Alexander’s representation of excessive violence may be included to cater to the needs of the audience who have initially come to the cinema to be entertained rather than informed. ‘Green Street’ only mildly outlines the usage of taunting only during the riot between ‘The GSE’ and another opposing firm that are made up of mainly black members whereas ‘The GSE contains significantly white members. One of ‘The GSE’ members begins to taunt them and uses racial abuse to do this by calling them ‘Zulus’ in order to get a reaction out of them.
Racism is another factor that tends to be incorporated a lot within football in general as, football grounds provided one of the largest public arenas in which racism could be openly expressed. [21] In ‘The Firm’, the majority of firm members are White, while there are a couple Asian and Black members. Yusef is a character that is allowed into the firm and this shows that football hooliganism may be less concerned about people’s race than actual football is was at the time with predominately White players. ‘Green Street’, on the other should be representing more ethnic minority members because as time has gone by, the actual sport of football has allowed more men of ethnic minorities to join teams, but this is an underrepresented truth in the film. However, there is still a lot of racism incorporated into football and in particular football hooliganism which remains till this day. There were 47 arrests for racist chanting in 2001/2 [22] and racism is usually white on black and even happens between players and hooligans. Racist chanting in the 1970’s and 1980’s often took the form of members of the crowd making monkey noises at black players on the pitch. [23] ‘Green Street’ is accurate in its portrayal of this kind of behaviour when Bovver goes towards the opposing team and begins to chant loud racist words to them.
Overall, the representation of football hooligans in ‘Green Street’ (2005) is to some extent accurately portraying the reality of football hooligans to the audience by creating realism with its integration of particular themes such as racism, masculinity, stereo-types and prejudice that are all linked to hooligans on first sight. It also defies certain stereo-types such as the uneducated label given to them and the idea of them being violent by nature through showing them with their families and in their jobs giving the audience a sense of identification. Although some parts have been created for pure entertainment purposes such as the sudden integration of an American citizen into the firm, the film also has realistic ideologies which are portrayed through the character’s quest for success in each riot. There are however effortless attempts to make the characters seem like real hooligans with their cockney-accents and clothing but they do not seem to connect with the viewing audience. As a result, ‘Green Street’ is a good attempt to portray football hooliganism to an audience but it fails at some aspects to give the audience an accurate representation of football hooliganism in society.
[1] After the Match, the Game Begins by Kenny McCall and John Robb
[2] Football, Violence and Social Identity
[3] Green Street (2005)
[4] An Introduction to film studies (third edition)
[5] An Introduction to film studies (third edition)
[6] Green Street (2005)
[7] The Firm (1988)
[8] http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=326
[9] http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/09/05/green_street_2005_review.shtml
[10] http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=130
[11] Football Hooliganism - Steve Frosdick and Peter Marsh
[12] Want Some Aggro? - Micky Smith and Cass Pennant
[13] Top Boys: True Stories of Football's Hardest Men by Cass Pennant
[14] Green Street (2005)
[15] http://www.discoverytv.com/emea/football+hooligans+international.htm
[16]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=BLOGDETAIL&grid=F11&blog=yourview&xml=/news/2007/04/05/ublview05.xml
[17] Green Street (2005)
[18] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1491743.stm
[19] Green Street (2005)
[20] http://www.liv.ac.uk/footballindustry/hooligan.html
[21] The Changing Face of Football: Racism, Identity and Multiculture in the English Game
[22] Football hooliganism – Steve Frosdick and Peter E. Marsh
[23] Football hooliganism – Steve Frosdick and Peter E. Marsh
Monday 28 January 2008
Tutorial Feedback
Advice that I was given at my tutorial.
1.) I need to add a quote in my title
2.) I also need to add quotes in my introduction
3.) I need to incorporate a representation theory into my intro and say that all representations are constructed
4.) I need to talk more about stereotyping – what is a stereotype, how do they work, why are they used.
5.) I need to make specific links with my text and others (such as the firm which I have already researched)
6.) Alcohol statistics about hooliganism and how they sensationalize this. Talk about the relationship between violence and number of films produced.
7.) I need to elaborate on the issue of masculinity
8.) Mention the history of hooliganism and the violence genre as a whole. (Could refer to football factory)
9.) What conventions are being used here
10.) Talk about the genre theory and how it works. Repetition VS variation (Altman/Neale)
11.) Write in more detail and expression
12.) What the film offers (Escapism etc.)
13.) The firm – British social realism, if it links to green street immensely
Advice that I was given at my tutorial.
1.) I need to add a quote in my title
2.) I also need to add quotes in my introduction
3.) I need to incorporate a representation theory into my intro and say that all representations are constructed
4.) I need to talk more about stereotyping – what is a stereotype, how do they work, why are they used.
5.) I need to make specific links with my text and others (such as the firm which I have already researched)
6.) Alcohol statistics about hooliganism and how they sensationalize this. Talk about the relationship between violence and number of films produced.
7.) I need to elaborate on the issue of masculinity
8.) Mention the history of hooliganism and the violence genre as a whole. (Could refer to football factory)
9.) What conventions are being used here
10.) Talk about the genre theory and how it works. Repetition VS variation (Altman/Neale)
11.) Write in more detail and expression
12.) What the film offers (Escapism etc.)
13.) The firm – British social realism, if it links to green street immensely
First Paragraph
"It's what we fucking live for!"
To what extent is the movie ‘Green Street’ (2005) an accurate representation of ‘football hooliganism’ in society?
Ever since the beginning of football hooliganism, society has associated it with violence, disruption and as a nuisance to the peace within the world we live in. Even though football hooliganism is a widespread phenomenon many people believe that it serves no purpose or function to the world except for creating disorder between communities due to the fierce rivalry between opposing firms incorporated into it. the Usually consisting of Caucasian male members from the age of eighteen and up, this violent form of expressive behaviour is not only about standing up for the football team that you support but for the credit and acknowledgement that is received when a particular firm is successful in a riot against another. As history says, football hooliganism is more about prestige and masculinity more than it is about trying to go against the system and cause chaos within society. It is also believed that football mad men who are unable to actually be on the pitch need to find another way to perform their part for the game as they see it as a duty of theirs to serve their football team in terms of defending it. Various TV shows and films have tried to portray football hooliganism in the way it is naturally perceived as disorderly, but only a few actually go into depth about the other side of a football hooligan’s life, such as family, work and commitment. In ‘Green Street’ (2005), the quote “It’s what we fucking live for!” reinforces the notion of dedication to the audience and they begin to recognise the commitment that these men have to their football teams. This quote however, may also bring false interpretations into the audiences mind as they may begin to see football hooliganism as the only commitment in the lives of these men when in fact there is much more to them in terms of family and earning a living. I will be looking into whether ‘Green Street’ is actually an accurate representation of football hooliganism or whether it is just created for entertainment purposes and to exaggerate elements to fit the action genre. As football hooliganism movies tend to have a higher amount of male characters than female characters there is also the portrayal of ‘voyeurism’ for the target audience (Mulvey) as the men in the audience would have a choice of characters to relate to. This may be one of the reasons why the maker of ‘Green Street’ (2005), Lexi Alexander has based her story on two very diverse characters. This gives the audience an opportunity to relate to either one of them and understand why they make the decisions they do in a society overflowing with football hooliganism. ‘Green Street’ instantly becomes an action movie as the topic on which it is based upon instantaneously brings the image of violent and antagonistic behaviour into the filmmaker’s mind. Alexander uses many elements that are seen as typical for the action genre, for example, the hero versus the villain (Propp) which is not only used in order to relate to the action genre but because it is in fact an accurate image of football hooliganism in society. The aim of my study will be to find out to what extent these elements and theories are relevant to portray an accurate image of football hooliganism in society or whether they are incorporated just for the sake of the action genre.
"It's what we fucking live for!"
To what extent is the movie ‘Green Street’ (2005) an accurate representation of ‘football hooliganism’ in society?
Ever since the beginning of football hooliganism, society has associated it with violence, disruption and as a nuisance to the peace within the world we live in. Even though football hooliganism is a widespread phenomenon many people believe that it serves no purpose or function to the world except for creating disorder between communities due to the fierce rivalry between opposing firms incorporated into it. the Usually consisting of Caucasian male members from the age of eighteen and up, this violent form of expressive behaviour is not only about standing up for the football team that you support but for the credit and acknowledgement that is received when a particular firm is successful in a riot against another. As history says, football hooliganism is more about prestige and masculinity more than it is about trying to go against the system and cause chaos within society. It is also believed that football mad men who are unable to actually be on the pitch need to find another way to perform their part for the game as they see it as a duty of theirs to serve their football team in terms of defending it. Various TV shows and films have tried to portray football hooliganism in the way it is naturally perceived as disorderly, but only a few actually go into depth about the other side of a football hooligan’s life, such as family, work and commitment. In ‘Green Street’ (2005), the quote “It’s what we fucking live for!” reinforces the notion of dedication to the audience and they begin to recognise the commitment that these men have to their football teams. This quote however, may also bring false interpretations into the audiences mind as they may begin to see football hooliganism as the only commitment in the lives of these men when in fact there is much more to them in terms of family and earning a living. I will be looking into whether ‘Green Street’ is actually an accurate representation of football hooliganism or whether it is just created for entertainment purposes and to exaggerate elements to fit the action genre. As football hooliganism movies tend to have a higher amount of male characters than female characters there is also the portrayal of ‘voyeurism’ for the target audience (Mulvey) as the men in the audience would have a choice of characters to relate to. This may be one of the reasons why the maker of ‘Green Street’ (2005), Lexi Alexander has based her story on two very diverse characters. This gives the audience an opportunity to relate to either one of them and understand why they make the decisions they do in a society overflowing with football hooliganism. ‘Green Street’ instantly becomes an action movie as the topic on which it is based upon instantaneously brings the image of violent and antagonistic behaviour into the filmmaker’s mind. Alexander uses many elements that are seen as typical for the action genre, for example, the hero versus the villain (Propp) which is not only used in order to relate to the action genre but because it is in fact an accurate image of football hooliganism in society. The aim of my study will be to find out to what extent these elements and theories are relevant to portray an accurate image of football hooliganism in society or whether they are incorporated just for the sake of the action genre.
Thursday 3 January 2008
Detailed Essay Plan
To what extent is the movie ‘Green Street’ (2005) an accurate representation of ‘football hooliganism’ in society?
The purpose of my coursework is to explain how far the portrayal of football hooliganism in 'Green Street' (2005) reflects a true image of how it actually is in the real world.
INTRODUCTION - and also my first paragraph
Ever since the beginning society has associated football hooliganism with violence, disruption and as a nuisance to the peace within communities. History says that football hooliganism is about prestige and masculinity more than it is about trying to go against the system and cause chaos within society. Various TV shows and films have tried to portray football hooliganism in the way it is naturally perceived but only a few actually go into depth about the other side of football hooligan life such as family and work. In this way the maker (Lexi Alexander) of 'Green Street' (2005) has based her story on two very different characters in order to give the audience a chance to relate to either one and understand why they make the decisions they do. The film itself contains a lot of the elements we as an audience would expect from our action movies, such as the hero VS the villain (Propp) and 'voyeurism' for the hero that it's target audience of males would experience (Mulvey). The aim of my study will be to find out to what extent these elements and theories are relevant to portray an accurate image of football hooliganism in society or whether they are Incorporated just for the sake of the action genre.
'Representation' of Hooligans, males, men in the action 'genre' AND 'Audience' expectations...
First taking a look at how football hooligans are really portrayed and represented in society (from my research notes etc) and linking this to whether that perception has always been this way and why (linking to The Firm, 1988). It is important to talk about in detail what the generalisation about them is in society and the move on to how the media portrays them. Starting to look into 'Green Street' and talking about how the characters are represented and what they represent themselves, for example, the firms and their football teams etc...outlining the key concepts such as the representation of males and how accurate this portrayal is by looking through my research of men typically being linked to hooliganism this then takes me onto outlining each characters position in the firm to link to general film roles, such as the protagonist and antagonist and analyse how accurate these roles actually are in real life or whether they've just been put in because the director was trying to follow Propp's theory of film having a hero, villain, the wise person etc...
Men are usually seen a physically stronger than women and therefore tend to be given the leading roles in action movies. Michael Messener (1990) says that the body is an 'object of social practice', meaning that the male body takes on the masculine roles because it is so obviously there and it is so physical so therefore a male tends to have a natural masculinity that the audience themselves look for because they expect this from the film. The audience also believe in the 'gender system' which means that they rely on the film to give them both male and female characters in completely different ways. The 'sameness' of an action hero to a feminine character would ruin the storyline. I will therefore try to see if this is what creates the clear exclusion of women from the key storyline and leaves them to typical female roles (housewife, mother, girlfriend etc.) This would then lead me into thinking about the target audience (males) of the text to see whether this is the key factor that causes them to be more attracted to the film then a female audience would be as highly 'annihilates women' from the text. The male hero in in classical Hollywood cinema is usually recognised as powerful. He signifies omnipotence, mastering the narrative, being in control, sadistic rather than masochistic. It is important for me to look into the level of creative treatment that has actually been contained in the movie. By comparing what I view in the film and what I have gathered in my research I will be able to see the extent to which the movie has been changed and been distanced from reality in order to help me see exactly how real the representation of the people who perform these crimes is... (Grierson - Creative treatment of actuality.)
'Media Language' and as opposed to Reality...
'Green Street' incorporates dark colours in it's dark settings to portray an urban area where football hooligans tend to live. The hooligans are usually dressed in casual outerwear which often makes their characters look the opposite of what society sees as acceptable male attire (suits, smart clothes.) The characters are only ever once shown wearing work clothes and that therefore under represents their commitment to work and making a living. By making them wear their hooligan clothes throughout the whole film they exclude the other side of their lives which in reality many hooligans do have. The reason for annihilating this element of reality from the storyline is because the audience is then faced with the question of whether this is what is causing them to be led into football hooliganism, for example, George Orwell once wrote: "The genuinely popular culture of England is something that goes on beneath the surface, unofficially and more or less frowned on by the authorities. One thing one notices if one looks directly at the common people, especially in the big towns, is that they are not puritanical. They are inveterate gamblers, drink as much beer as their wages will permit, are devoted to bawdy jokes, and use probably the foulest language in the world." This sums up the England supporter, who is a million miles away from the conservative English gentleman our tourist board would rather promote.This statement links to why England's popular culture is in fact apparent in 'Green Street' over many of the real life elements that would give the characters more depth over just being violent males. The character of Matt Buckner is supposed to be an outsider at first from a completely different part of the world, so therefore this whole idea of the tourist board trying to cover up these truths from outsiders can be seen in 'Green Street' as nothing is hidden and we see the movie from Matt's point of view. The music and dialogue is also very significant to popular English culture that surrounds football hooligans. We can see from the changes in the music Matt listens to and what the hooligans listen to and sing themselves in the pub. I will then look into how this differs or relates from 'The Firm' (1988), to see how over time these values have changed for people and movie makers and how vividly the underlying message is actually presented to the audience. 'The Firm' incorporates more of the 'working man' imagery and shows the man at his typical role of 'breadwinner' and the wife of being 'home-maker'. I will move onto how and why these roles are less represented in the same way in 'Green Street' and also (slightly) talk about in what way women's roles have changed and what in society may have reconstructed this view of them in the filmmakers mind.
The 'Ideologies'...Violence...Typical scenes in the film that link to real life...
The scene where all the firm members gather together in a pub for regular meetings is something that links to reality. Police in the past have had to raid pubs where riots have been taking place and vandalism usually occurs there too. At the end of 'Green Street', the sequence of when the opposing firm vandalise and light the GSE pub hangout on fire was seen by many as a typical thing to happen but in the film it was 'overproduced' and 'exaggerated' (Grierson - Creative Treatment if Actuality.) In the same way violence and vandalism occurs in 'The Firm', such as the time when the opposing firm vandalises the leader of the other firm's car and spray paints it. Also it will be highly useful to write about the ways in which the lives and commitments made by football hooligans to their firm's effects their family lives. Such as in 'Green Street' Pete's actions influence Matt and therefore Matt ends up following in his footsteps which doesn't go down well with Matt's sister who is Pete's sister-in-law. This causes rifts and arguments within the family and disruptions begin when confrontation occurs. In the same way 'The Firm' portrays the arguments and controversy that occurs within the home of the protagonist. The wives in the film feel let down when their husbands commit to these duties and don't like how their husbands actions effect them and their children. In real life football hooligans have actually been known to mix their life as a hooligan with their family commitments - “Many individuals, particularly males, in English society have regarded it as critical to their lives”.
How football hooliganism effects society...
Moral Panic - Public feel a threat by the behaviours shown on screen.The topic of football hooliganism is very threatening to the audience it occurs in reality and will help me to look further into this.
Prejudice - Judging and having views on certain characteristics of people.In reality people assume negative things about hooligans but I will look into why these prejudices are.
Society has always found football hooliganism very disruptive as it causes noise, damage, death and confrontation between people. Some see football hooliganism as a waste of time and petty because there really is no use for it in society because it doesn't offer anything constructive to the world in which we live in. This isn't however emphasized very much in 'Green Street' even though the damage incurred is expensive and damaging. There are scenes when the firms are rioting and causing high damage but the after effects of this isn't really emphasized. This therefore under-represents the role of society in speaking up about football hooliganism as it occurs a lot in real life. This may have been kept out because it wasn't relevant to the film. The portrayal of the effects on society in 'The Firm' are more apparent than in 'Green Street' which could connote that it has become in a way more accepted as a norm for men of a certain type to be part of. This will be useful to outline in my study...
Political & Economic views on hooliganism...
Over the years these football fights have spread all around the world. From Croatia to Serbia it there have been brawls between firms. In England these firms have done severe damage to public property, such as smashing phone boxes and breaking park benches meaning that it has cost a lot of money in repairing these things. Businesses have also been effected by football hooliganism, for example, In the 2000s, English football hooligans often wear either clothing styles that are stereotypically associated with the thuggish chav subculture, such as those from the labels Prada, Lacoste, Le Shark and Burberry. This has encouraged Prada and Burberry two companies to withdraw certain garments over fears that their brands are becoming linked with hooliganism. In 'Green Street' and 'The Firm' there is no apparent link to any label. I will look into why the director chose to ignore this even though it is a general occurance. Political - The number of arrests rose by 19 per cent to 4,793 in 2002 in domestic games in England and Wales, European cup competitions and international matches.The number of banning orders imposed for football-related offences increased by more than half from 1,149 in 2001/2 to 1,794 last year.There were 267 arrests at international games last year, with nearly half of those made during the England v Turkey Euro 2004 qualifier game in Sunderland in June. The government is trying to take serious action towards football hooliganism by increasing the amount of police protection in suspicious areas even though this isn't helping in the way expected. These are some inportant things for me to incorporate into my study because they outline other effects on society etc...
The hooliganism history and the ways in which it is dealt with in the film and in reality...
As I am trying to measure the accuracy it will be important for me to look into the historical issues that link to hooliganism from my research, for example what happened at the Birmingham City and Leeds United match in 1985 and the relate this to 'The Firm' as it was made in the same decade (1988) and also refer to societies view in the past about hooliganism e.g, Walvin (1994) reported that 'In 1829, a French man who saw a football match in Derby asked "If this is what they call football, then what do they call fighting?".then link this to what has happened in the present day through other parts of my research and views from a more recent time. The behaviour of the hooligans seems to be aimed at gaining prestige. The ability to fight, group solidarity and loyalty, plus the aggressive defence of culturally defined areas, are all elements of a satisfying masculine identity. Fighting at football is largely about young males testing out their own reputations for manliness against those of other similarly motivated young men. I will take elements from the the film I am studying and will look into them to see whether these elements are true of whether they've just been Incorporated for the storyline etc, for example, in 'Green Street ' it is apparent that for each and every firm there is a leader who all the rest look up to and idolize, but I want to find out whether this is in fact true in real life and who is usually to blame for what happens. Over the years, it has become increasingly clear that the police cannot and should not deal with hooliganism on its own and that an integrated approach is called for, involving all parties.In practice, measures tend to focus on the way in which hooliganism manifests itself, in part because the rivalry between supporters is a factor that is hard to influence. Changes in the infrastructure of stadia (fences, cameras, all-seater stadia) make surveillance and separation of fans easier, as do ticketing arrangements. However, a one-sided focus on security measures may be detrimental to an atmosphere of friendliness.Well-trained stewards may contribute significantly to hospitality and an early signalling of potential trouble inside stadia. The behaviour of players, coaches and club-officials also influences fan behaviour. I want to look at this from a more political approach and see what the society thinks about the ways in which hooliganism is tackled and then how in 'Green Street' this is mirrored. ''Football hooliganism has always had a bad reputation among English royalty. Not just for its extreme violence but also because of the excessive noise made by the spectators. King Edward III banned the game, not only because of its violence and noise but for military reasons too.''
Some references
Hammerton, Sir John (...) : Practical Knowledge For All (Fifty Educational Courses). The Waverley Book Co. Limited
Frosdick, Steve and Marsh, Peter (2005): Football Hooliganism. Willian Publishing, USA, Canada
Fetzer, Scott (1991) : My World Book. World Book, Inc, Chicago, USA
Gall, Caroline (2005) : Zulus: A Football Hooligan Gang, Milo Books, England
Nelmes, Jill (2003) : An Introduction to Film Studies. Routledge, England
Pennant, Cass (2002) : Want Some Aggro?. Blake Publishing, England
To what extent is the movie ‘Green Street’ (2005) an accurate representation of ‘football hooliganism’ in society?
The purpose of my coursework is to explain how far the portrayal of football hooliganism in 'Green Street' (2005) reflects a true image of how it actually is in the real world.
INTRODUCTION - and also my first paragraph
Ever since the beginning society has associated football hooliganism with violence, disruption and as a nuisance to the peace within communities. History says that football hooliganism is about prestige and masculinity more than it is about trying to go against the system and cause chaos within society. Various TV shows and films have tried to portray football hooliganism in the way it is naturally perceived but only a few actually go into depth about the other side of football hooligan life such as family and work. In this way the maker (Lexi Alexander) of 'Green Street' (2005) has based her story on two very different characters in order to give the audience a chance to relate to either one and understand why they make the decisions they do. The film itself contains a lot of the elements we as an audience would expect from our action movies, such as the hero VS the villain (Propp) and 'voyeurism' for the hero that it's target audience of males would experience (Mulvey). The aim of my study will be to find out to what extent these elements and theories are relevant to portray an accurate image of football hooliganism in society or whether they are Incorporated just for the sake of the action genre.
'Representation' of Hooligans, males, men in the action 'genre' AND 'Audience' expectations...
First taking a look at how football hooligans are really portrayed and represented in society (from my research notes etc) and linking this to whether that perception has always been this way and why (linking to The Firm, 1988). It is important to talk about in detail what the generalisation about them is in society and the move on to how the media portrays them. Starting to look into 'Green Street' and talking about how the characters are represented and what they represent themselves, for example, the firms and their football teams etc...outlining the key concepts such as the representation of males and how accurate this portrayal is by looking through my research of men typically being linked to hooliganism this then takes me onto outlining each characters position in the firm to link to general film roles, such as the protagonist and antagonist and analyse how accurate these roles actually are in real life or whether they've just been put in because the director was trying to follow Propp's theory of film having a hero, villain, the wise person etc...
Men are usually seen a physically stronger than women and therefore tend to be given the leading roles in action movies. Michael Messener (1990) says that the body is an 'object of social practice', meaning that the male body takes on the masculine roles because it is so obviously there and it is so physical so therefore a male tends to have a natural masculinity that the audience themselves look for because they expect this from the film. The audience also believe in the 'gender system' which means that they rely on the film to give them both male and female characters in completely different ways. The 'sameness' of an action hero to a feminine character would ruin the storyline. I will therefore try to see if this is what creates the clear exclusion of women from the key storyline and leaves them to typical female roles (housewife, mother, girlfriend etc.) This would then lead me into thinking about the target audience (males) of the text to see whether this is the key factor that causes them to be more attracted to the film then a female audience would be as highly 'annihilates women' from the text. The male hero in in classical Hollywood cinema is usually recognised as powerful. He signifies omnipotence, mastering the narrative, being in control, sadistic rather than masochistic. It is important for me to look into the level of creative treatment that has actually been contained in the movie. By comparing what I view in the film and what I have gathered in my research I will be able to see the extent to which the movie has been changed and been distanced from reality in order to help me see exactly how real the representation of the people who perform these crimes is... (Grierson - Creative treatment of actuality.)
'Media Language' and as opposed to Reality...
'Green Street' incorporates dark colours in it's dark settings to portray an urban area where football hooligans tend to live. The hooligans are usually dressed in casual outerwear which often makes their characters look the opposite of what society sees as acceptable male attire (suits, smart clothes.) The characters are only ever once shown wearing work clothes and that therefore under represents their commitment to work and making a living. By making them wear their hooligan clothes throughout the whole film they exclude the other side of their lives which in reality many hooligans do have. The reason for annihilating this element of reality from the storyline is because the audience is then faced with the question of whether this is what is causing them to be led into football hooliganism, for example, George Orwell once wrote: "The genuinely popular culture of England is something that goes on beneath the surface, unofficially and more or less frowned on by the authorities. One thing one notices if one looks directly at the common people, especially in the big towns, is that they are not puritanical. They are inveterate gamblers, drink as much beer as their wages will permit, are devoted to bawdy jokes, and use probably the foulest language in the world." This sums up the England supporter, who is a million miles away from the conservative English gentleman our tourist board would rather promote.This statement links to why England's popular culture is in fact apparent in 'Green Street' over many of the real life elements that would give the characters more depth over just being violent males. The character of Matt Buckner is supposed to be an outsider at first from a completely different part of the world, so therefore this whole idea of the tourist board trying to cover up these truths from outsiders can be seen in 'Green Street' as nothing is hidden and we see the movie from Matt's point of view. The music and dialogue is also very significant to popular English culture that surrounds football hooligans. We can see from the changes in the music Matt listens to and what the hooligans listen to and sing themselves in the pub. I will then look into how this differs or relates from 'The Firm' (1988), to see how over time these values have changed for people and movie makers and how vividly the underlying message is actually presented to the audience. 'The Firm' incorporates more of the 'working man' imagery and shows the man at his typical role of 'breadwinner' and the wife of being 'home-maker'. I will move onto how and why these roles are less represented in the same way in 'Green Street' and also (slightly) talk about in what way women's roles have changed and what in society may have reconstructed this view of them in the filmmakers mind.
The 'Ideologies'...Violence...Typical scenes in the film that link to real life...
The scene where all the firm members gather together in a pub for regular meetings is something that links to reality. Police in the past have had to raid pubs where riots have been taking place and vandalism usually occurs there too. At the end of 'Green Street', the sequence of when the opposing firm vandalise and light the GSE pub hangout on fire was seen by many as a typical thing to happen but in the film it was 'overproduced' and 'exaggerated' (Grierson - Creative Treatment if Actuality.) In the same way violence and vandalism occurs in 'The Firm', such as the time when the opposing firm vandalises the leader of the other firm's car and spray paints it. Also it will be highly useful to write about the ways in which the lives and commitments made by football hooligans to their firm's effects their family lives. Such as in 'Green Street' Pete's actions influence Matt and therefore Matt ends up following in his footsteps which doesn't go down well with Matt's sister who is Pete's sister-in-law. This causes rifts and arguments within the family and disruptions begin when confrontation occurs. In the same way 'The Firm' portrays the arguments and controversy that occurs within the home of the protagonist. The wives in the film feel let down when their husbands commit to these duties and don't like how their husbands actions effect them and their children. In real life football hooligans have actually been known to mix their life as a hooligan with their family commitments - “Many individuals, particularly males, in English society have regarded it as critical to their lives”.
How football hooliganism effects society...
Moral Panic - Public feel a threat by the behaviours shown on screen.The topic of football hooliganism is very threatening to the audience it occurs in reality and will help me to look further into this.
Prejudice - Judging and having views on certain characteristics of people.In reality people assume negative things about hooligans but I will look into why these prejudices are.
Society has always found football hooliganism very disruptive as it causes noise, damage, death and confrontation between people. Some see football hooliganism as a waste of time and petty because there really is no use for it in society because it doesn't offer anything constructive to the world in which we live in. This isn't however emphasized very much in 'Green Street' even though the damage incurred is expensive and damaging. There are scenes when the firms are rioting and causing high damage but the after effects of this isn't really emphasized. This therefore under-represents the role of society in speaking up about football hooliganism as it occurs a lot in real life. This may have been kept out because it wasn't relevant to the film. The portrayal of the effects on society in 'The Firm' are more apparent than in 'Green Street' which could connote that it has become in a way more accepted as a norm for men of a certain type to be part of. This will be useful to outline in my study...
Political & Economic views on hooliganism...
Over the years these football fights have spread all around the world. From Croatia to Serbia it there have been brawls between firms. In England these firms have done severe damage to public property, such as smashing phone boxes and breaking park benches meaning that it has cost a lot of money in repairing these things. Businesses have also been effected by football hooliganism, for example, In the 2000s, English football hooligans often wear either clothing styles that are stereotypically associated with the thuggish chav subculture, such as those from the labels Prada, Lacoste, Le Shark and Burberry. This has encouraged Prada and Burberry two companies to withdraw certain garments over fears that their brands are becoming linked with hooliganism. In 'Green Street' and 'The Firm' there is no apparent link to any label. I will look into why the director chose to ignore this even though it is a general occurance. Political - The number of arrests rose by 19 per cent to 4,793 in 2002 in domestic games in England and Wales, European cup competitions and international matches.The number of banning orders imposed for football-related offences increased by more than half from 1,149 in 2001/2 to 1,794 last year.There were 267 arrests at international games last year, with nearly half of those made during the England v Turkey Euro 2004 qualifier game in Sunderland in June. The government is trying to take serious action towards football hooliganism by increasing the amount of police protection in suspicious areas even though this isn't helping in the way expected. These are some inportant things for me to incorporate into my study because they outline other effects on society etc...
The hooliganism history and the ways in which it is dealt with in the film and in reality...
As I am trying to measure the accuracy it will be important for me to look into the historical issues that link to hooliganism from my research, for example what happened at the Birmingham City and Leeds United match in 1985 and the relate this to 'The Firm' as it was made in the same decade (1988) and also refer to societies view in the past about hooliganism e.g, Walvin (1994) reported that 'In 1829, a French man who saw a football match in Derby asked "If this is what they call football, then what do they call fighting?".then link this to what has happened in the present day through other parts of my research and views from a more recent time. The behaviour of the hooligans seems to be aimed at gaining prestige. The ability to fight, group solidarity and loyalty, plus the aggressive defence of culturally defined areas, are all elements of a satisfying masculine identity. Fighting at football is largely about young males testing out their own reputations for manliness against those of other similarly motivated young men. I will take elements from the the film I am studying and will look into them to see whether these elements are true of whether they've just been Incorporated for the storyline etc, for example, in 'Green Street ' it is apparent that for each and every firm there is a leader who all the rest look up to and idolize, but I want to find out whether this is in fact true in real life and who is usually to blame for what happens. Over the years, it has become increasingly clear that the police cannot and should not deal with hooliganism on its own and that an integrated approach is called for, involving all parties.In practice, measures tend to focus on the way in which hooliganism manifests itself, in part because the rivalry between supporters is a factor that is hard to influence. Changes in the infrastructure of stadia (fences, cameras, all-seater stadia) make surveillance and separation of fans easier, as do ticketing arrangements. However, a one-sided focus on security measures may be detrimental to an atmosphere of friendliness.Well-trained stewards may contribute significantly to hospitality and an early signalling of potential trouble inside stadia. The behaviour of players, coaches and club-officials also influences fan behaviour. I want to look at this from a more political approach and see what the society thinks about the ways in which hooliganism is tackled and then how in 'Green Street' this is mirrored. ''Football hooliganism has always had a bad reputation among English royalty. Not just for its extreme violence but also because of the excessive noise made by the spectators. King Edward III banned the game, not only because of its violence and noise but for military reasons too.''
Some references
http://www.newstatesman.com/200111260043
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page4359.asp
http://www.sirc.org/publik/fvmedia.html
Benton, William (1768) : Encyclopedia Britannica (Volume 18). Scotland, Society of Gentlemen in Scotland
Hammerton, Sir John (...) : Practical Knowledge For All (Fifty Educational Courses). The Waverley Book Co. Limited
Frosdick, Steve and Marsh, Peter (2005): Football Hooliganism. Willian Publishing, USA, Canada
Fetzer, Scott (1991) : My World Book. World Book, Inc, Chicago, USA
Gall, Caroline (2005) : Zulus: A Football Hooligan Gang, Milo Books, England
Nelmes, Jill (2003) : An Introduction to Film Studies. Routledge, England
Pennant, Cass (2002) : Want Some Aggro?. Blake Publishing, England
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