Title Sequence Analysis

THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)- Title Sequence

This is England holds a social realist genre. The title sequence uses footage from the 80s including news stories from riots in Birmingham to Thatcher and Reagan. The opening titles do not introduce any characters however it does express the time and setting of the film. The shots of news stories put the viewer in the position of a citizen of the 80s and make them aware of the genre. The typography used for the titles resembles that of a dog tag owned by a British soldier. Prior to the beginning of the film Shaun, the main character’s, father had died in the Falklands war. Therefore the font represents him and other soldiers who fought in this war. This gives the idea that the film could be loosely based around this conflict. The song used in this title sequence is 54-46 by Toots and the Maytals. The main characters of this film are a group of skinheads who were generally known to listen to ska music, with 54-46 being one of the first ska songs of the reggae genre its quite conveniently used to set the mood. The sequence has been edited in a way that it only shows short clips of about five seconds at a time, these short clips are put together all the way through. When watching the opening titles the viewer may be aware that the film isn’t set in the present time. Due to the short clips the sequence has a relatively quick pace throughout requiring the viewers full attention in order to understand the titles.