The Selfish Giant

 The selfish giant analysis

Representation of how young lower class are treated, screengrab one with Arbor crying

Denoted here is a boy,with old used clothes on a side of a fence that is in a ball and he looks like he's in distress and in pain and he doesn't know what to do or he can do to help it,it shows that here he has limited communication or relationships with any other characters as he is alone and deprived from anything.The boy named here is called Arbor and he has a troubled childhood and upbringing and this all can be denoted right here in this particular scene with him crying.

He could be crying about anything to anyone who hasn't seen the film,but the reason hes crying is because his best friend Swifty has died for him,Which could suggest that Arbor is maybe feeling guilt for his actions and may think he was responsible for his death when it wasn't entirely.Arbors character is usually very energetic but also very troublesome and aggressive as throughout the film it appears that he has anger issues as he is seen taking tablets to combat this,which could suggest that he has anger management.One reason why I took a screengrab of this scene is that he is feeling sad for once as this completely contradicts his character as he is unemotional half the time and this makes this scene even more powerful,for the audience which is a good choice for the director to take.

Representation of hard working class compared to poor working class, screengrab two with Arbor in class with another pupil

Denoted here is Arbor and another Asian boy who is unknown and both are set in school clothes and inside a class at school and both have been set work to do but Arbor isn't working and looks like he is about to through a pencil across the room.Here it shows his relationships with other characters appears to be also yet again limited as he isn't seen talking to anyone but Swifty that is seen just moments later, and he gets told off by the teacher that isn't happy about his behavior showing yet again he has little friends to talk to as a lot of people don't like him.

This connotes that he has no respect or manners no matter where he is and shows how little care he has to others and is also a typical representation of a failure in school as hes chucking pencils and swearing at teachers and having no resilience against them.The Asian boy working is also asterotype as Arbor isn't working and Asian people are known to be hard workers and this depicts a huge contrast between them both as one is a aggressive failure while one could be high graded student making these two opposites connect just like Binary opposites.

 

Representation of desperate low social class ,screengrab three with Kitten angry at Arbor

Denoted here is a two people at a scrapyard one being an adult and one being a boy called Arbor and the Man appears to be Looking down at Arbor as he is more dominant and powerful than Arbor and show.Arbor still is in social class of being poor and having a bad life as a boy and the man known as Kitten doesn't that much better off too as hes working at a scrapyard a hes wearing the vest and his clothes and appearance looks scruffy and worn down to use,which shows that he may have been working there a long time.

This connotes that Kitten and Arbor are both very similar in terms of there situations they both have poor clothes both have mental issues or anger as throughout the film we see Kitten yelling most of the time hes in every scene and he at one point grabs Arbors hand and was about to cut his entire hand off due to the amount of anger and hatred he has towards him.Kitten could  of had a bad upbrin like Arbor and he could be a foreshadowing of Arbors future as they both have so many simularites.The relationship between these two is so powerful as its all about hatred and stress as they are always fighting but they both partly rely on eachother especially Arbor as that's where his source of income comes from.You could also say that Kitten is also a stereotypical representation of a corrupted low end business man and also a person who needs mental management and all he cares about is money and income.

Representation of how family of the lower social class comfort each other in harsh times, screengrab with Arbor and his mum

Denoted here is a scene of Arbor who is crying his eyes or appears to be in distress and depressed is against a fence outside his house where his mum has come to try to comfort him while he is suffering from this trauma,but as the scene goes on his mum tries hugging him but Arbor wants to be alone and continues to knock her off or keep here away from him, showing bad signs in their relationship and could signify a downfall.

This connotes that him and his mum have a very unstable relationship as throughout the film he keeps on trying to help her out such as paying money to keep the house going but also has huge arguments with her and his brothers over things which can cause their relationships to deteriate and eventually can cause them to have a falling out which isn't healthy at all,You could say this is a typical sterotype for abas family that is suffering from a huge crisis point.His mum is also a clear archetype of the motherly figure always trying to help their children have the best lives aas possible.

  Representation of death affects the low working class, screengrab of Arbor up against Swiftys body

Denoted here is a scene of Arbor up close to Swifty which was his best friend who is laying on the floor dead holding the remains of a wire due to a a serve power attack and caused swifty to have an elcectric shock,Arbor here shows huge regression and an enormous amount of pain and suffering because of his friend dying and this shows how much he cared about swifty as he was is only true good friend thoughout his life,showing that their relationship had rough points through it but towards then end was a
clear reslemblance of their true companionship.


This connotes that Arbor and swifty were true great friends and both have been their for eachother and at on point of their lives does it actually show,only when Swiftys gone does Arbor show his emotions.Arbor could also be showing regret and maybe even guilt due to him feeling and thinking that he caused his death as Swifty did take control and take the wire instead causing his demise and this shows a clear archetype of him being the goof as Arbor is clueless half the time and always needs the help and this is due to him having poor education as he doesn't care about school whats so ever making him have poor understanding about anything.

Representation of how the lower class community are with each other, screengrab of Swiftys mum hugging Arbor

  Denoted here is a shot of Swiftys mum and Arbor hugging eachother in a room insdie Arbors houses,and both of them are in distraught and crying because of Swiftys death.What makes this scene partically powerful is due to the relationship both of them have had,His mum dislikes Arbor because she knew that he was a bad influence to Her son Swifty who she wanted him to have an education and have a good life wile Arbor was always postering around wanting to collect scrap with Swifty to make so money to pay off the house debts.

What this connotes is that since Swift is showing compassion and sadness about Swiftys death,Swiftys mum notices it and realizes he isn't all bad but just has a hard time living and has came to terms to try and make things better by hugging Arbor.When she enters Arbor immediately hugs her without hesistation since she is the closest connection to Swifty making her the most attention and respect, and Arbor to her is like the closest thing to Swifty so she can relate to him.This representation shows what life can be like and how peoples relationships with others can be and this affects the audience beacuase a lot of them didn't even know this world even existed because most of the people that watch are so used to their normal lives that they don't even notice it, and the director would have choosen to use this is because of the clear contrast of hatred these two had for eachother which has immediately dissolved.

Representation of how Harsh and dark the lower class of all ages communicate with each other, screengrab of Kitten talking directly to Arbor

Denoted here is a shot of Arbor in a building with very lowkey lighting that is full of scrap being confronted by Kitten who is incharge or atleast works there at the scrapyard,here we  can see the facial expressions of Arbor looking stunned or lifeless while looking at Kitten who is full of aggressive energy starring at Arbor which shows his entire domanice yet again here,you can see that Arbor is close to given and is completely fed up with Kitten and doesn't want to his work anymore but has to because he needs money to his family.Showing their relationship is quickly getting worse by day by day.

This connotes that they both are on the brink of pure tension and frustration and this shows a representation of how harsh employers can be to their workers making it completely unfair and they get minimal pay making an effect of pure disbelief to some people in the audience because of how bad it can get at times.A clear archetype is the aggressive Male that has aggressive mental problems and is always stressed and clearly Kitten fits it well.The directors choices of using this in the film is good because it shows real life in some areas and people need to know because the media either never reports it or it gets over covered by false hyperbole which makes it unssen by anyone.