'Fighting' Deconstruction

The film I will be deconstructing is 'Fighting', a 2009 urban drama film.


Conventions of urban dramas:

• Set in cities or towns (usually in rough areas)
• Portrays a realistic view on society and societal problems
• Explores issues with violence, gangs and drugs
• Situations involving money sometimes central part of the plot (ties in with previous convention)
• Central characters usually 'young' e.g. aged between 15 and late 20's
• Protagonist usually male, struggling with problematic life
• Characters portrayed as products of their environment
• Tracking shots often used e.g. to show a police chase
• POV and eye line shots used to immerse audience in action and create tension
• Closeup and medium shots used to convey character's emotions, invokes response from audience
• Characters will usually wear dark, outdoorsy clothes e.g. jeans, hoodies etc, shows status in society
• Typical props include weapons (guns, knives, etc) and vehicles

How 'Fighting' conforms to these conventions:

• Explores issues with violence and money- protagonist is paid to win fights 
• Protagonist male, young (in his 20's), struggling 

• Urban setting (New York), many scenes take place in 'rough' areas, ties in with convention of portraying realistic outlook on society and its issues
• Establishing shots used to show different areas of New York throughout film, establishes different characters' locations

• Protagonist wears casual clothes like jeans and hoodies throughout film, young male characters also wear these kinds of clothes- establishes age and social standing to audience

Typography

The typography used is very brightly coloured (the colours used range from blue to pink to stark white) and is eye catching as a result. The font is interesting in its shape and irregular capitalisation, and is clearly modern so it is established that the film is contemporary as opposed to being set in a later time period. The modernity of the font ties in with setting of the film, as it is very urban and contemporary.

Use of Sound

• Diegetic sound: most of the sound in the film was to diegetic to realistically 'set the scene'. These sounds were typical noises you'd hear in a busy urban setting such as traffic and car horns, people talking in a busy street and music playing in restaurants and shops.
• The most interesting use of diegetic sound was the sounds added to the fight scenes in the film. These sounds included the fighters' heavy breathing and grunting and the sound of their punches landing on the other's skin. Other notable sounds included the fighters hitting a wall or the floor during the fight. These sounds immerse the audience in the action and make the scene more intense and enjoyable because it's made so vivid.
• Non diegetic sound: this was made up of background music. The music was mostly hip hop and soul, which reinforced the urban genre of the film and was also parallel to the scenes the music played in.
• The interesting use of non diegetic sound was in the background music used during fight scenes because it was so varied. In one scene, the music is comprised of plucky, upbeat string instruments that are contrapuntal to the action of the scene, making it interesting and also somewhat light hearted to watch. However, in another fight scene later on in the film the music is comprised of of intense drums and bass with a heavy beat, making the scene feel dark and tense. It also reflects the protagonist's worried and scared emotions in the scene, immersing the audience in the action.

Choice of title

The title 'Fighting' is very short and harsh sounding. It's a simple title that is memorable and it immediately sets audience expectations of violence and struggles in the film (in this case, the protagonist's financial and moral struggles). The word 'fighting' also sounds blunt and hard when spoken, conveying the general mood and gritty subject matter of the film clearly to the audience.