What themes and issues do the films deal with.

The Krays

•       Organised crime

•       Gun culture

•       A life of crime (i.e. crime as a profession)

•       Honour among villains

•       Loyalty and brotherhood

•       Gritty and realistic depictions of crime

•       Failure of law and the police

•       Appearance and reality

Bullet Boy

•       Poverty and deprivation

•       Gang crime

•       Gun culture

•       A life of crime (i.e. falling unwillingly into crime)

•       Desire to break away from criminal influences

•       Access to guns, especially for youngsters

•       Youth, the pressures on youth and a lack of opportunity, especially for black working class youth

•       Gritty and realistic depictions of crime

•       Innocent victims

•       Breakdown of the family

•       Strong female characters

•       Failure of the justice system

•       Under-privilege/disadvantage

Harry Brown

•       Drug abuse

•       Gang crime

•       Gun culture

•       Housing estates and the failure of social housing

•       Age (old age in particular)

•       Honour among criminals (how does this compare to The Krays?)

•       Gritty and realistic depictions of crime

•       Fractured British Society

•       The professionalism of the police

•       Strong female characters

•       Innocent victims

•       Breakdown of the family

•       Ineffective law enforcement and the failure of society to hold it to account

·                           Sexual abuse

To which character does the title refer?

I believe that the title Bullet Boy refers to the character Curtis (Luke Fraser) who is the brother of the main character Ricky (Ashley Walters). I think that this is the case as Curtis is brought up in a world where he is seeing crime happen all around him and this taking a toll on who he is and the actions he will be involved in. first off we see the people who Curtis is growing up with around him and these people are his brother Ricky, Ricky's friend wisdom and his best friend Rio, all these people who Curtis is growing up with around him are linked with crime in a certain way. First off we have his brother Ricky who influences Curtis in the film the most as younger siblings look up to there elders as role models and Ricky is not the best role model for Curtis as he has been in prison and has been involved with drugs and crime and Ricky brings this crime into the household by bringing the gun in which is not good for Curtis too see and this will have an influence on him in the long run. Then we have Wisdom who is Ricky's friend and he has an effect on Curtis not intentionally this is because he is the person who ropes Ricky back into crime and gives him the gun and this will mean Curtis will see his brother getting involved with crime and this will make him think that its the path to choose. Then we have Rio who is Curtis's fiend, Rio is a bad influence for Curtis as he does drugs and tires to peer pressure Curtis into trying and also he is the person who peer pressures Curtis into using the gun which then leads to the shooting of Rio which is he reason why i believe Curtis is the Bullet Boy. Furthermore the objects around Curtis are not good for him and this talking about the previously mentioned gun. When Curtis first gets his hand on the gun he seems to be very intrigued by it and he plays around with it and pretends to use it. The next time Curtis gets the gun is when he wants to show it off to Rio and this then leads to Rio using peer pressure to get Curtis to take it out of the house and ply with which then leads to Rio being shot by Curtis by accident but even though it is by accident we still see how this is leading to Curtis eventually getting involved with crime like his Brother and many of the people living in the area around him. Moreover the area of London that Curtis grows up in will have an influence on him as it is a run down area where there is a lot of crime going on and Curtis will find it very hard o escape this place and that will probably mean he will end up getting involved with the crime around him and following down the same path as his brother.

What are the main the main messages, values and social issues in the film?

A message in the film is that it is hard for Black kids growing up in the east end of London. This is shown in the film with the character Curtis as we see that it is hard for him as he is very exposed to crime and drugs and will be hard for him not to get involved with that sort of stuff when he grows up. 

A key message in the film that it is hard to get a way from crime. We see this in the film  as when Ricky comes out of jail he wants to move a way and get a fresh start but instead he gets roped back into crime by Wisdom, this is shown in the scene when Wisdom makes Ricky go with him to kill Godfrey's dog. 

A key value shown within the film is loyalty. This is shown within the film during the scene when Wisdom forces Ricky to go with him when he goes to 'shoot up Godfrey's yard', as Wisdom tells him that Ricky should do this for him  because he owes him, he wears the scar on his neck to show he saved Ricky's life.

A social issue shown within the film is gun crime and the access young people have to weapons. This is shown within the scene when after Ricky has been released from prison and they are at Wisdom's flat, and Wisdom just produces the gun from out of a draw. This shows how easy it is to be able to find a gun and to keep a hold of it for a long period of time without being caught by the police.

How are people and places represented in the film?

Within the film the representation of London is a slightly more realistic view of London. This is because the film is set in London's East end, this is unusual because many films show London as being the upper class, busy city many people know. However this film shows a side to London many people don't see, it shows a lower class of living, where youth and gun crime is more present. Also, it shows many stereotypical views of Afro Caribbean families, being lower class and the youths of this ethnicity being more prone to being involved in crime or being involved with the police.

The males within this film are shown as being the stereotypical 'man', they are all shown as being shown as strong characters who are more prone to getting into crime. Also they all seem to want to be independent and wanting to do things by themselves. The only male character who seems to challenge this stereotype is Leon, this is because he seems to be more religion orientated and seems to be more family based with Beverly rather than wanting to be out more often. The females in the film also challenge the typical female stereotype, this is because they are are very strong women who seem to have to put up with a lot, Beverly has to cope with Ricky being in and out of prison and being afraid of Curtis going down the same path as Ricky. Whereas, Shea has to cope with Ricky getting in trouble with the police constantly, and when someones after Ricky they are after her as well because they seem to come as a pair.