FIsh Tank

Fish Tank is a teen film battling with the milestones of being a teenager from battling with her limited access to education, family conflicts, career choices and even the growing character of a teenager. We follow the life of Mia who lives in a Essex council estate, she doesn't have the typical education opportunities and is ostracised from her community and friends. With a volatile mother, she hasn't grown up with the best family relations. I like the fact that there are meant topics being deal with in the story as it reaches out to the target audience in many ways. We follow ideas of isolation, rebellion, family, romance etc. It makes the story much more realistic and dramatic, it gives the idea of a whirlwind lifestyle of a teenager filled with complications which we experience with Mia.

There are a few stereotypes in the film. The main one includes the milestones of being a teenager. For example she has constant arguments with her mother and they both attack each other with derogatory terms and general swearing which also seems to be a natural way for Mia and those around her to speak. The teenage rebellious side is also visible; she ignores the rules constantly. For example her sister reminds me her at one point of the movie that she is not allowed to go out of the house as instructed by her mother, however, she refused to follow through. You definitely get a sense of teenage rebellion and character development through Mia which is "feisty and fiercely independent outsider".

Another clear stereotype which is also through binary opposites is the issue of location affecting the type of life you live. For example there is a clear difference in the life of Mia at an Essex estate compared to her mother's ex boyfriend's living situation in the suburbs. He owns a car, is employed with a well paid job, ideal family life etc. However this is the complete opposite for Mia's living situation.

I personally, am not a big fan of the movie. I feel as though it represented certain aspects of life really well however, quite exaggerated. Typically, teen movies rely on stereotypes in every way possible which I found was very much ideal to understand the characters even better. However, I felt that the story line was rushed- she had the dream of dancing which was suddenly washed away, romance suddenly lost and at the end she randomly decides to leave home. I feel as though the overall story of this movie is simply incomplete - thefe was a large course of events happening one after another however don't correlate well to leave an impact which is vital to create a level of interest.

However, I have gained some ideas from the film. The location type is ideal as it will easily be accessible and relatable for a teen audience. However, the idea of following someone's life and the struggles they face is also typical but a very realistic effective idea influenced by this movie. There is a technical element of the movie that I also enjoyed which was the constant handheld camera movements. Especially when there was a sudden rush of events happened, it really brings the movie alive which is very much ideal for an audience.