Human Traffic

Production Information
Human Traffic is a British independent film written and directed by Welsh filmmaker Justin Kerrigan.

Synopsis
The film explores themes of coming of age, drug and club cultures, as well as relationships. It includes scenes provoking social commentary and the use of archive footage to provide political commentary. The plot of the film revolves around five twenty-something friends and their wider work and social circle, the latter devotees of the club scene, taking place over the course of a drug-fuelled weekend in Cardiff, Wales.
A central feature is the avoidance of moralising about the impact of 1990sdance lifestyle; instead the film concentrates on recreating the "vibe, the venues and the mood" of the dance movement from the 1991 "summer to love" to the film's release in 1999.

Questions

1) How can Human Traffic be considered a social realist film? You may wish to consider how the film makers technically communicate social realism, what issues are raised and how they might affect the audience.
Social realism is the depiction of society for the working class or the poor; how they cope with adversity or the highlights in their life. In some ways Human Traffic can be considered a social realist film due to the fact that it's centred around a coming of age theme, exploring drugs, clubs and relationships. The character's personalities are conveyed at the outset of the film using mid and close up shots, indicating their varying social backgrounds and their social attitudes.

The drugs, clubs and relationships raised throughout combined with the archive footage used could affect the audience by bringing about a revelation on their own life if it is similar to one of the characters. For instance, Moff's fortunate wealthy background and family influences are shown in the latter parts of the film. His large house and driveway are also conveyed in the film. His lack of social stability is conveyed when it becomes evident that he's been cut off from his family group. He's cut off due to his parents having strong negative views on drugs: "some [teenagers] don't have the correct upbringing" - yet Moff is a regular user. Essentially, this leads one to believe it's a social realist film because despite his clear wealth and supposed family influences, he has 'gone off the rails'.

2) How does the youth culture depicted resist or subvert mainstream society?
Mainstream society could be described as law-abiding, ethically moral, driven by work, family orientated and concerned with safety, well being and achievement (Maslow's hierarchy of needs is implemented). The youth culture depicted resists this mainstream society as their characters are portrayed as the opposite.

Jip, Koop and Moff are all pictured taking drugs at certain points in the film, distancing them from law-abiding mainstream society members. Drugs are a central part of the film and their recreational use is largely seen as deviant to the outside social groups but accepted in this youth culture. This is one way in which they're depicted subverting mainstream society. Paranoia and violent thoughts bought about because of this: "we're no longer altogether as one but separate mental patients". Essentially, this indicates how the same drug can have different effects on people, some can handle it but some can't. This is indicative of how the characters differ from each other within their youth culture.

In a family sense of subverting from mainstream society, Jip, Moff and Koop are all slightly separated from their families. Moff's dad is a policeman and he's been bought up in a law-abiding house. His Dad has attempted to push his values onto Moff: he believes there's good and bad and no middle ground. This alienates Moff as he is the opposite. Jip's mum is a prostitute and Koop's dad is in psychiatric care. Both characters are distanced from their parents as they cannot relate to how their feeling or their morals due to this.

What's more, the youth culture's alienation is further depicted in the pub scene where Jip creates a new national anthem:

Our generation,

Alienation,

Have we a soul?

Techno emergency,

Virtual reality,

Running out of new ideas,

Who is the Queen?

The word "generation" could have multiple meanings and inferences; at the time of the film's production the then current generation would be different to the generation of a similar age now. "Our generation" is also inclusive of everyone in the generation, meaning older people are excluded and the youths are subverted from mainstream society. Additionally, anyone who doesn't know who the Queen is is seen as an outsider and not part of the culture. Therefore, the admission that the youth culture doesn't know who the Queen is demonstrates that they aren't part of mainstream society.

3) What values or morals are present in the film?
The overarching glorification of drugs in the film can be interpreted as a positive drug value in the character's lives. The film revolves around drug culture and it makes the weekends look fun. The weekends are made to look this way when they have taken the drugs in the clubs by slow motion, hand held camera movements to convey the high that the characters are on. However, the morals are skewed by the scene where Lulu and Nina are interviewed by the news reporter because they make fun of the adult's perception of drug use and drug users. This is almost an indication of how the values of drug use differ between the youth culture and the adults.

Family values are also evident in the film where Moff is having Sunday lunch with his family. Although the topic of discussion makes Moff feel like an outcast, the ritual of Sunday lunch conveys their strong family values of eating together at the dinner table without the TV on.

Some might say that the youth culture's interest in the same music is a moral which all members of the culture have. This is evident when Koop is in the record shop and he is advising the customer which records will be worth more value in years to come. The music joins them together at the outset, when they're clubbing and the change in music at the end sets Moff apart. Overall, this signals that music is a moral which brings them all together or sets them apart.

4) How can you consider the film to be British?
The political commentary that the archived footage provides gives an insight to British politics and the state of affairs regarding youth cultures in Britain. Moreover, the scene with the reworked national anthem is British in a sense that the anthem is personal to Britain. On a larger scale, the film is based on a British youth culture: music, fashion and social practises which were common in Britain in the 1990s. Although the narrative could be reapplied to any youth culture at any time, the music, fashion and social practises were specific for that time in British history.

5) Analyse one scene from the film.




The scene I have chosen to analyse is the Cab scene involving Moff and the taxi driver. Moff could be seen to be a social outcast in this scene in many ways. The scene begins with a panning shot of the car and dance music with a fast beat. It could be interpreted that this is suggestive of Moff's inclusivity in the youth culture through his interest in the music. Essentially, this inverted shot at the outset is in stark contrast to the following sequences in the scene. The over-the-shoulder shots of the taxi driver and mid-shots of Moff represent Moff's separation from the taxi driver. The driver is depicted facing away from Moff at all times, only looking in the mirror to reinforce the fact that Moff has his attention. Moff is alone in the back of the taxi and he has been positioned as the centre of focus in the middle seat. This separation could be an indication towards his alienation from society and the taxi driver.

 

Significantly, this alientation is further emphasised in the dialogue. His abandonment from popular culture is evident when he is talking negatively about "Taxi Driver" and Peter Andre. "See me, I'd have to take a celebrity with me ... oh uh ... what's his name? British pop fob, build like a brick sh*t house he is ... ugly f*ck. Peter Andre. Peter Andre ... yeah. I couldn't just shoot him first though mate ...". When Moff questions the taxi driver "what's his name?" there is an over the shoulder shot of the taxi driver shaking his head. This separates Moff from popular culture as he is speaking negatively about someone who, as an adult, the taxi driver is unaware of from his descriptions. The expletives he uses are indicative of his dislike towards Peter Andre and therefore his alienation from popular culture. On a wider level this could be linked to Moff's personal rebellion against popular culture as he tries to fit in, represented by the music, however he is unable to when he speaks negatively about popular social interests.

 

In addition, Moff's relationship with strangers can be further seen in the use of mid-shots to clearly demonstrate his agitated behaviourisms and the effect of drugs. The mid shot allows the audience to focus clearly on his hand actions, the fact that he is leaning towards the taxi driver and his facial expressions. His over-exaggerated mannerisms and behaviour are indicative of the side effects of the drugs he has taken and also indicate his effort in talking about the popular culture subjects: "Taxi Driver" and Peter Andre. His hand and arm movements are overemphasised and big, as though he is attempting to establish dominance despite being alone with the taxi driver who doesn't seem interested in what he's saying. He frequently leans forwards towards the taxi driver (and the camera) which demonstrate his agitation when he's trying to remember the name and after when he's describing the violent actions he would take. One notes that a cigarette prop is unlit in his hand throughout the scene which, again, could be there as his character is attempting to establish his dominance. This is because he could interpret smoking as a mature action and therefore want to come across as more mature than he actually is. Overall, one feels that Moff is possibly insecure and is hiding behind all of these actions and topic of conversation as wants to come across as more domineering to the taxi driver.