Tight Jeans 

Tight Jeans is a short film about three black boys in Lewisham exploring racial stereotypes and social realism through comedy. We were asked if comedy can be a way of finding a deeper truth as much as tragedy. I believe it can, especially in the context of this film, however it depends what the deeper truth is. 

Exploring social and political comments through comedy can feel much lighter as well as possibly being easier to watch and therefore more engaging, and spreading a message across a wider audience. In Tight Jeans, they script covers topics about white and black stereotypes, the origins of slavery and the way in which the world was populated by man. However rather than following a drama or documentary genre and style, the boys are often incorrect, creating humor where the audience laughs both with and at them, while still exploring deep and important topics. 

The boys in the film follow their own stereotypes as well as discussing them. Marcus comes across as the ring leader, joseph is the dumb one, and Theo is the joker. Our understanding of these characters and the stereotypes in which they fit is furthered as the film moves forwards. Despite being a snippet of a casual conversation, these stereotypes clearly give us a clear insight into the own characters, as well as their thoughts and feelings. 

Mise-en-scene is used to separate the boys, with joseph wearing a bright red hoodie, Marcus wearing a stripy orange hoodie, and Theo wearing  a blue hoodie. Despite being different colours, this also categorizes them together. A hoodie is seen often as urban clothing or youth clothing, to create a stronger sense of character. This means that Tyrone comes across as more of an outsider when he is wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and looks as though he doesn't fit in as well. The same goes for the men who walk past wearing different outfits to that of the boys. 

The other microelements are downplayed, to fit with the casual tone of their conversation, and make the film feel lighter and more easy going while still being able to explore complex issues. However, were they topics to be darker or more emotionally poignant, the humorous style could cause the film to feel shallower have less of an impact on the audience as they don't care as much or sympathise with the audience.