Tight Jeans by Destiny Ekharaga
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcPBCrUc8YI&t=460s
Tight Jeans is a short film created by Ekharaga to go against the stereotypical representation of black people in media, as at the time (2008) nearly all black people were shown to be criminals in film. Throughout the single scene film, three black teenagers are seen sitting on a wall, primarily discussing why they cannot wear tight jeans after watching an emo walk by. There is a heavy sense of naturalism throughout and a sense of repetition, as the film ends on the line "Why can't we wear tight shirts?". This acts as both a final punchline and informs us that these three could be waiting here forever and continue to talk (for want of a better word) 'shit' eternally.
The three characters are very appealing to the audience, all are innocently oblivious and ignorant but it is this ignorance and unknowing that spawns the comedy as we see what we perceive as ridiculous viewpoints on the question, spanning into large penis' and the slave trade. This could be seen as perpetuating the stereotype of black people being 'stupid' but comes across as more of a teenage stupidity than a racial attack. The introductory time lapse was very engaging immediately introducing us to the world around these characters and establishing us in the time period. However, it did feel somewhat disconnected from the rest of the film, like it's own separate thing.
In my own film I intend to use naturalism quite heavily and think the comic exchanges here could translate well to that if I wanted to. My first script, 'Cigarette Break' is actually very similar in tone and structure to Tight Jeans, so it is definitely something I could capitalise on.
Tight Jeans is a short film created by Ekharaga to go against the stereotypical representation of black people in media, as at the time (2008) nearly all black people were shown to be criminals in film. Throughout the single scene film, three black teenagers are seen sitting on a wall, primarily discussing why they cannot wear tight jeans after watching an emo walk by. There is a heavy sense of naturalism throughout and a sense of repetition, as the film ends on the line "Why can't we wear tight shirts?". This acts as both a final punchline and informs us that these three could be waiting here forever and continue to talk (for want of a better word) 'shit' eternally.
The three characters are very appealing to the audience, all are innocently oblivious and ignorant but it is this ignorance and unknowing that spawns the comedy as we see what we perceive as ridiculous viewpoints on the question, spanning into large penis' and the slave trade. This could be seen as perpetuating the stereotype of black people being 'stupid' but comes across as more of a teenage stupidity than a racial attack. The introductory time lapse was very engaging immediately introducing us to the world around these characters and establishing us in the time period. However, it did feel somewhat disconnected from the rest of the film, like it's own separate thing.
In my own film I intend to use naturalism quite heavily and think the comic exchanges here could translate well to that if I wanted to. My first script, 'Cigarette Break' is actually very similar in tone and structure to Tight Jeans, so it is definitely something I could capitalise on.
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