Fish Tank

Which characters do you like and why?

In the film Fish Tank we liked Mia's little sister Tyler because she is easy to identify with and you are made to feel sorry for her as she seems to have to fend for herself. In one scene we see her in her sister's room smoking with her friend which shows she is perhaps easily influenced by her mum and sister. Mia and her mum are busy doing other things so a lot of the time Tyler is looking after herself.
We also liked the the traveler Billy. When he and his brothers first met Mia they were horrible to her and stole her things, but Billy was the one to give them back and he befriended Mia throughout the film. Even though Mia is quite rude to him he always seems to want to hang out with her and be there for her.

What image of British females does this film portray?

The film portrays the image that British females sleep around and have no respect for themselves. Mia's mum is often seen wondering round in her underwear smoking in front of men and her daughters. She gets together with a man called Connor who develops a liking for her daughter Mia. Even though Mia knows that Connor is with her mum and that she is underage she sleeps with him while her mum is in the house.
There is a scene where Mia goes for a dance audition and we see women wearing barely anything dancing in front of men and women. It gives us the impression that they don't care what other people think of them and that they are confident in themselves to get up and dance infront of other people.

What could the significance of the locations be?

Fish Tank is filmed in Barking in London. It is filmed at a block of flats which look like they could be on a council estate. This location could be quite significant as it is obviously not a wealthy place and it is probably a place where there is a high crime rate. The location could also influence the way the characters in the film are bought up and the values they are taught by their parents and people around them. In the film we see a scene showing a view of the flats, we see children of a young age and their parents smoking and playing loud music which suggests to us that if children are experiencing this at such a young age they are likely to copy this kind of behaviour when they are older.