Setting1

**__SETTING__**

"Finding Forrester" is set in the Bronx area of New York.

The Bronx is one of the poorer areas of New York city and is largely populated by people of lower socio-economic classes. It is predominantly African American and generally not a safe place to live and grow up. People who live in this area do not always have the best start in life or the means to succeed.

Within America there is also the assumption that people from the Bronx are not capable of achieving success in education. Basketball tends to be the main interest and it is through sport that many find their way out of the Bronx life. People from the Bronx face this stereotype every day and also the discrimination of being black. It is a monotonous life that does not change and few have hope of escaping.


 * __Why is the setting important?__**

This setting is important in "Finding Forrester" as it helps give insight into the main character Jamal Wallace. Understanding where Jamal comes from helps viewers to understand his actions and why he is so determined to fight for his dreams. It explains why he argues so hard to disprove the stereotypical expectations people have of him and also why he is so untrusting of others at the start of the film.

__**Techniques Used to Create a strong impression of setting:**__
 * Costume
 * Montage
 * Panning
 * Documentary Style Filming
 * Diegetic Sound
 * Non-Diegetic Music

In the opening scene costume helps portray setting. One of the first images is of a black rapper wearing a loose basketball shirt, baggy shorts, chains, rings and a basketball cap. This is a stereotypical representation of a black ghetto person from the Bronx. Other costumes include the half naked children on the streets. They have no shirts or shoes and either afros or cornrows in their hair. This gives a clear impression of the people who live in the Brox
 * __Costume:__**

Montage is also used in the opening scene to portray setting. A series of shots show various aspects of bronx life - Drug dealers, street workers, barber shops, people carrying stereos on their shoulder, rappers and unemployed lining the street. This montage gives an overall impression of the people who occupy the Bronx and what sort of lives they lead.
 * __Montage:__**

Panning is also used to give an overall impression but of the environment rather than the people. A high angle shot pans across the Bronx showing tall, run down buildings and littered streets. This helps show the depressing mood of the Bronx and the poor conditions in which people have to live.
 * __Panning:__**

Documentary style filming is used in the opening scene as though you are sitting in a car and driving along looking out the window. This technique shows images of various people in the Bronx, people playing in the streets, drug deals, barber shops etc. The unsteady filming makes the images seem more realistic as though the camera is showing the 'true' Bronx rather than one created in a film studio.
 * __Documentary Style Filming:__**

Diegetic Sound is used in the form of rapping, car horns, police sirens, people yelling and screaming at each other. This use of sound helps create setting as it shows the chaotic and crime plagued environment of the Bronx.
 * __Diegetic Sound:__**

The music which plays in the opening scene is heard quietly playing over the shots showing Bronx life. The music is slow, sad and repetitive. This shows the setting as it reinforces and reflects the monotony of the lives of people who live there. Their lives do not change and they have little hope of ever leaving.
 * __Non-Diegetic Music:__**