Trainspotting- A Critical Analysis on the Drug culture and how it links with Scottish identity.

Written by S5107481

Trainspotting (1996) is a film directed by Danny Boyle and is an adaptation of the novel written by Irivine Welsh of the same name. The film stars Scottish actor, Ewan McGregor who portrays Mark Renton, a heroin addict. This essay will explore the cultural and social context of Trainspotting and why it became one of the most cultural films in the 90s. This critical analysis will explore heavily on the theme of drug use and how the film links with Scottish identity. We follow Renton throughout the film and discover more about the drug culture in Scotland and how it personally affected him.

Set in Edinburgh, Mark Renton is a middle-class heroin user who attempts to quit heroin. We are also introduced to his dysfunctional friends, Sick Boy, Spud, Begbie and Tommy who (apart from Tommy and Begbie), are also heroine user. Trying to get clean, Renton tries to get clean multiple times throughout the film, however his friends somehow always ends up back at his side, thus causing more problems for Renton throughout the narrative. Although the group does various activities together, they frequently take heroin with each other.

The film aimed to reflect Scotland during the late 1980s and expand on the urban side of Scotland. When representing Scotland in films, the target audiences are typically aimed for American viewers rather than the people of Scotland themselves so that the films can get international success. Although the film was an international success, Scotland resonated with the film in a more personal level. It was voted the best Scottish film of all time in 2004 via a general public poll.

From the language to the setting, the film resonates close to a lot of Scottish people’s heart as they see a cultural portrayal of themselves on the screen. When Trainspotting was released, Scotland’s is represented as a gritty location rather than a place full of Scottish history and culture. Because of this, us as the audience see a more realistic and current representation of Scottish people in the 1980s. A lot of slangs, Scottish dialect and even hints of Football culture is used/shown throughout the film that helped solidify the culture of Scotland.

David Martin-Jones (2009, p.24) stated in his book that Scottish films ‘deploys their comedic elements to construct an ‘edgy’ comedy, designed to make audience laugh, whilst dealing with serious issues that are perhaps more recognisable.’ Martin-Jones later said that comedy was a vital part in Scottish filmmaking with Bill Forsyth’s film, Gregory’s Girl (1981) that helped bring Scottish cinema into mainstream cinema (2009). One of the reasons why Trainspotting resonated well with its Scottish audience is because of the comedic elements that was deployed, such as Spud’s job interview while under the influence of amphetamine. While the comedic side of the scene can be seen, Danny Boyle shows the repercussion of drug use in the scene, as Spud didn’t get a call back due to his behaviour while on amphetamine.

Spud’s job interview.

Although Trainspotting has many scenes of the characters doing drugs with Renton even describing heroin as ‘the best orgasm you ever had, multiply it by a thousand and your nowhere it.’ However, the film does not glamorise it as they show multiple consequences of drug use.  Consequences is a major theme throughout the film and Boyle shows that it affected many of the characters.

This is significant with the character Tommy, who out of the group didn’t contribute to doing drugs and is portrayed to the audience as the most responsible of the friendship group. This changed when his girlfriend broke up with him. Needing to escape from reality, he decides to do heroin. Throughout the film, we see a change in Tommy physically and mentally which eventually lead to his death from toxoplasmosis. Another example is when the group was taking heroin with their friend Allison. During the session, her child died due to her getting high. This had an impact on Sick Boy who was implied heavily to be the father.

Tommy before taking any drugs.
Tommy after several months of doing drugs. There is a clear mise-en-scene difference such as the room lighting being very dark.

One of the most iconic lines ‘choose life’ was said by Renton during his monologue at the start and end of the film. The way he delivers it contrasts each other which shows a change in his character. At the start of the film, he addresses many goals people wanted, including ‘choose life’, in a sarcastic manner as he views life as pointless and that heroin is what he ultimately chose. However, after overdosing and nearly dying as well as Tommy’s death, Renton finally realises he needed a real fresh start and to go clean for good. By the end of the film, he wanted to be normal, even addressing the audience stating he wanted to be like them. Renton is viewed as a cult hero by the Scottish people in real life because of how and why he overcame his addiction. This raises the question on why many people in Scotland at that time was taking drugs at the first place.

In the 1979, Margaret Thatcher was elected as Prime Minister and declared many new policies such as the Rights to Buy, that affected many Scottish people. In a BBC article, they showed that during Thatcher’s reign, unemployment gradually increased from 1980 all the way to 1993. It was stated by Michael Fry in an article that Edinburgh was responsible for creating most of the world’s opiate drugs which included heroin. Coincidentally, at the same time, an arrival of cheap heroin from Pakistan also reached the streets of Edinburgh. The government of England and Wales reported that the use of heroin increased the 1980s to the early 1990s. They claimed that the ‘epidemic spread from area to area but the national peak occurred between 1993 to 2000,’ (Morgan, 2014). Although the reports are predominantly focused on England and Wales, Scotland’s statistics has also been linked in the reports relating to the heroin epidemic.  With all these contributing factors, Scotland was dominated by lower to middle classed citizens with some being unemployed and living in poverty. This led to Scottish people taking heroin so that they can escape their reality due to them not being great. It could also suggest that at the time, people were taking drugs to rebel against the government.

As mentioned earlier, the theme of consequences is shown throughout the film. People take drugs and know the consequences that they can face. They do heroin because they enjoy it. In an article, John Arlidge spoke to Alan, an addict who stated that “There’s nothing here (Scotland). When life is as bad as this, heroin gives life; it becomes life” (Arlidge, 1996). Arlidge said he sees Alan as a character in Trainspotting and this links in well with Scottish identity because the portrayal of characters, especially Renton, are so relatable to many Scottish people. Trainspotting has birthed a generation of Scottish identity, one that they can relate to because the film gave them a voice. A voice to argue on why they did drugs. A voice on how Thatcher have damaged their nation.

It got to the point where Scottish people have accepted their reality of living in the middle to lower class. There is a scene where Renton needed to go to the toilet. He fantasies about having the best toilet the world can provide him such as ‘brilliance gold taps’ however, accepted the fact that he needed to go to the worst toilet in Scotland. The mise en scene itself can reflect Renton and other drug addict’s life during the 80s to 90s. The scene emphasises that Renton’s life is essentially a dump however, when Renton takes a swim inside the toilet, instead of mucky water, he finds himself swimming happily in a deep blue sea.  This is important as it foreshadows Renton’s future decision to change, to evolve into a new Scottish identity that the government wants its people to be. The blue water is prominent as it is the colour of the Scottish national flag and Scottish people are shown tobe very patriotic to their country. Trainspotting has become a big influence on the people of Scotland, that the media such as Vice and The Guardian have named them the ‘Trainspotting generation.’

The author Irvine Welsh said in an interview that his ‘books are about transition’ (2019). In the film adaption of Welsh’s book, Trainspotting has shown a huge transition from the opening monologue to the last. The theme of transition is littered throughout the course of the film. This can subtlety be found in the choice of music used in the film. The film’s music starts off with the genre of rock music such as Iggy Pop’s song, Lust For Life. The genre of rock usually connotates to rebellion and in Renton’s case, it is against life and society.

After going through withdrawal, Renton meets up with Diane Coulston, a teenager who Renton had sex with earlier in the film. She talked about how everything is changing, from the music to the drugs.  Renton realises that he needed to change himself, as he is living a meaningless life controlled by drugs. The next scene, we see him move to London so that he can have a fresh start. Electronic music then starts playing predominantly as soon as Renton moved to London and only goes back to punk rock when Renton is back with his friends. This can emphasis Renton’s change from being a rebellious character and evolving into an identity that fits in well with the government’s agenda, as previously mentioned in the toilet scene. By the end of the film, Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’, an electronic song, starts playing while Renton walks away with the money away from his ‘friends.’ The change of genre in music reflects the change in society and most importantly, Renton’s identity. In a way, the film encourages the Scottish identity to evolve itself and to look at the future instead of looking for more drugs.

  • Mark Renton and Diane talking about change in soceity

Although part of United Kingdom, England and Scotland have always had their differences in the past due its proximity.  Scotland has a rich history of being a proud country and see themselves as rivals with the English. Arttu Vilmi said that Welsh’s Trainspotting book England and Englishness against Scotland and Scottishness (Vilmi, 2014). When the film Braveheart (1995) came out, Mel Gibson represented Scottish identity as the underdog to their counterpart, the English. We see a binary opposition between England and Scotland again, with Scotland portraying the hero while the English are the villains. Like David and Goliath, the Scottish won back their land by the end of the film. Braveheart portrays the very best aspect of Scottish identity and gives the people of Scotland something to be proud of. In contrast, when Trainspotting was released a year later, it goes against all the stereotypes of Scottishness represented in Braveheart.

It was during the scene where Renton ranted back at Tommy, who the latter said, ‘Doesn’t it make you proud to be Scottish?’ Renton then screamed back ‘Its shite being Scottish, we’re the lowest of the low, the scum of the Earth.’ At first glance, this scene felt as if being Scottish wasn’t a great thing. In an article, Douglas Greenwood (2017) said that ‘Patriotism is a strange thing for Scottish people. It’s a mix of self-loathing and self-love.’ Renton attacks the idea of how the world thinks that modern Scotland’s identity is the same identity that was represented in Braveheart. 12 hours after the rant, Renton, Sick Boy and Spud decided to drop sobriety and start heroin again after releasing how meaningless life is in Scotland at that time. It was at this point of the film where Tommy also started to try heroin.  Renton’s speech itself refers to Thatcher’s reign as Prime Minister as he said, ‘we ruled by effete arseholes.’ In truth, Renton spoke from his hearts about his opinions on Scotland. It was Renton’s honesty about Scotland that made Scottish people relate to the film.

It is easy to see why Trainspotting is classed by many Scottish people to be one of the best Scottish film and for critics to say that it is generation defining. Trainspotting not only portrayed the worst of Scotland, but it gives a clear message to Scottish identity on why they need to change, to move forwards away from drugs and to start a better life like Renton. Although consequences of drug use are displayed throughout the film, Boyle wanted the characters to have real reasons to do heroin but not to the point of glamorising. Because of its realistic portrayal of urban Scotland, the film gave a voice and an identity to the trainspotting generation, to speak up against the government. The treatment and neglections during the Thatcher era have caused many problems and the film is a platform for the people of Scotland to ask for change. The quote ‘Choose life’ is then popularised throughout Scotland as they want to evolve just like Renton did.

Although Welsh’s book was already popular in Scotland, Danny Boyle’s film helped spread the real Scotland onto mainstream cinema and with that it gained international success. The film itself helped Ewan McGregor onto many different roles in the future thus making him one of Scotland’s recognisable actors. After 21 years, Danny Boyle created T2 Trainspotting (2017), which sees the aftermath of Renton coming back to see his friends after many years since running away with the money.

References

Bibliography

Mid90s and Skate Kitchen- A Critical Analysis

  • Mid90s- Mid shot of Stevie (right) and his older brother Ian (left)

Mid90s (2018) is written and directed by Jonah Hill who makes his first directorial debut. It follows a 13-year-old boy named Stevie who idolises a group of teenage skaters and eventually joins them. Skate Kitchen (2018) is a film written and directed by Crystal Moselle who also makes her debut as a feature film director. The narrative focuses on Camille, an 18-year-old skater who befriends a group of female skaters through Instagram. The critical analysis will explore the similarities and differences between the two films and how both the protagonist’s identity is constructed as the narrative builds. Both cultural and ideological factors will also be discussed in the formation of the narrative such as the female presence in the Skateboarding community. The two films are a coming-of-age film that is loosely based around skateboarding, however heavily displays the theme of friendship.

Similarities

The two films share many similarities in the overall three-act structure with both protagonists befriending a new group of friends, to falling out and eventually becoming friends again. Mid90s was inspired by Jonah Hill’s childhood of what he remembered while Crystal Moselle actually met the skaters in real life and drew inspiration from them. The narrative of both films also shows the audiences that both character’s relationships with their respective family aren’t in good terms thus find themselves away from home a lot. At the start of both Mid90s and Skate Kitchen, both protagonists are portrayed to be isolated from any characters that aren’t their family. We see in figure 1 that Stevie is admiring the group however isn’t included with them yet. With Camille in figure 2, she is seen without anyone implying her isolation and in fact, she blends in with the mise-en-scene as the colour green hides her and her identity.

  • Figure 1-  Stevie idolises the group from a distance
  • Figure 2- Camille portrayed to be a loner

Similar character types are also displayed in both films, such as Ray (Mid90s) and Janay (Skate Kitchen) who are portrayed to be the unofficial group leader that always brings the group together. Ruby (Skate Kitchen) and Fourth-grade (Mid90s) serve as the cameraman for the group where they film all the tricks. Finally, we have the showoff and most confrontational character of the group that unintentionally acts as the second in command. Fuckshit (Mid90s) and  Kurt (Skate Kitchen) both fulfil the role as they occasionally get the group into unnecessary trouble as seen in figure 3&4.

  • Figure 3– Fuckshit confronting Ian
  • Figure 4-Kurt (in pink) confronting a rival male skater

When the characters of each respective film join up with the group, their identity started to construct. Both protagonists seek escapism from their home, it can be argued that they joined the friendship group for very similar reasons. ‘Peers play a crucial role in the establishment of adolescent friendships’ (Taylor, Houghton, Bednall, 2009,p1). In fact, these groups act as a second family to the characters and in Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, the authors stated that adolescents tend to rely on friends for support rather than their families (2009).

For Stevie, he admires the boys from the skate shop and aspires to be like them. As he is only 13, he wants recognition and acceptance, something he doesn’t get when he is at home but does when hanging out with the group. As he spends more time away from home, the group has influenced his behaviour and identity into a rebellious teen that got out of his comfort zone. He started off trying to hide the truth from his mother who he still looks up to, however as the narrative builds, he gradually stopped caring about his mother’s opinions. It got to the point where he emotionally and physically beats his older brother which shows a construct in personality from the start of the film. In figure 5, a low angle close-up shot is used. This shot, in particular, stands out because Stevie finally vents all his anger onto his mother and for the first time, he stood up for himself.


  • Figure 5-Stevie vents his anger toward his mother

Like Stevie, Camille was a loner at the start of the film with a lot of the first scenes just focuses on her skating by herself.  When her mother found about her injury while skating, she forbids Camille to ever skate again. However, against her mother’s wishes, she carried on. The narrative primarily focuses on Camille discovering her own identity after leaving her mother as well as the transition from a suburb area to the heart of New York City. She finds the female skate group from through Instagram and eventually joins them.   Although shy at first, the group immediately accepts her in. As the narrative builds, we see Camille coming out of her shell more and more, such as when she first declines smoking but then later in the film, she frequently does it. She eventually falls for a boy named Devon who is skater and photographer from an all boy skate crew. However, after spending time with Devon, Camille discovers that her friend Janay and Devon had a relationship that Janay never got over. Drama helps by creating conflict that increases the rise to a story (2004), which the narrative in this film does. Camille eventually becomes alone again after the group found out about her spending time with Devon.

As mentioned before, the narratives of both film are loosely based around skating. ‘Although mainstream culture has managed to paint skateboarders as an aggressive, highly competitive group of adrenaline junkies or as slackers and stoners, skaters are far more passionate about the value their culture places on freedom, individuality, and self-expression’ (Yochim,2010, p80). While both films portray the consumption of alcohol, drugs and illegal activities from the characters, it also portrays a humane side to the characters. This is the case especially with Mid90s where we see the boys talking to a homeless man (figure 6). This shot is impactful as it challenges the ideologies of skaters in mainstream media as well as it gives a chance for the characters to express their feelings for skating and to an extent, themselves.

Figure 6- Ray and Fuckshit has a meaningful conversation with a homeless man

Differences

They are many differences in the film such as the cultural background of the films. Mid90s is set during the 1990s while Skate Kitchen is set in the modern day. Even on the production side, Hill opted to use film cameras instead of digital cameras. He said, ‘So few films are being made using actual film that they really appreciate the filmmakers who make movies on film’ (2018). By shooting in film, it gives audiences a sense of nostalgia that draws them into the narrative, therefore, giving off the impression that the film was really filmed in the 90s rather than 2018. In contrast, Moselle used an Alexa Mini, a digital camera to shoot Skate Kitchen instead.

Overall the narratives between the two films are similar, however, the settings that influenced the narrative made both films unique. Camille in Skate Kitchen frequently uses Instagram, a social media platform that the demographics for the film will easily recognize. The environment itself is relatable as we live in a time where social acceptance through either real life or social media, influences who we are. It was through social media that Janay found out about Camille hanging out with Devon which rapidly drives the narrative forward to a disequilibrium.

In contrast, skating in the 90s was different compared to the modern day. Skating was taken seriously back then, and the lifestyle appealed to ‘white male teenagers, who by 1995 comprised the largest group of adolescents in history’ (Yochim, 2010, p27). Yochim also stated that skateboarding has transformed from childhood game to rebellious youth subculture (2010). The narrative for Mid90s perfectly represents this as Stevie started off with a child’s skateboard and eventually gets a real skateboard. This shows the evolution in Stevie’s identity as he turns from a child to a rebellious teen.

The key differences between the film are the divide between the genders of the groups. In the 90s, skateboarding predominantly appealed to male teens which are represented throughout Mid90s. Skate Kitchen on the other hand primarily focuses on a girl group of skaters. There is a clear ideology represented in the film from male characters that girls can’t skate. In figure 7, a male asks Kurt if she could do a trick to which she responded with, “no, this is an accessory”. This is impactful because it shows that women are judged for skating and not fitting the ideology of what a normal female should be. The actress that portrayed Kurt, Nina Moran, said on a Ted Talk that girls are judged and perceived to be bad at skating by males just because she is a female (2017). There is a binary opposition that is clearly seen in Skate Kitchen as the female group in more than one occasion clashes with the male group in the skate park. Despite getting cold treatment from the male characters during the narrative, the group acts as a symbol of empowerment and sisterhood for female demographics as they always side together.

Figure 7– Kurt hits back at the male after a sexist question

In Skate Kitchen, most of the men are portrayed to be one dimensional and unintentionally inconsiderate towards the female group throughout the film. This is the case when Camille briefly resides with Devon’s flatmates where they welcomed her with open arms, yet they carried on talking about sexual stories they had with previous females. Another instance is when Camille woke up in the middle of the night in the flat and discovers that the boys are watching porn. At this point, the film tries to make Camille and the audience uncomfortable with the presence of male which eventually leads Camille going back home to her mother. Overall the presences of male in the narrative makes them somewhat an obstacle in which Camille must overcome. Eventually, Camille does reunite with the female group after apologising for her dishonesty towards the group.

Mid90s’ male characters may have shared similar traits to the males in Skate Kitchen such as discussing vulgar subjects at the start of the narrative. However, we see a different side to these characters once they aren’t together as a group. Stereotypically, men in films are portrayed to be a confident man that doesn’t show any emotion but in Mid90s, it drives the narrative forward. In fact, as mentioned before, skateboarding represents freedom and self-expression which gives men ‘an opportunity for various expressions of masculinity’ (Yochim, 2010, p80). This is especially the case for Ray where he expressed his feelings to Stevie and shows his true emotions. After Stevie vented out his anger towards his mother, he isolated himself behind the skate shop and eventually Ray found him. In figure 8, the camera is placed at eye level, however, we as audience perceived this as a high angle showing a vulnerable side to Ray.

Figure 8-Ray opening up to Stevie about his and the other’s past.

He goes onto explain how even though Stevie’s situation at home is bad, he wouldn’t trade his place with others as their situation at home is just as bad, if not worse. By originally portraying these characters as nothing but troublemakers, Hill eventually opened up an opportunity for audiences to empathise with the characters. For the rest of the narrative, we as the audience see each character differently knowing their personal life story from Fourth-grade being very poor to another member, Ruben, whose mother is a drug addict that regularly physically abuses him. Fuckshit’s addiction to drugs and partying has worsened to the point where he doesn’t care about his own wellbeing and finally, Ray lost his little brother due to a car accident years ago that still haunts him. This last story foreshadows the car crash that occurs near the end of the narrative after all the boys had their individually falling outs with each other. Ruben and Stevie finally clashed during a party as Ruben felt he was being replaced by Stevie. Fuckshit attempted to jeopardise Ray’s chances at being a professional skater when he was talking to other professional skaters out of jealousy.

 

Figure 9- The car crash

The car crash almost acts like a reset button for the narrative and helps starts the end of the three-act structure. The tension was built up during the previous scene and was released during the car crash. Stevie ended up in a hospital while the rest of the boys were fine and stayed with him throughout the night showing the audience and Stevie’s mother that they are genuinely there for him. The narrative ends with Fourth-grade showing the group his homemade film that depicts the boy’s adventure throughout the summer. The homemade film itself serves as a message to the boys that no matter what happens, they will stick together even through dramatic moments. The ending for Mid90s itself is more impactful than Skate Kitchen, as we as the audience never see how Camille really got back with her friends as a time skip was used.

In conclusion, Mid90s and Skate Kitchen share many similarities with the focus predominantly on friendship and skateboarding. The narrative as well is similar, with the main protagonist joining a group of skaters and finding their own identity and a place in the world. We see many similar character types in the film as well as the activity that they participate in. Though they are similarities in the films, the ideologies that are presented are very different from each other such as the portrayal of men in the films. At the end of the films, we as the audience learn that with friends, you can get through tough times and that there would be people to support you.  

References

E.Yochim, 2010, Skate Life: Re-Imagining White Masculinity [online], Ann Arbor: U OF M DIGT CULT BOOKS

M. Taylor, J. Bednall, S. Houghton, 2010, Friendships, Peer Socialization and Social Identity Among Adolescent Skateboarders and Graffiti Writers [online], New York: Nova Science Publishers

M.Bergeron, 2018, Jonah Hill moves behind the camera in ‘Mid90s’, Houston Chronicle[online] 22nd October 2018. Available from: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/movies/article/Jonah-Hill-moves-behind-the-camera-in-Mid90s-13329601.php#photo-16379556 [Accessed 13 January 2019]

Mid90s,2018 [Film], Directed by Jonah Hill, USA, A24

P. Cooper, K. Dancyger, 2004, Writing the Short Film, [online] [Third Edition], Taylor & Francis Group

R. Lerner, L. Steinberg, 2009, Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, [online] [Third Edition], John Wiley & Sons

Skate Kitchen,2018 [Film], Directed by Crystal Moselle, USA, Magnolia Pictures

TedxTalks, 2017, Girls Belong In The (Skate) Kitchen | Nina Moran | TEDxTeen, [video, online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YsPiJLRFpQ [Accessed 13 January 2019]