Representation Questions

"To what extent do the representations in Capital reflect the concerns of the modern 21st century London life? [25 marks]"

I think that Capital does reflect the concerns of modern 21st century London life to an extent. An example to show this the increase in housing prices which is a concern in the London after the financial crash of 2007. This repeatedly shown in a pop-up after a scene that shows the housing price of the dwellings that the people reside in continuingly increasing in price which can also be shown in the old women voicing how the houses are now worth millions, this is discussed in the first episode showing that it is an integral theme in the narrative.

Another concern of modern 21st century London life is terrorism and radicalisation which is shown in the roommate of one of the three brothers. The idea of radicalisation is first shown by the older brother saying it to the religious brother after him saying a comment on how something isn't allowed in his religion. The idea of terrorism and radicalisation is further demonstrated by the brother in universities friend who then becomes his roommate. The roommate shows his disgust or lack of approval of something that the brother does showing his degree of radicalisation. A contrast is shown by the brother who is a practising Muslim and the roommate who is radicalised. Terrorism and Radicalisation is a major concern in modern 21st century London life after events such as the 7/7 bombings, the uprising of ISIS in the middle east, the Manchester attacks, the murder of Lee Rigby. and the Paris attacks. The 7/7 bombings affect modern life in London as it happened in London which shows how dangerous terrorism it is and how it could start affecting people's lives in London in the future if terrorism starts to increase. Radicalisation which is also shown in Capital, is a concern in modern 21st century London due to young men and teenagers who live in London become radicalised after seeing ISIS leading to them joining them.

Another concern of modern 21st century London life is Immigration which is shown in the African woman. The African woman is an illegal immigrant who is also an asylum seeker which causes her to have a fear of being deported back to the country that she was born due to the harm that she could go through and also it causes her to not have things such as a bank account in which she can store her money in. However, the woman works and has someone keep a makeshift bank account for her. The concern of Immigrant s of 21st century London is that Immigrants take jobs and do not integrate into the country causing things such as terrorism and violent acts towards the legal residents of the country. The African woman is shown having a job, however, this shows that if a legal resident wanted the job they could have got it due to them having an "advantage" over the African woman due to her being an illegal immigrant and being in the country less. The African woman is also seen as integrating well into the country as she is part of the community which is shown by her regularly going to church. Capital subverted the ideas and concern of immigrants that are present in modern 21st century London life by the character of the African woman.