Sweet Sixteen Critical Approach Essay

 Evaluate the usefulness of a critical approach you have examined, for an understanding of Sweet Sixteen. (20 marks)

In Loach's Sweet Sixteen a Marxist critical approach is very useful for understanding the film, as it contextualises the reasons for Liam ending up selling drugs at only fifteen as a wider societal issue based on class, and therefore capitalism, leaving the working classes in poverty, without the proper support to leave it. These ideas are made apparent through the setting of the story, in one of the poorest parts of Glasgow, and through key sequences throughout, such as Liam's interactions with Tony, or the ending scene. The Marxist critical approach also allows Sweet Sixteen to be political, rather than humanist, and subvert narrative theories, such as Todorov's, by not allowing for resolution and a return to equilibrium. However, one shortcoming of a Marxist approach is its lack of focus on gender issues, something that a Feminist critical approach would be more useful for.

A Marxist critical approach allows Sweet Sixteen to be somewhat allegorical to the ideas of Marxism and the oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoise. This is most clearly seen around three-quarters of the way through the film with a conversation between Tony and Liam where Tony offers Liam a flat and a managerial position in a pizza place, in exchange for Liam's subservience to Tony. Within this interaction, Tony tells Liam that "an opportunity like this only comes around once in a lifetime for someone like you", establishing the idea that Liam's lower-class upbringing, combined with his lack of familial and financial stability, and location in the poorest parts of Glasgow, mean that Liam cannot escape his predicament without sacrificing part of himself. Loach shows this by leaving the camera at a medium-close-up on Liam, even whilst Tony talks, emphasising how Tony can afford to lose this deal but Liam depends on it, re-enforcing Marxist ideas about class inequality. Loach enhances Marxist ideas in this scene by using key aspects of British social realism, shooting on location, without extra lighting or sound, using non-professional actors, and using a lightweight camera for a documentary style, making Liam's story seem very real and, therefore, allowing Sweet Sixteen to be allegorical.

A Marxist critical approach is also very useful when it comes to understanding Sweet Sixteen's ending and seeing the film as a political film. In fighting back against his oppressors, with Liam stabbing his mum's abusive boyfriend, Liam is left in an impossible position, where the police are after him and he has nobody to turn to. Loach emphasises this with the final scene, with Liam standing at the edge of the sea, in an ending reminiscent of Truffaut's The 400 Blows from the French-New-Wave. Within that comparison, Loach suggests a breaking free from the constraints of traditional society as that is the sole reason Liam is stuck here now. Loach enhances this Marxist idea by leaving the ending unresolved for the audience, making the spectator have to examine these ideas and societal criticisms in order to understand Sweet Sixteen in the way Loach intended. The fact that this is a political film is backed up further by Loach's actions outside of the film when the BBFC made it an 18 certificate for bad language, despite the film being about 15 year-olds. His campaigning against the classism through the suppression of working-class dialects and language mirrors the political message in the film and indicates that Loach was striving for greater societal change, representing people on the screen who had never been represented before and giving them a voice.

However, there are limitations to a Marxist critical approach, as the sole focus on class issues ignores gender and feminism issues. This is especially important in Sweet Sixteen due to the focus on, and absence of, mother figures. Liam's mother's lack of support for him stems from lack of opportunities for herself and dependence on other men, like Stan, leading her into addiction and crime. This is clearly observed in the prison sequence, near the start of the film, where Liam's mother's desperation is focused on through her performance and posture, indicating how flawed her attempts to come closer to Liam are, only doing so to transfer drugs. Within that, Loach makes it clear that Liam's mum went to prison in the place of Stan, showing her oppression and subservience to men that leads her into poor situations. In contrast, the teenage Chantelle has to take care of her baby without a male figure in her life, portraying a lack of male responsibility in caring for women, given that they have the opportunity to leave them with the baby. However, Chantelle serves as a feminist character as she pushes through the double burden of work and motherhood, whilst looking after Liam and their friends - allowing Loach to highlight the feminist issues inherent in British society, and proving that this situation is not because of women's actions, but because of patriarchy and capitalism, although that feeds back into a Marxist critical approach. 

Sweet Sixteen can also be explored with narrative theories, within a Marxist critical approach, using a traditional coming-of-age story structure to relate it to similar films from around the time in British cinema, with its narrative structure being strictly linear and focused on Liam. This then makes Loach's unresolved ending even more pertinent as it illustrates how much childhood affects adulthood, especially a poor one, as Liam turns sixteen in the film's final moments. Functioning within Todorov's narrative theory, issues arise when looking at where the narrative's disruption is as Loach is making a point about broader societal failings, however Liam getting kicked out of Stan's house is the catalyst for many of the specific events in the film. Instead, Levi Strauss's "conflict through binary oppositions creates meaning" theory is more prevalent in Sweet Sixteen, as it explores Liam's struggles in the clash between the older and younger generations, and also within the class system - a binary opposition whose meaning is a Marxist one. The binary oppositions change throughout the film, most significantly with Liam's best friend, Pinball, becoming more of an enemy, showing how corrupted the characters' lives become because of this world. However, by not fully prescribing to any narrative theory, Loach grounds the film in realism, away from story structures and into a humanist approach to storytelling within British social realism, which is then used to create a political talking point for spectators with both a feminist and Marxist critical approach.

In conclusion, a Marxist critical approach is best for understanding Sweet Sixteen  as the film's political message, seen most prominently in the ambiguous ending, shows the adverse effects of the British class system, corrupting and destroying the lives of innocent young people and then blaming them for it. Whilst a feminist critical approach shines a light on the important characters of Liam's mother and Chantelle, and their oppression, Sweet Sixteen's primary focus is on Liam, showcasing a more prevalent Marxist theme, enhanced further by a lack of prescription to clear narrative theories to be a part of British social realism and bring representation to a community in impoverished Glasgow who never got any.